Which PS2 mod chip do I have?

['Press Start']

Hi All,

I have my faithful modded PS2 in my attic and I was trying to remember which mod chip lives inside.

Here is how it works:-
PS2 games play automatically
PS1 games boot after holding the power button down for about 5 secs

Is that enough information to establish the mod? throw some names and see if it jogs my memory.

Thanks

[ShadowDancer]

Messiah I think. How does it play dvds? hold the power then click again when blue light comes on....

[speedlolita]

http://www.fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=38232

Check out this link, has some information on boot methods like that.

Messiah 2 seems kinda common though?

I think there are lots of Messiah 2 clones though so..

[ShadowDancer]

Speedy would be more qualified I'm going on what was said about what I had bought in the past. I'm really not up to date on chips or variations

[speedlolita]

Not really! I don't have a huge amount of knowledge about earlier chips.

['Press Start']

Messiah I think. How does it play dvds? hold the power then click again when blue light comes on....

That is the one, although using Speedy's link it sounds like the Messiah 2. I never tried DVDs on it though.

I would think it an original Messiah 2 as I sent it to Sauron (spelling?) I think. I am sure it was him as I remember getting my modded Gamecube RGB cable from the same place.

It would have been around the time NTSC FFX was released or not long after.

Anyway now I know the name of the chip should I want to sell my PS2.

Cheers Guys

[speedlolita]

Yeah, Saurian is well known for his GC cables. And his sick gaming skillz.

Messiah 2 is a nice chip as I said. If I wasn't swimming in PS2s I'd have taken it probably.. lol

['Press Start']

Ha!

The name Messiah made me look through my yahoo email account and look what I dug up from 2003:-
> > Hi Owen
> >
> > Chipping PS2s is no problem however I only use
> > Messiah 2 and only accept V5
> > series PS2s and above.
> > Please check your machine's model number and give
> me
> > a shout.
> >
> >
> > Saur

['Press Start']

More history for anyone interested.

It was actually modded by a guy called Will who ran 'Londonconsole'.

He was a great guy, maybe he frequents this very forum? shout out if your reading will.

Hi Owen!

Yup - if there's no screw, the it's v4 or earlier

I'll just do a quick cut and paste from another email I sent someone who had
a V4 they wanted chipping, just so you can understand why, and also it saves
me typing it all again


The PS2 is now on V8, and apart from the motherboard being miniaturised, the
key thing
that seems to change as the versions progress is the laser mech. To be
honest,
they're awful in v1 - v4 machines, which is why I only work on v5 or higher.
To cut a long story short, the old PS2 lasers used plastic parts where they
now use
metal, notably on the laser shuttle rails - the prob with the old ones is
that as they
get used and used, the plastic starts to compress and wear down, making the
laser
lens fall a few wital hundredths (sp?) of a millimeter away from the disc
surface.
This leads to game disc reading errors, and skipping or freezing dvd
playback.
Chipping an old one can often just exacerbate the problem, as it's even
harder for the
PS2 to read recordable media which has lower refectivity than an original
pressed disc. This
accelerates the wear and tear even more, and the problem just gets worse.
From V5 machines
and upward, the issue is totally resolved.

But, assuming your PS2 is in good condition, has the warranty sticker and is
complete with power lead, video lead and controller, a shop like Computer
Exchange will buy it it. (www.cex.co.uk - phone number 0207 636 2666). I
just gave them a ring, and they're offering ?60 unboxed or ?62 boxed for a
US NTSC PS2. I'm local to there, and often pass by the shop - so in terms of
part echanging your PS2 I'm happy to do that with it if it helps you out. I
know it's not the best price, but with brand new PS2s being ?165, getting
sixty odd quid for a secondhand, old model US machine doesn't seem too bad.

Anyway, that's an option that I'm quite happy to do - if it means that you
can then afford a pre-mod, it benefits me too....

Thanks *very* much for the suggestion about the other forum - do you have
urls for the site and the forum so I can go and check it out? I hear a lot
of bad things about dodgy chipping services on the net - I think a lot of
the time people take on more work than they can handle due to getting
greedy, but end up letting everyone down and not being able to meet
deadlines. Don't know what the guy at the place you mention did, but I just
stick to however many jobs I can fit in to my spare time, I've found that
people are far more likely to use and re-use your services if you are, above
all else, reliable about getting the work done on time. You read horror
stories about people waiting 3 months for their mod to be done - I just
won't take on any unless I can guarantee it being ready within 24 hours. I
probably lose a bit of business like that, but I reckon it's best in the
long run as I am (hopefully) starting to get a good reputation on the forums
now.

So, in answer to your final question, yes - I am capable of modding your old
PS2 but generally avoid the old ones. I'd think carefully about doing it -
the cost of chipping it, and then the extra costs of more postage and
transferring your chip to a new machine should the laser give out sometime
soon is even a little more than what you'd have to put on top if you sold it
on and got a new one.

You could also save another maybe ?20 if you sold on your old PS2 locally
and had a look for a good secondhand v5 or up machine around your way - they
often go for about ?130 for a mint secondhand v5, 6 or 7.

Anyway, they're all options, I suppose.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the email,

Regards,

Will.

[speedlolita]

I think the real reason he only wished to mod V5 and over is because the laser assembly controller is MUCH easier to solder to. No offense to you Will if you're reading, sure you're up to the task either way.

The rest of what he says is also true. Cool to have dug this up to be honest!

['Press Start']

Ha ha.

That was 11 years ago......time flies huh!

[speedlolita]

?60 for a used NTSC-U PS2 isn't that bad a price today.. haha

[Pavey]

Will 2003 he is/was on here. I met him a few times in Maida Vale, really nice guy. The last one he did for me was the ceramic white GT one. Who here bought that from me?