The Tape and Tissue Mod Tutorial -- Modding Your Slimline for Swap Magic Use for Free

I finally got off my lazy butt and cobbled together a makeshift webpage tutorial here ( http://www.geocities.com/pstwoslimline/tapetissue.htm ) with the help of images I liberally "borrowed" from various places (it's tough without a digital camera). The tutorial discusses how to modify the PStwo slimline (v12/v13/v14) for Swap Magic usage. Commercially sold implements like the Magic Keys or Slim tool operate via the same principle -- depressing the two sensor tabs in the PStwo.

If Geocities goes down for some reason or another, here's a text-only version of the tutorial -- though, obviously, having pics makes it a whole lot easier to follow.

[bold]The Tape and Tissue Mod Tutorial for Slimline PS2s[/bold]

Probably the easiest way to "modify" your slimline PS2 (aka, "PStwo") is by using tape and tissue.

You'll have to open up your PStwo and void your warranty, but otherwise, there are no cons to this method -- It's simple, and most importantly, it's free!

The PStwo has two tabs, one in the lower right above the power button (point A), and one in the upper left below the lid hinge (point C). As long as both tabs are depressed, the PStwo will think the lid is closed. This is necessary for swapping out backups/homebrew apps with the Swap Magic discs.

http://img438.imageshack.us/img438/2033/abc2lb.jpg

Point A is externally accessible through the hole which a lid tab usually goes through.

Point C can only be easily accessed by opening the PStwo case.
The very first thing you'll have to do is remove the PStwo case by unscrewing the six screws on the bottom. If you've got a v13 or v14 slimline, the warranty sticker will be covering one of these screws; you'll have to remove it.

1) The very first thing you'll have to do is remove the PStwo case by unscrewing the six screws on the bottom. If you've got a v13 or v14 slimline, the warranty sticker will be covering one of these screws; you'll have to remove it. A word of caution: be careful and don't use brute force when taking off the cover, or you might damage the power ribbon.

2) Tape down the sensor tab at point C with duct tape or another heavy adhesive material. Don't be afraid to use more than one layer. http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6899/farswitch3ko.jpg

3) Put your PStwo cover back on. Now we'll deal with the second of the two sensor tabs.

4) You can roll a square of tissue about 1cm X 1cm into a tissue ball.

5) Push the ball into the sensor hole at point A.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1566/tissue1hm.jpg

6) Use your Swap Magic discs and enjoy.

All backups, CD or DVD, should work fine if you have the Swap Magic 3.3/3.6 set. There is a small handful of games (roughly 3-4%) which may not work with a straight swap, however. A compatibility list and solutions for "problem games" can be found here ( http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/176791 ).

Swap Magic 2.0 users should look to this site ( http://www.swapmagicfix.com/ ) for compatibility issues.