Freezing when PS2 tries to access HDD

[Ducky]

gtmtnbiker, the full format took roughly 30 minutes to do it's thing but I wasn't keeping time. Does that sound right? My computer has a quad core so it's reasonably quick. And the HDD didn't have a problem with me putting isos onto it. I once had this broken external HDD that was dropped so I have a rough idea of what I should expect when he HDD isn't behaving properly.

By the way, I don't have another Network Adapter to try with because they weren't released in the PAL area.

CRTGAMER, I don't think the programs would be at fault simply because I've tried so many different ones and they always end up the same way. When I reinstalled FMCB, I downloaded a new one from the Internet so I don't think it'll be the installers fault either.

[Hobie-wan]

gtmtnbiker, the full format took roughly 30 minutes to do it's thing but I wasn't keeping time. Does that sound right? My computer has a quad core so it's reasonably quick.

Formatting a HD isn't dependent on the speed of the processor, but the speed of the hard drive itself. 30 minutes sounds too short to me for a 160 gig drive unless you were busy doing other things and didn't keep good track of how long it took.

[gtmtnbiker]

I would suggest trying to run the chkdsk /v on Windows. See http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm? ... 583&page=5 for details on how to do this. It's supposed to test for bad sectors.

I would also strongly encourage you to find another IDE drive to test with. It doesn't have to be big. 10GB or 20GB would be fine for testing. People will likely give it away to you.
You really want to swap out each component, one at a time, to determine which one is causing the problem. It's "Diagnostics 101".

Let me recap my experience with a bad drive on a PS2. I bought a fat PS2, Free McBoot, NA, 40GB hard drive from a forum member. It came preloaded with 4-5 games. HD Loader came up fine and displayed the games. When I tried to play it, it would black screen.

The seller had no trouble with the games. I tried putting some other of my games on the drive, same issue.

I posted about my issues in this thread: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 0&p=192159

It's hard to believe that it was 7-8 months ago as I thought it happened awhile ago. Apparently I had used WinHiip to extract the games off the hard drive and it encountered errors. Then I did the low level format where I saw lots of bad sectors.

So I suggest trying chkdsk /f, using winhiip to read the games off the drive, and trying to find another cheap/free drive to test. A hard drive has moving parts and it's the mostly likely culprit to fail.

[CRTGAMER]

A check electrical connections? Any pins bent in the Network Adaptor to PS2 connecter? Does the hard drive fit all the way in? Network adaptor screws not too tight but snugged down?

[Ducky]

CRTGAMER, once I read your post I double checked everything and couldn't see anything wrong with the pins. I plugged everything in and it worked! It then later froze. I'm now lead to believe that perhaps the HDD isn't fully connected in. I discovered that there seems to be some rattling so perhaps I need to put something at the end of the expansion bay so it has less room to rattle around.

I'll have to do some investigating, but I feel incredibly embarrassed right now! To think I had plugged it in so many times!

I will post back with my results afterwards.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

The best advice for connecting the Network Adapter and HDD's to prevent errors like this is to push hard for a bit to make sure all that stays connected and such. Don't worry about damaging the drive and adapter unless you plan on bending them to the side as you connect them.

[CRTGAMER]

CRTGAMER, once I read your post I double checked everything and couldn't see anything wrong with the pins. I plugged everything in and it worked! It then later froze. I'm now lead to believe that perhaps the HDD isn't fully connected in. I discovered that there seems to be some rattling so perhaps I need to put something at the end of the expansion bay so it has less room to rattle around.

I'll have to do some investigating, but I feel incredibly embarrassed right now! To think I had plugged it in so many times!

I will post back with my results afterwards.

Hope it works out. Modman's hard shove a good idea, seating the drive.

Do you leave the PS2 flat like a desktop? Sitting tall like a tower, maybe that drive shifting if there is space between drive and back of bay. Tower mode risky of console tipping over too.

[Ducky]

Well, I found an old debit card and that filled up the space perfectly. Turns out there was just enough room for the HDD to rattle about in. I suppose it was always going to come to credit cards, but not in the way I expected! I'm both thankful for that being all that was the matter with it, but embarrassed that I caused such a hassle! I hope I haven't pissed off too many of you because it was such a simple solution!

Yeah, CRTGAMER, I have all my consoles sitting horizontally. I'm too afraid they'll tip over and scratch the discs.

Ah well, thanks for your help everybody! I'm off to catch up on a decade of gaming!

[gtmtnbiker]

Glad to hear that you found a solution to your problem. That's always a good feeling.

So which connection was exactly the problem? The NA to PS2? Or the NA to the hard drive?

[Ducky]

To be honest I have no idea. I don't know how I'd check, sorry. My guess would be the IDE connector I suppose.

Yeah, I felt really silly not long after feeling relieved!