+--------------------------------------------------------------+
||                                                             ||
||  HOW TO DEFEAT THE PLAYSTATION GEOGRAPHICAL PROTECTION      ||
||          Mini FAQ --- Version 2.25 --- April 1996           ||
||               (c) Copyright John Muir 1996                  ||
|| Beware of cheap imitations : Get the ORIGINAL and the best! ||
|| Latest version at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/4943 ||
||                                                             ||
+--------------------------------------------------------------+


 ================================================================


  Copyright and Usage Conditions:

   Anyone who wishes to post this MFAQ on a Web page or some 
   other Internet or non Internet resource may do so providing 
   the MFAQ is left in its ORIGINAL form and the work is not 
   credited as your own.  I reserve the right to deny permission 
   for ANY commercial use of this MFAQ whether that is in 
   printed or digital form.  Please remove ALL versions before 
   2.22 as they are now outdated.

  Disclaimer:

   I cannot be held for responsible for any damage caused through
   direct or indirect use of the instructions detailed within 
   this MFAQ.Got that doofus5@aol.com and beavis12@ix.netcom.com?


 ================================================================


 > Why does this MFAQ exist?
  
   Sony, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that you should only
   be able to play officially released games for your area.  
   European games in Europe, Japanese games in Japan and so on.  
   This MFAQ is for people who wish to play "foreign" or "import"
   games.

 > What? You mean I can't run Dragon Ball Z in my American 
   machine!?
  
   I'm afraid not.  Try booting ANY Japanese CD in your US 
   machine and it won't work.  You will get a message stating 
   this is not a suitable CD for your machine.  Needless to say,
   this also applies to all other possible combination of 
   machines and software.

 > Is the situation hopeless? Will I never be able to play 
   "imports"?
  
   Not at all.  Datel UK *hope* to have a commercial adaptor 
   ready soon which will plug into the I/O slot at the back of 
   your machine, this will remove the regional boot-up protection
   and allow you to use ANY title on ANY machine without 
   reverting to any form of trick or kludge. Check their Web page
   (there is a link to it at my URL above) for any news.
    
   Also, certain less-than-scrupulous dealers now have blue 
   PlayStation development ROMs which allow you boot ANY game 
   without the need for a boot CD (including pirate copies.)  
   I have been quoted a price of 50 UKP (US $75) plus shipping 
   for this ROM so I think I will stick with the humble swap 
   trick for now (any warranty you have will also be invalidated 
   by this procedure, obviously.)  
   
   NB: Remember that ANY company offering these blue PlayStation
   ROMs could  well be subject to a law suit from Sony which 
   would negate any warranty you many have been given by them as 
   they would be too busy staying out of jail to fix your
   machine.  How this ROM swap would affect your machine with 
   regard to running games in the future is unclear as I have 
   been told that a simple check can detect the blue ROMs and 
   prevent software from running.

   Another modification exists which involves the fitting of a 
   small daughterboard inside your PlayStation but details are 
   sketchy at the present time.  However, as far as I can 
   ascertain this mod is legal.

 > But I want to play imports NOW!
     
   OK, since you asked here is how you can play most (if not all) 
   foreign CDs on your machine.
									  

 ================================================================
  
  Please check the table below to determine what Swap Method is 
  best for your particular machine.  NB: the Double method will 
  work on ALL models of the PlayStation but is NOT very easy to
  do so I have only listed it if your machine ONLY supports this 
  method and no other.

  Model Number                  Country of Origin    Swap Trick?

  ---------------------------------------------------------------

  SCPH-1000 [Initial batch]           JAPAN          Yes, all
  SCPH-1000 [Second batch]            JAPAN          Yes, black
  SCPH-3000 [Initial batch]           JAPAN          Yes, black
  SCPH-3000 [Second batch]            JAPAN          Yes, double
  SCPH-1001 [Initial batch]           USA            Yes, all
  SCPH-1001 [S/N 592xxx or higher] *  USA            Yes, double
  SCPH-1002 [Initial batch]           PAL            Yes, all
  SCPH-1002 [Second batch]            PAL            Yes, double
  SCPH-2000 [Development machine]     N/A            N/A

  *S/N = serial number, importantly linked to date of manufacture

  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 ================================================================
  
  
  There are five methods which allow you to use almost ANY 
  PlayStation CD in ANY PlayStation, regardless of origin.  
  I have yet to hear of any hardware damage using these methods 
  although this doesn't mean that it hasn't happened.  
  Please understand NOT all PlayStations are created the same.

  The five methods are detailed below (one very easy, three quite
  easy and one difficult.)  Various terms are used below, please 
  be sure you know exactly what they mean before attempting any 
  of the swap methods:


  LOCAL:  
  
  A CD which is intended for your region, most likely bought at 
  a local store.  The pack-in demo CD is a "local" disc.

  FOREIGN:  

  Any CD which contains territory information other than that of
  the host machine.  Japanese, European and Australian CDs are 
  all foreign if you have a US machine.

  NTSC and PAL:

  It is important to note that running a PAL (Australia, Europe)
  on your NTSC machine (US, Japan) or vice versa can cause 
  display problems. Take this into consideration when 
  buying/using imports. See below for possible solutions.
  
  ROM:

  The Read Only Memory section of your PlayStation where the 
  different country protection routines are stored.

  AUDIO MENU:

  Designed for listening to audio CDs or the audio tracks stored 
  on PS CD-ROMs but also provides a handy backdoor for swap 
  trick-ers.

  LID SENSOR:

  A small button shaped object located near the CD tray at the 
  rear on the right hand side.  Indicates to the PlayStation 
  whether the lid is open or closed and essential for any swap 
  trick.

  BLACK and WHITE SCREENS:

  The White screen is the initial screen that appears on bootup 
  and the Black screen is the first thing to appear when you boot
  a valid CD-ROM. 


 ================================================================


  METHOD ONE:  The Audio Menu [Safe and very easy]
  ------------------------------------------------

  Works on :  Very early Japanese, European and American machines
  Success  :  80%  
  Problems :  Music is often corrupted.  
              The TOC (Table of Contents) from the boot CD is 
              always used which is less than ideal. 
  
  
  o  Power up your PlayStation WITHOUT a game or demo CD in it.

  o  Select the CD Audio menu.

  o  Get a local CD that matches the country of the machine you
     have.  (ie a Japanese game for a Japanese PlayStation etc.)

  o  Find some tape, Blu-Tak or something similar.  
     Several people I know have found the corner from a cornflake
     packet works well .

  o  Open the lid and look at the top right of the bottom 
     section, near where the hinge is.  See the small circle in 
     the groove? Good.  This is the lid sensor.

  o  Insert your local CD.

  o  Put the tape, Blu-Tak or whatever over the sensor and 
     *gently* push it down.  The CD will now spin for a few 
     seconds.

  o  When the CD has finished spinning take it out and replace it
     with the foreign game you wish to play.

  o  Now shut the lid and exit the CD Audio menu. The game should
     now work fine (see above for exceptions.)

  o  When you have finished playing, open the lid and remove the
     tape, Blu-Tak etc from the sensor.  This will stop the CD.


  Notes:

  i    Try and get a local CD with as many tracks on it as you 
       can. The local CD must have at least as many tracks as the
       foreign CD or you won't get all the music.  
       Depending on the boot CD the foreign game may give poor 
       results or even crash.
	
       Unfortunately the number of music tracks is NOT the only 
       deciding factor (the length of the data track is another) 
       and you may find that you are unable to get your foreign 
       game to work satisfactorily with the choice of boot CDs 
       you have.  See the other methods, they may give better 
       results.

  ii   Owners of Japanese SCPH-1000 (later batch), SCPH-3000 
       machines and later European/US models will find that this 
       method does NOT work.  Sony has removed this particular 
       loophole in the latest ROM revision.

  iii  You can ONLY run PAL games on NTSC machines if you have 
       an RGB cable (not s-video, composite or ANYTHING else.)  
       This also applies to NTSC games on a PAL machine.  
       In Europe this problem is easily solved by investing in 
       an import spec RGB/SCART cable as sold for use with 
       Japanese/US PlayStations.  In North America, Australia etc
       you will need to look into the options available to you 
       (an old or expensive monitor, probably.)  I understand a 
       cable for 1084 monitors will shortly be available in 
       the US.


  METHOD TWO:  The OLD Black Method [Fairly safe and easy]
  --------------------------------------------------------

  Works on : All early machines, see above for meaning of "early"
  Success  : 85%  
  Problems : Most games will work albeit sometimes with music 
             glitches or unexpected crashes.


  o  Follow the Audio method with a local CD in your machine. 
     The lid should be up and the lid sensor held down.

  o  When the black PlayStation screen appears (after the white 
     Sony one) QUICKLY lift the original game out and replace 
     with the foreign one. You have a few seconds to do this and
     it soon becomes second nature.

  o  If you must have the music working 100% or have a really 
     stubborn foreign game then try the NEW Black method detailed
     below.


  METHOD THREE:  The NEW Black Method [Fairly safe but tricky]
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  
  Works on :  The same machines that can do the OLD Black trick.
  Success  :  100%  
  Problems :  Not supported by all models.


  o  This method is a variant on the White Audio menu method but
     involves an extra step where you basically "piggy back" the 
     OLD Black method onto the White Audio menu hybrid.

  o  Try and get a local CD with lots of music tracks as this 
     gives you a little extra time to perform the first swap.

  o  Go to the Audio menu and press down the sensor, remove the 
     local CD just before the audio tracks pop up and replace 
     with the foreign CD. The foreign CD's tracks should appear
     and NOT those of the local CD.

  o  Replace the boot CD and exit the CD Audio menu.

  o  At the Black screen, replace the import CD as in the 
     original method.

  Note: 
  
  The territory information that normally appears before the TM 
  at the Black screen will be corrupted, this is normal.
  
  
  METHOD FOUR:  The White Method(s) [Fairly safe but tricky]
  ----------------------------------------------------------

  Works on :  The same very early models that can do the Audio 
              method
  Success  :  100% 
  Problems :  Not supported by all models.


  o  Switch on your machine and count  1..2..3..4 and THEN swap
     discs.  You need to do this *JUST* before the white Sony 
     screen appears.  The timing is tough, you want the PS to 
     read the country code but NOT the TOC so don't expect to 
     get it right every time.

  o  Another variation is to use a hybrid Audio Menu swap trick:
     remove the boot CD and replace it with the "foreign" game 
     just after the original country code is read and before 
     the TOC.  Many people find this method easier then the 
     original White method.  

  Note:

  If you have performed the swap correctly then the import CD 
  audio tracks will be shown NOT those of the local CD.


  METHOD FIVE:  The Double Swap Method [Fairly safe but pretty 
                                        tricky]
  ---------------------------------------------------------------

  Works on :  All PlayStations to date, including the latest 
              models
  Success  :  100%   
  Problems :  Do not kid yourself, this method IS difficult.  
              The end result is well worth it (especially if you 
              have no other options.)
  

 ================================================================

			      I M P O R T A N T

  I can NO LONGER accept any more questions on this method, 
  everything you need to know is here.  Please, please do not 
  e-mail me asking for help.

 ================================================================


  Note:  
  
  1x and 2x refer to the CD motor speed (single speed and double 
  speed), watch a few of your games boot up with the lid open and
  you can easily see and hear the "gear changes".  
  To get full music timing is highly critical otherwise the 
  original TOC is used.
  
  
  o  Insert your local CD.

  o  Remove the local CD when the motor changes to 2x and replace
     it with your foreign CD.

     [If you did this right, you *SHOULD* see the black PS screen
      now.]

  o  Watch and listen to the CD motor. It will slow down and then
     speed back up to 2x.

  o  After a few seconds, the CD motor will slow down again.  
     Replace with your local CD once again.

  o  After another half second or so, the local CD will speed up 
     again. Finally replace your foreign CD.  

+------------------------------------------------------------+
||                                                           ||
||                C R E D I T S                              ||
||                                                           ||
||  Marty Chinn ........ (for the SCPH-1000 and other info)  ||
||  Joe @ Tronix ....... (for the White method)              ||
||  Tony in Hong Kong .. (for the Audio and Black methods)   ||
||  Nelson Fong ........ (for the Double method)             ||
||                                                           ||
+------------------------------------------------------------+

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