I'm going to buy a PS2 today. Does anyone have any guides

>>309280
Simplest is with a fat and a network adapter, because then you can boot straight from the softmodded harddisk, and literally the only tool you need is a PC with a PATA connector.

Plus PATA is way faster than USB.

>>309280
There's pre-softmoded ones with 300+GB and HDD and peripherals for $150 on ebay.

>>309327
Normally I'd condone such actions, but softmodding a PS2 is literally a case of writing a disk image then inserting the disk.

You're talking a $100 premium on a $50 console just to avoid twenty minutes' work.

>>309338
Plus HDD and peripherals, and in some cases the ISOs for 100 or so popular games plus emulators with 1000s of roms already on the disc.

Just saiyan. I softmoded my own.

>>309342
Still don't think it's worth it. PATA disks are WEE waste nowadays, and any PS2 from any shop will come with "peripherals".

There's no way that anyone with the technical knowledge to operate a modified PS2 doesn't also have the knowledge required to mod it.

I mean, back in the day, I needed to break out an old PC and install Windows 98 and run an emulator for Action Replay's servers to get a specially-crafted save file onto a memory card to exploit a specially-chosen PS1 game, and then format the hard disk myself and install all my own apps.

But you don't need to do any of that anymore: you literally just download a premade HDD image, write it to the HDD, and stick it in the PS2.

Similarly, "1000s of roms" sounds impressive, but really all you need to do is google "GoodMerge <whatever console> .torrent", then upload them into the right directory.

>>309280
>>309342
I mean, you literally just download this ( http://psx-scene.com/forums/f153/unofficial-fhdb-1-93-noobie-package-obt-119562/ ), then dd it over the disk and slot it in.

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>>309280
Alright I got it. What is the safest way to continue.

>>309487
So you got a fat one.

You can now:
- get a network adapter and a hard disk, then download >>309369, write it to the hard disk, and plug everything together and boot
or
- get a PS3 memory card reader, and a PS2 memory card, download ( http://psx-scene.com/forums/f153/%5Btutorial%5D-fmcb-v1-93-installation-pc-ps3-memory-card-adaptor-120793/ ) and write it to the memory card, then put the memory card in and boot

Once you're modded, it might be worth:
- making a recovery memory card, just in case something goes wrong
- updating your noob package to 1.95

>>309487
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ps2+softmod+guide

>>309498
What kind of network adapter should I use. Forgive me if that sounds like a stupid question. And I assume a hard disk is like a DVD disk that you just install software on? How would I be able to play games of store memory?

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>>309502
There's only one network adapter for the PS2*. It's a black box that screws in the back and gives you a network port on the outside and a hard disk connector pointing into the bit you keep your weed in.

One you're softmodded with a hard disk, you can use virtual memory cards (VMCs), where the game thinks it has a memory card inserted, but really it's a file on the hard disk.

*(well, technically there's a chinese knockoff network adaptor with no network port).

>>309507
Well shit. I was confused for a few minutes, but I just realized that I did not buy a network adapter for the PS2 when I bought it. Hopefully they have some. I didn't even think it was that extension.

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>>309515
There's tonnes of them on eBay. Remember to get a PATA hard disk too.

All the adapters that say "SONY" on them have a functioning network port, and I highly recommend you get a genuine one so you can install your legitimately-acquired games onto the disk over the network.

>>309522
Thanks for the help. I don't think my computer has a PATA drive in it, but I don't know shit about most computers. Could I just try using an HDD or is PATA really smooth?

>>309524
PATA is an older standard and newer computers don't have it. You can use something like http://cgi.ebay.com/272420007078 to temporarily put the disk in your PC whilst you write the image.

>>309524
Actually, http://cgi.ebay.com/262952403131 is a US seller.

>>309537
So I just plug the female into the network adapter and the male into my computer?

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>>309539
You plug it into your hard disk like this.

Then once the hard disk is written, you unplug everything, slot the hard disk into the network adapter, then the whole lot into the PS2.