Years ago I bought a old PS2 from a pawnshop with a controller and hookups for $45, obviously I took the deal and bought it. Though I then soon realized why it was so cheap as the disc laser was absolutely horrendously bad. The laser worked, though it took forever to load a game (roughly 8-10 minutes, even after cleaning with glass cleaner) and so I didn't touch it for awhile. Later I found out about a PS2 softmod called FMCB (Free Memory Card Boot) which is a memory card exploit that makes you able to load homebrew programs. I installed it after buying a SwapMagic as that was the only available way I could install it. It was good as I could run Emulators and even a file manager for my system, though it wouldn't be of much use until I dug deeper. The version of PS2 I have is one of the first ones to come out known as the FAT model, these models had an accessory known as the PS2 Network Adapter. Though nowadays it is pretty much useless in the Network side of things, accept for another use. The network adapter also has the ability to attach an IDE Hard Drive to it where it can then be read from the PS2, I dug deeper and figured out that it was possible to boot PS2 Games from a IDE Hard Drive. So I invested into these...

 

On the left is the PS2 Network Adapter, in the center is a 250GB IDE Hard Drive by Maxtor, and to the right is an IDE to USB adapter.


I first connected the Hard Drive to the PS2 with the Network Adapter and formatted it in the file manager homebrew to a format that PS2 uses, I then took it out and converted the drive into a USB to be read from the computer, I then used a program called Imgburn to rip all my games into the ISO format to which I used a program called WinHIIP to install my ISO files to the drive. After that it was a matter unhooking and then putting into the PS2 and running a homebrew that allows HDD booting and well......this video will tell you the results.



Advantages to running games off a HDD include loading times that are about 10x faster than using it on a disc (even with a good disc laser) which means I never have to deal with my cruddy laser ever again. It required a bit of money but now I can enjoy my games at the fastest speeds possible on my PS2.

It's possible for you to do it too, though you will need a FAT model of PS2 as the slim models do not have the Expansion Bay where the Network Adapter is hooked into as well as find a way to install FMCB as well as buying all the required tools (PS2 Network Adapter, IDE Hard Drive, IDE to USB converter) but if your willing to invest it into getting some great load times then I highly suggest you do it.


Hope this helps some people get their old PS2's back in working condition if they are willing to spend the money.