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Creating custom ARMax (Action Replay Max) CD using Updated Codelist
Posted by Reaper-X Jul 19 2006 7:05 am
I’m pretty sure most of you already heard about this cheating devices especially for those who like to cheat on their ps2 game :P (and the most viewed post on my blog is about ps2) … but im not going to talk about how this cheat devices works or something like that, but i’ll give you another tutorial on how to create a customized ARMax CD which always include the latest codelist (instead of using your memory card space to store the updated codelist)
Requirements :
Computer Hardware and Software :
- CD / DVD Writer Hardware : Off course you’ll need this (if you dont own a cd / dvd writer like me .. you can choose other method .. that’s by visiting your friend who has a cd writer and ask them nicely) :P
- CDGen 3 : I already post this on my previous post about Recommended PS2 Tools but just in case you don’t want to open my previous post because of … INSERT YOUR EXCUSE HERE …. just click here to download it
- ARMax Code Manager (Optional) : i’ve already post about this tool in my previous post about the Recommended PS2 Tools so to read about this you should read my previous post (but its not required because im going to put the direct link in this post to download the latest update codelist using your Internet Browsers or Download Manager) … but this tools still worth a download just in case you want to do some more to your ARMax
- CD Burning Software : Well if you own a CD Writer Hardware then you already has it … you can use Nero, Alcohol, and open source / free burning program, etc
Playstation 2 Software Required :
- Action Replay CD : if you dont have this then …. i’ll have to say this … you cant continue to the next step. But if you’re interested on buying this go visit CodeJunkies Site or try to find one on the internet (there’s alot of pirated ARMax floating on the internet, just search for it)
And here’s the guide ;)
- First thing is put the ARMax CD on your Computer CD / DVD Rom drive and copy all of its content into a directory on your computer, for example C:\ARMaxMod
- Now download the updated codelist for ARMax from here :
For USA / NTSC Codelist : NTSC Codelist
For EU / PAL Codelist : PAL CodelistActually you can use them both no matter what ARMax versions you’re using (as long as you’re using a modchip on your PS2). For example my PSTwo is a PAL PSTwo SCPH-70002 (generic modchip not a brand mochip like DMS, Matrix Infinity, etc) but im using NTSC ARMax with PAL Codelist and NTSC Codelist
- After downloading the updated codelist, copy the downloaded codelist into YOUR_COPIED_ARMAX_DIRECTORY_ON_HARDDISK\RES\CODELIST
- And now open the CDGen program and do some drag n drop from the copied ARMax files into CDGen window like this :
- And choose to Save Image on the File Menu or click the IMG Icon and wait untill it finished
- Now Open your CD Burning Program and choose Image Burning. For example if you’re using nero, Open Nero Burning Rom -> Choose Recorder on the toolbar -> Burn Image -> and point to the image created using the CDGen program and burn it …. FINISHED ;) … and sorry i cant show you the screenshot because as i said before i dont own a CD Writer beside i was using my friend CD Writer
Note: If you’re going to use the updated PAL Codelist (if you were using an NTSC versions of ARMax) … do the same steps but rename the EU_CODELIST.BIN into US_CODELIST.BIN and vice versa before copying it into the ARMAX Directory (you’ll need two blank disc to perform these steps)
If there’s something you don’t understand or got other question, post your comments here … cya … and wait for another guide by me :)
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I have a question i have a not mod chipped ps2 slim with Swap Magic 3.6 and i want to use This Armax program to boot USB Pendrive with Media Player and when i burn ARmax to a blank CD and try to boot and that won’t boot up. Can you help me. With a live video tutorial in Skype. My skype name is gordonfreeman41 if you have skype please have because i i’m want to install FreeMc Boot from pendrive but i have to use for that ArMax and i don’t want to swap always Swap magic 3.6 to the burned game i want to copy the games to HDD and then play from that. So if you help write me as soon as possible. Thanks from Hungary Szolnok Bognar Peter
“и то правда”
Я извиняюсь, но, по-моему, Вы допускаете ошибку. Давайте обсудим. Пишите мне в PM.
ok… i just got my answer… it doesent work :( it starts fine but it wont boot the backup games or it will without any codes working :(:(
I have one question..
will it work on a modded playstation?
i ‘ve downloaded several action replay iso images and they boot perfectly fine but the codes dont seem to work. Either the game wont boot or it will boot but the codes seem to have no effect…
hey guys help me where i can get ARMAX elf file?
help me pls
where did you download it from sfe.
where did u download it from thankz
hello it is test. WinRAR provides the full RAR and ZIP file support, can decompress CAB, GZIP, ACE and other archive formats.
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I tried to use this tutorial to make a copy of my own AR MAX CD and I failed..is there a possible way to do this if so, how?
Another question I have is about the img file: which 1 do I save it as .cue, .bin, .iso
additional info: I have for a fact tried to play original and back up PS2 games of all three regions this PS2 of mine (US, Japan, and Eu) and they all work fine!
Do you think an original or burnt copy of AR max will work on my ps2?
Thanks!
also reaper, I have a question…. my PS2 is a Japanese NTSC-J 77006, and it’s modded. Not looking at using a self-made AR cd, will an original AR cd work on my PS2?
I’ve read in various blogs that I simply CAN’t (which is really depressing), but now that I’m here reading your posts, hope has risen :D
So what do you think?
oops sorry, here’s the link of my screen shot of the armax that I downloaded
http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn420/muscleqanda/what_armax_version.jpg
hi reaper! could you send me email. I download an armax.rar file containing the .bin and .cue files, then when I extracted the files of the .bin using isobuster, the files that appeared are much more than those in your screen above.
here:
What version of armax is this? Will your burn strategy work with this one?
# nishant
I believe that you can get the ELF Binary / The required programs to update your ARMax codelist via Pen drive from Codejunkies website … unfortunately, the new codelist will be saved on your ps2 memory card (it takes 3MB space or at least 1.5MB IIRC) :(
# Patrick
I’m not sure on whether AR / GS has been discontinued or not (because i still have a copy of Armax (PAL and NTSC) and Gameshark (GS2 v3 and GS2 v4)). But i’d suggest you to visit their site directly ;)
GS = gameshark.com
AR = codejunkies.com
But since you told me that you lived in Canada, i assuming that you’re using NTSC PS2 machine. And your best bet of course is to buy Codebreaker instead :)
you can read my post about choosing ps2 cheat devices if you want to know more about it
Ah okay, its been a while since ive visited the site. It’s wierd however that I heard that the Gamesharks are all discontinued with the Action Replay too! Im not really sure where to look because blockbuster claims that they do not sell them and apparently the same with EBgames. Also, im in Canada so If anyone knows anything, that would be appreciated.
can use a normal pen drive instead of max drive to update codelist
Hi, great post with lots of interesting information ;) !
But I have a problem, most of my games are NTSC and all of a sudden, DATEL’s download for the NTSC codelist stoped working for good T__T…
Could anyone please upload or send me the latest NTSC codelist you guys have :D?
My Email is phillipds@gmail.com
Thanks in Advanced!!!
Hi there, i have a ps2 v8 with a duo3 mod chip, i cannot get the updated armax cd to work, i load my codes insert the game then it goes to the browser screen or it says to insert a ps2 formaat disc , any help would be much appreciated.
cheers,
Foenix
BTW I need help…. I dont know where to download the ARMax in CD, I always download that in DVD but I alrdy wasted 6 DVD cuz my ps2 cant read it, is like something is stuck in my pc….. Maybe I need the CD version =D.
Hey, CrysisX! where can I find that app.
Hi.
Good design, who make it?
hello?
Hi,
My Pcsx2 won’t start because it keep saying that the system.cnf is not found. I downloaded a copy of the system.cnf, but I don’t know what to do now. Please help.
hey guys
take a look http://www.ultimate-cheatz.de/codebase/ECB-Extras/ARSAVEBUILDER_B01.JPG
Hi
I have burnt ARMAX on a DVD-R and when i try to run it on my ps2 it recognises the disk as Playstation 2 Disk but then nothing happens. I cant get it to load?
Like, when i click on the Disk icon on the PS2 browser nothing happens… hope you know what i am trying to say. Please help me.
Does the ps2 original support cd-rw because I tried it and it didn’t work.
you can use the dummy creator to help you with dummy file creation ;) take a look at my ps2 tools post
i cant copy the dummy file from ARMa evo cd.. pls help..
Standard ArMax ? do you mean Original ArMax CD? if you’re talking about Original Armax, as long as you have modchip (i dont know much about swapmagic because i have modchip installed) you can run home made ps2 cd’s without problem
do u know how to play burnt ps2 games with a standard action replay max
Hello Reaper-X :)
Nice guide..
But i have a problem..
I have a Ps2 PAL and swap magic 3.6 PAL, and i have made my copy of Action Max Replay work ok with it.. I use the NTSC version of Max, and i updated the codes and it works great with NTSC games..
But now i wanted to make this version just load codes for pal games..
The problem is if i replace the original US CODELIST with the EU_CODELIST and rename it to US CODELIST, when using action replay and checking the code list its empty..
Am i doing something wrong or it’s impossible to make the NTSC version of Action replay use pal codes on pal games ( with swap magic i can’t chose region on action replay menu, it’s NTSC by default), so i thought well let’s just trade the files and rename them to fool the system, but it seems it doesn’t work…
Thanks for your time :)
Thanks DigitalFox, actually the downside of using NTSC Armax ELF, to use both codelist (US & PAL) is that you can’t save your armax configuration in your memory card
The best solution to overcome this is, of course getting the ARMAX PAL ELF, and burn 2 cds
the first cd is using ARMAX US NTSC elf file, while the second cd use the ARMAX PAL elf file ;)
I need some help…I’m tryin ta find a free action replay max evo download for PS2 and i cant find 1…can you mail me a link or something where i can find it?…im poor and aint tryin ta pay… Also i aint really no kind of computer wizz and all of the stuff you people are talkin here is all jive to me…maybe ya could send me step by step instructions in english?
hey i really appreciate it mane.
Hi!!
I have the NTSC version of AR and i want the PAL codes. Ive read the help to do this but theres a few problems. In your guide you say:
“Note: If you’re going to use the updated PAL Codelist (if you were using an NTSC versions of ARMax) … do the same steps but rename the EU_CODELIST.BIN into US_CODELIST.BIN and vice versa before copying it into the ARMAX Directory (you’ll need two blank disc to perform these steps)”
So you rename codelist_eu.bin to US_CODELIST.BIN and replace the existing one in the AR directory. This is where it starts to get a bit confusing. You use vice versa which means you also need to rename codelist_us.bin to EU_CODELIST.BIN and copy it over, correct? This is very confusing…
Now why is this is so confusing? I found this *other* guide, on the same subject…
Anyway it says this:
“Rename “codelist_us.bin” TO “US_CODELIST.BIN”. (Rename “codelist_eu.bin” to “EU_CODELIST.BIN” if you’re making a PAL Updated AR Max Evo Disc, which should be done seperately. DO NOT UPDATE BOTH OF THE CODELISTS. Just update the US codelist if you wanna make an updated disc that has NTSC games. If you want an updated disc with PAL games, then leave the original US codelist INTACT and overwrite the EU codelist. This is because if you update both the codelists and boot the disc on your modded ps2, the codelists won’t load.”
It clearly says to *NOT* update both codelists and just to update 1 of the codelists (for which version you want to use). It also mentions nothing about replacing names on EU and US codelists.
So yes.. how is it done lol?
first of all im sorry if you often see this site not responding because im planning to upgrade my current hosting plan
but to answer your question :
i assume you were using US Armax CD, and planning on updating the codelist from NTSC / US Codelist. that means all you have to do is just download the NTSC Codelist and overwrite the original codelist
but, if you were using US ARMAX CD, and want to upgrade it to use PAL Codelist, then you need to download the EU Codelist, and rename it to US_CODELIST and then overwrite the original US CODELIST
this is done because the US ARMAX CD / the ELF Binary itself are going to use the US_CODELIST instead of the EU_CODELIST
Well the thing is your “laser” gets worn out eventually. This happend to me a long time ago on PSX, making it harder and harder to play games on it.
Ive heard a couple of stories on the net where ppl’s ps2 broke down for various reasons. Ive also read countless of stories where unmodified ps2 brakes down aswell.
Tho ive read far far more stories about the success on using various things. Sometimes i just wonder if its shit behind the keyboard or just lousy quality on ppl’s consoles.
I have done proccess withou big.dat when i run cd on ps2 slim screen comes red any sulotion to this. actually i have amrax orignal cd but dam cant copy big.dat.
pls help
ah actually you can just simply create it by yourself, or by using dummy file creator (search this site for dummy) :)
Wow, thanks for replying so quick.
never knew you could just convert them :-)
Thanks a lot :-) :-) :-)
here’s a link if anyone came here with similar problems: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/352686
Again, thank you for saving me all the trouble :-) :-) :-)
Hello Markus and welcome to this site :)
and to answer your question, about ps2 broke because of swapmagic im not to sure about it since i havent tried swapmagic before (im using modchip)
but about armax making your ps2 unusable (or dead) im 99.99% sure (dunno about someone else experience) it’s not caused by armax since i have used armax, codebreaker, etc many times (more than you could think of) lol without problem nor making my ps2 console unusable
but the opinion / various story or someone else experiences you’ve heard about using Pirated CD or home burned ps2 game iso can cause problem (to be exact it is shortening your ps2 console life)
here’s a good example
as for converting armax codes into ar codes you can try searching this site for recommended ps2 tools ;)
Hey. Great site btw :-)
suprised i’ve never heard of it before.. ;-)
hey, sry if its a little late, came here by google =)
well, you seem like an expert, and I kinda have a problem I’m unsure about…
I think you won’t be nether, but any light you could shed on this would be great :-)
The thing is, my action replay “max” cd recently broke and I tryed burning a new one to use with swap magic. That didn’t work so i gave up and continued to play my pirate games without cheats, but then my ps2 broke a while after because of what I think now was the “stress” caused by the cd’s r something (I’ve heard that happen to people…)
But what actually happend to me before I knew it was broke was that swap magic din’t work so i grabbed a game to see if the ps2 did and it worked fine *Ridge Racer V was the first game i grabbed to test for some reason) so I thought I’d just broken the swap magic disc so i ordered a new one …
swap magic 3 *coder*
thought it was perfect because it was swap magic and action replay all in one :-)
but, turns out my ps2 was broke indeed broke *but could still load ridge racer for some reason, but nothing else*
And on top of that, the swap magic 3 *coder* turns out to be “action replay” and not “action replay max” so it only contains a very few codes to some older games really (fucking ripoff!!!)
So now that I have my neighbours ps2 I’m Kinda back to square one…
so I was trying to find a way to make “max codes” work on the “regular” action replay when i found this
the last time I tryed I only used DVD decrypter, and a iso dowloaded from Demonoid…
so.. uh…
I’m really wondering if it i’ll work or if its a chance i’m gonna break someone elses ps2 too :-( ????
I mean, can it brake it, and/if what can i do to not break it?
or if it was any way to get “max” codes into the “regular” that you know of..? :-)
*I know this is a really long shot, but its the best chance I have at doing this for free (right?)
Any tips is good really :-)
so…well… Thanks m8 :-) :-) :-) :-)
# Patrick
Actually no of course, you’ll need swapmagic (not tested) or modchip (tested) to boot any home made cd :)
# Ansonii
Hello Ansonii,
Thanks for visiting this site :) … although im sorry that it didnt work for you (or to those who’s not using modchip or havent tried swapmagic)
Well that’s a bummer, oh well. I guess I’ll just have to write those 417 codes by hand. You see for the past few days I have been looking for an alternative way of downloading the codes I want as appose to using a USB Max drive (seeing how I don’t have one and all) . I was even going to try and hook a USB cable from the front of my PS2 to my computer but alas I do not have a USB cord with the same head on both sides. Then I found this awesome tutorial that seemed to not require a mod-chip, but it does (in the modding world I guess that’s just common sense).
Well Reaper-X, thank you for all your help (even though I’m no closer to achieving my goal then when I first found your tutorial) and kudos to you for making such an awesome guide.
P.S. Sorry if I spelt modding wrong.
So wait, a burnt Action Replay will boot with no modifications or swap magic?
And lastly I apologize for having so many questions and being so “uninformed” compared to everyone else.
You dont have to worry about that ;)
When I create the image file in CD Gen 3 (minus the BIG.dat file) I just go with the default name “imagen” but it creates both an Imagen BIN and CUE file and I’m not sure if it’s supposed to do that or which one(s) I should use.
Actually the filename is not a big deal, also both file can be used for the burning process
.bin file = the actual image file (you can use this to burn the image file)
.cue = the cuesheet file, this file contain all the information required for the burning program
but for general usage ( i mean everytime you found a filetype like this from somewhere) :
- If you see the .cue file, use it instead of the other file because it contain information of the image file
- other burning program use other format such as mds (alcohol), ccd (clone cd), etc
I don’t have Nero or Alcohol, or any software to do what is required in this tutorial (the whole image burn thing).
Actually you can use any image burning program as long as its support to burn image file(s)
I have a Action Replay Max (NTSC) and I can’t copy the BIG.dat file from my ARMax CD. I realized that you explained this problem but I (if you haven’t noticed yet) am technologically inept. If someone could rephrase what to do about this it would be greatly appreciated.
well actually its just a dummy file, and that means you can create it too (use dummy creator)
I’m not sure if this matters but I don’t have a mod-chip of any sort in my PS2 (I think the whole point of CD Gen 3 is so I won’t need one).
Unfortunately you cant run home made / burned cd or dvd on your ps2 if you dont have modchip installed :(
Okay, here is my situation:
1) I have a CD/DVD writer (a.k.a. CD Burner).
2) I have CD Gen 3 (I am guessing that’s to format the CD so the PS2 can read it).
3)I have an AR Max code manager.
4)I don’t have Nero or Alcohol, or any software to do what is required in this tutorial (the whole image burn thing).
5)I have a Action Replay Max (NTSC) and I can’t copy the BIG.dat file from my ARMax CD. I realized that you explained this problem but I (if you haven’t noticed yet) am technologically inept. If someone could rephrase what to do about this it would be greatly appreciated.
Some other things I should point out:
When I create the image file in CD Gen 3 (minus the BIG.dat file) I just go with the default name “imagen” but it creates both an Imagen BIN and CUE file and I’m not sure if it’s supposed to do that or which one(s) I should use.
In terms of the burning software I will probably not get any software other than freeware so if someone has an alternative make sure it’s is free (it is doubtful I will even download a trial version of something).
I’m not sure if this matters but I don’t have a mod-chip of any sort in my PS2 (I think the whole point of CD Gen 3 is so I won’t need one).
And lastly I apologize for having so many questions and being so “uninformed” compared to everyone else.
Well actually depend on your burning software you can burn .bin file too (previously bin file used by CDRWin IIRC)
but if you want to create iso file from bin file, you can do it too :) .. here’s the step :
- Create .bin file using CDGEN
- Mount the .bin file into virtual cd rom (you can use Daemon Tools to do this)
- Make ISO file from the mounted drive file
- that’s it, you’re done creating ISO from .bin file :)
Well, I went ahead and combined some of the files from the 2 sources and created yet another coaster.
If I rip the DVD and just replace the US file with the EU file, but keep the US name, how do I get CDGEN to create an ISO out of it?
I thought it only created Bin files.
I used CDGen to try and create a CD version but that failed as well, but it could be due to the Elf files being screwed.
OK, so an ISO out of CDGEN?
Is it possible?
no actually it should work just fine even if you just replacing the US Codelist with EU Codelist (EU codelist name changed of course) and without editing the system.cnf file
i havent tried the dvd method (because i dont have dvd burner hardware), but i think the method is still the same
btw did you use the CDGen first to generate the iso file ? because if you’re not using cdgen to generate the iso file, the burned cd cant be read by the ps2 console
maybe you could post a detailed steps on what you have done so far ?
BOOT2 = cdrom0:\SLUS_200.09;1
VER = 1.00 (American)
VMODE = PAL
Maybe that would work?
What do you think?
Hey Reaper,
Thank’s for getting back so quick.
Yes I am using a modchip.
I think it’s the latest Messiah Chip.
It’s the old style bulky PS2 as well.
The disc I downloaded was an NTSC ARMAX Evo.
I ripped it to my HD and it only had a US codelist and no EU.
I downloaded the EU and renamed it and replaced the US list with it thinking it would work but when I loaded it, the screen flashed blue and then it reset itself.
Since then, I have downloaded the ARMAX Evo CD which has both US & EU codes, but I just want to make a EU DVD and not cd.
I’m figuring I can use the base structure of the NTSC DVD version and just replace it with some of the files from the US/EU cd and then create an ISO and burn in DVDDecrypter.
…I just don’t know which files!
I figure I can import the EU list and keep the name and then maybe replace the SLUS_200.90 file with SLES_500.09. (.90 is NTSC and .09 is PAL, right?)
And then I figure I need to make a change in the System.cnf file, but I’m not sure what it should read as.
Hopefully I’ve given enough details and with luck, you might be able to help me out.
Hello Eden,
Dont worry because there’s no expiry time in here :D
btw are you using modchip in your ps2 console ? because in order to use home made / burned cd, you’ll need to have modchip installed in your ps2 first :(
the other method is using swapdisc but i havent tried this method yet because i already use modchip so there’s no need for me to use swapdisc method