Choose HDD exploit
The first goal of this guide is to be able to run a homebrew app called uLaunchELF/wLaunchELF on your PS2. This can be achieved as easily as buying a pre-made Free McBoot memory card and inserting it into the PS2. However, there are other exploit options if you do not have the means of buying a card or instead want go directly to installing Free McBoot (known as Free HDBoot) on your HDD.
Option 1: Using pre-made Free McBoot card
This is the simplest method and recommended for beginner users. Free Memory Card Boot, known as Free McBoot or FMCB, memory cards are fairly cheap and easy to find online and will enable easy and proper formatting of the drive on the PS2.
Free McBoot memory card
Using a Free McBoot memory card as an exploit is safe, easy, and requires no permanent modifications. When a PS2 turns on with a FMCB memory card inserted, it will automatically use the exploit and allow running homebrew apps including OPL (which can play game backups) without any further software modification. Removing the memory card before booting will revert it to stock.
Requirements
- Free McBoot (FMCB) memory card
- Can be purchased online, recommended to only buy official cards
Start here: Format and partition hard drive with FMCB card
Option 2: Install Free HDBoot on drive
This method does not require a pre-made Free McBoot card, but note that it is not guaranteed to work on all internal drive PS2s. In this method, you will flash a temporary boot image to the internal hard drive from PC, format the drive using uLaunchELF, and install Free Harddisk Drive Boot, known as Free HDBoot or FHDB, to the internal hard drive from a USB storage device.
Flashing pre-made images to hard drive
An alternative to flashing a temporary boot image for uLaunchELF is to flash a pre-made ready image to install Free HDBoot or packaged programs known as a "Noobie Package". These disc images are created from drives that may have differing disk geometry from the one you are using, so it is recommended to flash only temporary images (like the one in the following guide) for running uLaunchELF to properly format the drive and install FHDB.
Requirements
- USB storage device formatted to FAT32
- HDD RAW Copy Tool
- wLaunchELF KHN HDD image
Start here: How to properly install Free HDBoot (outside link)
Once you have finished that guide, you can begin installing games.