The operating system of the PlayStation 2 Slim (PS2) can not access a USB hard drive. However, the the PS2 Slim can be modified with a USB Advance program that will enable the operating system to recognize and use the hard drive. The program must be downloaded from a computer and then transferred to the PS2 Slim before it can be installed. Both procedures are straightforward and can be accomplished by a novice to computers or a PS2 Slim.
Update 6-8-09 Re-wrote the whole tutorial. Will expand upon the USB Extreme GUI interface software at a later date. Update 6-12-09 Re-wrote major sections of the tutorial again to make it more clear. Download the Software below (more detailed instructions to follow): Usb Xtreme. Now you will be at the USBExtreme screen.
Download the USB Advance program to the PC’s desktop (see Resources). Double-click on the file to decompress it to a program on the desktop.
Plug a USB flash drive into a USB port on the PC. Wait for the icon of the USB flash drive to appear on the desktop.
Drag the USB Advance program from the desktop onto the icon of the USB flash drive. Wait as a copy progress bar appears, fills in from right to left and then disappears
Right-click on the icon of the USB flash drive. Select “Eject” from the pop-up menu. Remove the USB flash drive from the USB port of the PC.
Plug the USB flash drive’s connector into the USB connection on the PS2 Slim adapter. Plug the PS2 Slim connector on the PS2 Slim adapter into the PS2. Turn the PS2 Slim on.
Navigate from the 'Home' menu to “Settings.” Select “Storage” from beneath “Settings.” Select the icon of the USB flash drive from the list of choices beneath “Storage.” Select the USB Advance program from the list of choices to the right of the icon.
Press the “X” button on the PS2 Slim controller. Select “Install” from the pop-up menu.
Follow the menu commands to install the USB Advance program into the PS2’s operating system. Click the “Reboot now” button on the confirmation window when it appears. Wait for the PS2 Slim to reboot and display the Home menu.
Turn the PS2 Slim off. Remove the USB flash drive from the PS2 adapter. Plug the USB cable attached to the USB hard drive to the PS2 Slim.
Neither Sony nor an authorized service center will perform any repair work on a modified PS2--even if what needs to be done has no relationship to the modification.
There are a number of common issues experienced with SanDisk memory cards and flash drives. We have categorized the usual problems on SanDisk USB flash drives, pen drives, micro SD cards, SDHC cards, and SDXC cards, into two groups corresponding to their solution. These problems can all be solved by either formatting the disk or manually repairing the device from the registry editor. Check which category your problem falls into, then follow the respective guide to get your SanDisk device working again.
When facing SanDisk problems similar to the listed entries in the first category, go ahead and download EaseUS Partition Master, the most recommended SanDisk format tool, for a quick fix. Go to EaseUS’s free partition manager page to learn more details about the software.
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.
Step 2: Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.
Step 3: In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.
Step 4: Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.
For the situations in the second category, simply formatting the disk will likely not be sufficient. Instead, it will require some manual editing of the Registry.
If it's about removing the write protection on a micro SD card, there are three ideas to fix a write-protected SD card, including unlocking the lock switch, toggling the loss lock switch, and changing the lock feature in the mobile device settings.
Since a USB flash drive doesn't have a lock switch, you can only try to fix a write-protected USB drive by deleting its associated registry files. This allows the device to be reinstalled by your computer, which will lift the write protection setting. The method to get this done will be laid out in #2, as it will also solve when a computer does not detect the device at all.
The official SanDisk knowledgebase states that a corrupt registry entry can cause your SanDisk product to not be detected by the computer. Removing the registry keys created upon installation of your SanDisk product will allow the computer to fully reinstall the device and may resolve the issue..
Step 1. Back up the registry
1. Unplug the device from the USB port.
2. Run regedit.
Windows XP: Go to 'Start' > 'Run', type in regedit and then click 'OK'.
Windows 7, 8 and Vista: Click the Start button, type regedit in the search box, and then press Enter.
Window 10: Type regedit, in the 'Search the web and Windows' field (lower-right) and then select 'Regedit - Run Command'.
3. From the registry menu, choose File > Export.
4. Name the file SNDK.reg and save it to your desktop.
If you experience any issues after editing the registry, you can restore this backup by following steps 1 through 3, but choosing File > Import instead. Choose the SNDK.reg file that you backed up, allow it to import, then restart your PC.
Step 2. Remove SanDisk info from the registry
WARNING: DO NOT delete any registry keys other than keys that include VID_0781, the SanDisk device’s keys. Deleting important registry keys can result in booting issues and other system malfunctions.
1. From the registry menu, click 'Edit' and choose 'Find'.
2. Type in VID_0781 and click 'Find' Next.
3. Once the search finishes, right-click the highlighted registry key and select 'delete'.
4. Press the F3 key to find the next registry key that includes VID_0781.
5. Right-click the highlighted registry key and select 'delete'.
6. Repeat this process until the search returns with No results Found.
NOTE: Under Windows 7, 8 and Vista, some registry keys may be protected and cannot be deleted. Simply skip over these keys if you receive a message that the key cannot be deleted.
7. Once all registry keys containing VID_0781 have been deleted, reboot your computer.
8. Plug the device into the computer after it's finished rebooting. The device will be reinstalled.
If you have trouble completing this process, there is another way that you can try to fix a USB flash drive not showing up in another way.