PS2 Backups with ESR

It's possible to make and play backup copies of PS2 games. Making the backup is straightforward, however to play them they need to be patched and then launched via a homebrew application called ESR. The way it works is that ESR makes use of the lack of

Prerequisites

Install/Update ESR

Note: You need need a working FMCB installation for that

Install esrtool

• clone repos, compile and install

git clone https://github.com/wolfmankurd/esrtool
cd esrtool
make
sudo cp esrtool /usr/local/bin

Optional: make a backup from a PS2 DVD

• we use ddrescue to make an image because unlike cat or dd it will retry on errors:

ddrescue /dev/sr0 backup.iso

Done!

Optional: make a backup from a PSX/PS2 CD

• ISO: we use ddrescue to make an image because unlike cat or dd it will retry on errors:

ddrescue /dev/sr0 backup.iso

• BIN/CUE:

cdrdao read-cd --read-raw --read-subchan rw_raw --datafile backup.bin --device /dev/sr0 --driver generic-mmc-raw backup.toc
toc2cue backup.toc backup.cue

Making an ISO is preferred method, in case you already have a BIN/CUE, you can convert it to an ISO with brchunk

bchunk -p backup.bin backup.cue backup.iso

Preparing the backup for ESR

• Patch the ISO:

esrtool p backup.iso

• Burn it to a DVD-R

growisofs -speed=1 -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr0=burnout3.iso