Could do that -- but there's no need, cos there's 2 simple rules:
THE THICK BIT FACES DOWNWARDS. THE HOOK IS ON THE RIGHT.
All the talk about the 'easiness' of the slide card and Swap Magic discs overlooks something, anyway -- if you haven't learnt how to use it by watching a mate, your first hour can be nerve-wracking and panicky, as you slash around inside your console and worry that you're snapping wires and ribbons left right and centre.... and the instructions are really not very good.
OK, Zyg, if it's any help, here's my quick guide so other slide card noobs don't come as close as I did to throwing their PS2 through the window before they finally work out how easy it really is :
HOW TO USE THE SLIDE CARD & SWAP MAGIC FOR THE FIRST TIME - (WHAT THE INSTRUCTIONS DON'T TELL YOU)
1. You cannot play rips of any DVD game with Swap Magic and the slide card, unless you also own a Breaker Pro disc. Some websites bother to mention this, others don't - don't order a 'Slide Card Combo' that doesn't include Breaker Pro (which costs another fifteen or twenty quid...
) unless you want a lot of frustration. Besides, Breaker Pro also functions as a Swap Magic disc for playing PS1 backups, which SM can't handle.
2. The instructions make it sound so simple to remove the screw on the tray. It isn't. Or at least, it wasn't on my Version 5. You need a TINY screwdriver and a lot of patience. This screw, don't forget, wasn't designed to be removed. The more reckless might want to know a secret, though - if you blow a hairdryer on the outer corners of the open disc tray, the front panel will snap away very easily. It means you can't clip the panel back on easily, unless you carefully glue the clips back in place. But it bypasses the process of trying to get the screw out. You end up with the panel off and the screw in as tight as it needs to be. BUT - it's a dumb way to do it unless you're as cavalier as I am.
3. The new Swap Magic CDs - version 3 and above - have a more complex loading process than the DVD, because of that TOC refresh feature that allows you to play CDR DVD-rips with the help of Breaker Pro. The instructions that come with the slide card are still for SM version 2, and so the newer screen can be a little confusing at first.
The first screen is a Swap Magic logo - don't touch anything, just wait. A little later it changes to the options: "Load Program", "Video Mode", then a few smaller options underneath ('Normal Boot' / 'Special Boot'). If you're going to be playing a rip, press 'eject' (DON'T use the slide card yet). The screen now asks for a bigger TOC disc. Put in Breaker Pro and press eject to close the tray. The screen says 'Refresh TOC' for a few seconds ( this isn't a command - it's a badly translated way of saying 'TOC is now being refreshed - please wait'), then goes back to the Swap Magic menu screen (and an unhelpful message saying 'not a valid PS2 disc' - ignore that).
Now change video mode to NTSC, if you're playing a rip of a Japanese-version game (cough cough), and you're in Europe. Otherwise leave it as normal.
4. Make sure you hold the slide card the right way up - no one actually mentions it, but it's easy to make a blunder with this at first (I did). THE THICK BIT IS AT THE BOTTOM. THE HOOK IS ON THE RIGHT. Before you can slide, the card has to go ALL the way in, until the thick part of the card is almost touching the front of the disc tray. You'll feel it go - you have to wiggle it a bit, but once you've found the right place, suddenly the card slips in easily, and when you slide it, the motion is very easy and smooth, although you might have to do it slightly firmer than you think. Pulling out the tray with the card is what you're supposed to do, but there are also some little bits of plastic sticking out the front of the tray, and you can pull it out easily with your fingers using those.
5. The final slide is a bit weird. The trick is - after you've slid to the right, pull the card out slightly towards you, then 'move' rather than 'slide' it an inch or so further to the right, before slipping it back in at a slight angle. This is the only really fiddly bit of the process.... but once you memorize where the hook has to go before you slide back left, it becomes easy. Don't be afraid to wiggle the card a bit - there's not much in this part of the PS2 that's delicate.
6. 'Normal Boot' works fine for most rips, but if you have a problem with a particular disc, try 'Special Boot'. WE8 original worked great for me, but I couldn't load it with the Fernando patch. It worked with 'Special Boot'. No idea what it does.....it's just special
The slide card method really IS as simple as people say, and really does work well. But you seriously have to get used to it first. Then, by the time you've done it five times successfully, you'll be wondering why you ever had any difficulty at all...
_________________________________
That's it, can't stay away from Classicos any longer.....
