PS2 Exploit

Some Questions

Why do this guide when there are so many others?

Yes, there are other guides, but I got the feeling they were written by experts. Although I got the exploit working, I felt a couple of steps may be better explained by a 'noob', particularly as they will be the target audience. The guide is also aimed squarely at UK owners.

I imagine that some, more skilled, exploit veterans may scoff at the terminology used here, but I've tried to put it in very simple terms that a 'noob' may understand. I've been writing professional technical journals for not-technical people for over 20 years but this is my first foray into the gaming scene. Comments on this guide are most appreciated.

Plus, I wanted to write a guide that I'd personally be able to come back to in the future, should some disaster occur that required me to do this again.

What do I need?

HARDWARE	SOFTWARE
PS2 Memory Card Datel Action Replay Evo or Datel Action Replay Max & USB memory stick	Sony Playstation 1 Disc WinRAR Titleman Frontend PS2 Save Builder Exploit.max

If you decide to save a bit of money and buy the cheaper version of the Datel Action Replay software, make sure your USB memory stick is compatable. I've tried about four brands, including a Kingston, and none have worked. There are compatability lists on some PS2 forums.

Where should I get these hardware items?

I got my Action Replay Evo quite cheaply - brand new - from Ebay, or from Play.com. I bought my memory card from Play.com. If you want things quite urgently you could always get them from Toys'r'Us, Argos, HMV or any computer gaming store. But do shop around for the best price before you buy.

Where should I get the software items?

Titleman Frontend and PS2 Save Builder can be found here.
You can get the Exploit.max file here.

Download the programs, and extract them all to individual folders, perhaps all grouped together in a "PS2 EXPLOIT" folder. Note that these are RAR files so you'll need WinRAR to extract them.

What is exactly happening here?

We're going to put a program on your PS2 memory card. When the PS2 boots up it will run this program on the card, rather than the Playstation game. We use the Datel software because it is the interface between your PS2 and PC (the USB memory stick).

Is it legal?

Good question. In the UK, the 'modding' of a games console is now illegal. However, all we are doing is putting software onto a storage medium. The software we use is legal and at no point is the hardware of the Playstation circumvented to allow you to play copied games. Providing you don't use this to play software you don't own, I cannot see any laws being broken.

Can it damage my PS2?

Highly unlikely. If anything does go wrong, just remove the memory card and restart your PS2. You can always use the Datel Action Replay disc to wipe your memory card and start again.

Extracting data from the PSX Disc

The exploit first needs to be 'programmed'. We have to insert into it the unique ID that all Playstation games have.

Pop the Playstation 1 disc into your PC. In this example I'm using a demo disc:

If your PC doesn't open an Explorer window, go to My Computer and then select your CD-ROM drive containing the CD.

In this example, the code we want is SCED_002.73 It may be a good idea to get a couple more codes so you aren't dependant on just one Playstation CD. Pop in another disc and get the code. I put in my UK version of Ridge Racer and got the code SCES_000.01 You can download big lists of these codes, or get them from a PS2 web forum, but they may not necessarily be the UK versions so beware.

Putting this data into a file

We use TitlemanFrontEnd for this task. When you start the program you may get this message:

Click 'OK'. You should now get this screen:

In the white boxes at the bottom left, change the code to the ones you made a note of earlier. In my case it was SCED_002.73

Now click the "ADD EXEC" button. You may get this message. Don't worry, it's just created a file and overwritten the default one that came with the software.

If you have any other disc codes, enter them over the top of your first one and click "ADD EXEC" again. Keep doing this for any codes you have.

If you click "LIST CURRENT CONTENTS OF TITLE.DB" it will show the codes you have entered:

You can see my entries at locations 0003 and 0004.

We're done with this program now so you can exit.

Converting the data for the Datel Action Replay

We use the program PS2SaveBuilder for this one. It turns the data into a game save.

Start it up:

Click FILE then OPEN and open up the exploit.max file. It should now look like this:

Do you see where it says "NEW_FILE" in the Root/ID box? We need to change that. On a UK PAL PS2 it needs to say BEDATA-SYSTEM.

We now need to insert our title.db file. Right click anywhere under the 'my.icn' and click "ADD FILE".

Browse to the folder that title.db is in (it should be in the titlemanfrontend folder) and add it.

Now we need to save these changes. Click the SAVE icon (floppy disk) or FILE - SAVE AS and overwrite the original. In my example below it was on my desktop.

Moving the file from USB to Memory Card

We're done with the PC now, the rest is on the PS2.

Plug in your memory card, USB stick and start up your PS2 with the Datel Action Replay Max CD in the drive.

When it starts, select Max Memory at the bottom of the screen.

Then select My Devices

then select the memory card.

We need to erase the memory card first. Use the direction controller to move to Your System Configuration and select it.

Move the direction controller to select the trash bin icon and select.

Click Yes to delete.

Go back to the main menu and this time select the USB Stick as the Primary Device.

Select the file on the left, just as you did before.

This time, select the UNCRUSH option.

and uncrush to the memory card.

Select YES to confirm. A progress indicator will show up in the yellow bar at the top of the screen.

When it's uncrushed, return to the main menu screen.

Remove the Datel disc and insert your Playstation 1 CD.

Running the Exploit

Restart your PS2. You'll see the usual Sony logo and the disc will spin as it starts to boot up.

If you see the screen below - success! The program BOOT.ELF has been launched and you're basically starting with a blank canvas.

Press SELECT to see more options.

Where do I go from here?

What now?

It's up to you. There are lots of free PS2 applications out there (known as ELFs). You can turn your PS2 into a media player and play MP3s or movies, you can even run emulators and play classic Megadrive, SNES or Commodore games. Your first port of call should be the PS2 forums.

Can I ask you a question?

Only if it's related to this web page, suggestion of improvements and such. If you have a PS2 question then you should look for it on the PS2 forums, it's probably been asked many, many times before. If you can't find it, then feel free to ask but make sure you clearly state your question in the title and provide as much detail as you like. There are a good mix of new starters like myself and some veterans who will be happy to help, but don't necessarily like q question which just says "help please".

Where are these forums?

You could do a Google search, but the two I am always at are:

ExploitStation.com

PS2-Scene.org

ExploitStation provided the original exploit tutorial which got me started, and deserve full credit for the production of this guide.

They also provide an excellent tutorial on using the LAUNCHELF application that we have just put on our memory card. This is required reading, so go there now!

One important thing to note is that LAUNCHELF uses the O button to select and X to cancel. If you've been playing PS1 and PS2 games for any length of time you'll probably use X to select. This can get very confusing at first so be careful!


	Extracting data from the PSX Disc The exploit first needs to be 'programmed'. We have to insert into it the unique ID that all Playstation games have. Pop the Playstation 1 disc into your PC. In this example I'm using a demo disc: If your PC doesn't open an Explorer window, go to My Computer and then select your CD-ROM drive containing the CD. In this example, the code we want is SCED_002.73 It may be a good idea to get a couple more codes so you aren't dependant on just one Playstation CD. Pop in another disc and get the code. I put in my UK version of Ridge Racer and got the code SCES_000.01 You can download big lists of these codes, or get them from a PS2 web forum, but they may not necessarily be the UK versions so beware.


	Putting this data into a file We use TitlemanFrontEnd for this task. When you start the program you may get this message: Click 'OK'. You should now get this screen: In the white boxes at the bottom left, change the code to the ones you made a note of earlier. In my case it was SCED_002.73 Now click the "ADD EXEC" button. You may get this message. Don't worry, it's just created a file and overwritten the default one that came with the software. If you have any other disc codes, enter them over the top of your first one and click "ADD EXEC" again. Keep doing this for any codes you have. If you click "LIST CURRENT CONTENTS OF TITLE.DB" it will show the codes you have entered: You can see my entries at locations 0003 and 0004. We're done with this program now so you can exit.


	Converting the data for the Datel Action Replay We use the program PS2SaveBuilder for this one. It turns the data into a game save. Start it up: Click FILE then OPEN and open up the exploit.max file. It should now look like this: Do you see where it says "NEW_FILE" in the Root/ID box? We need to change that. On a UK PAL PS2 it needs to say BEDATA-SYSTEM. We now need to insert our title.db file. Right click anywhere under the 'my.icn' and click "ADD FILE". Browse to the folder that title.db is in (it should be in the titlemanfrontend folder) and add it. Now we need to save these changes. Click the SAVE icon (floppy disk) or FILE - SAVE AS and overwrite the original. In my example below it was on my desktop.


	Moving the file from USB to Memory Card We're done with the PC now, the rest is on the PS2. Plug in your memory card, USB stick and start up your PS2 with the Datel Action Replay Max CD in the drive. When it starts, select Max Memory at the bottom of the screen. Then select My Devices then select the memory card. We need to erase the memory card first. Use the direction controller to move to Your System Configuration and select it. Move the direction controller to select the trash bin icon and select. Click Yes to delete. Go back to the main menu and this time select the USB Stick as the Primary Device. Select the file on the left, just as you did before. This time, select the UNCRUSH option. and uncrush to the memory card. Select YES to confirm. A progress indicator will show up in the yellow bar at the top of the screen. When it's uncrushed, return to the main menu screen. Remove the Datel disc and insert your Playstation 1 CD.


	Running the Exploit Restart your PS2. You'll see the usual Sony logo and the disc will spin as it starts to boot up. If you see the screen below - success! The program BOOT.ELF has been launched and you're basically starting with a blank canvas. Press SELECT to see more options.


	Where do I go from here? *What now?* It's up to you. There are lots of free PS2 applications out there (known as ELFs). You can turn your PS2 into a media player and play MP3s or movies, you can even run emulators and play classic Megadrive, SNES or Commodore games. Your first port of call should be the PS2 forums. *Can I ask you a question?* Only if it's related to this web page, suggestion of improvements and such. If you have a PS2 question then you should look for it on the PS2 forums, it's probably been asked many, many times before. If you can't find it, then feel free to ask but make sure you clearly state your question in the title and provide as much detail as you like. There are a good mix of new starters like myself and some veterans who will be happy to help, but don't necessarily like q question which just says "help please". *Where are these forums?* You could do a Google search, but the two I am always at are: ExploitStation.com PS2-Scene.org ExploitStation provided the original exploit tutorial which got me started, and deserve full credit for the production of this guide. They also provide an excellent tutorial on using the LAUNCHELF application that we have just put on our memory card. This is required reading, so go there now! One important thing to note is that LAUNCHELF uses the O button to select and X to cancel. If you've been playing PS1 and PS2 games for any length of time you'll probably use X to select. This can get very confusing at first so be careful!