About booting games off a HHD using a Matrix Infinity

[lufcfan]

I heard the os/bios on the DMS4 includes a type of HDD loader, does the Matrix Infinity have any way to load games like this or would I have to use some sort of bootdisk?

Yes... Use either Dev1 (load HDL onto your Memory Card) or Dev2 (Load HDL onto your HDD) mode and by holding in a simple button (I believe its Triangle if memory serves correctly) it will boot HDL for you automatically - No Boot Disk required.

How would I get games to work off my PS2's harddrive with a Matrix Infinity?

Simply use the Dev1 or Dev2 modes as above to install HDLoader and go from there.

I remember hearing about games requiring patches to work on the HDD before with HD Loader, but that product went out of production long ago and is probably outdated now, will I still need to patch my games? Is there a list anywhere of what games and how to patch them?

Although officially out of production, HDL is still being developed as a free tool. I believe the latest is v0.8C (was formerly 0.7C before it went out of production).

Will this improve loadtimes? This is the main reason I want to do this.

Oh yes... Muchos faster http://www.fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=62210

What is the maximum size harddrive I can use? Would a 500gig one work?

The sky is the limit with the ATAD Patch enabled in the settings screen (Triangle + Circle held in on boot is used to access these settings).

Would enabling/disabling ATAD support (IIRC this makes the PS2 think an unofficial drive is official) cause any problems?

No problems whatsoever... see above.

How would I get the games on my harddrive? Is there a way I can just put the disk in the ps2 and copy it over to the harddrive? Thats how I do it on my modded Xbox and the program auto-patches any games that need patching as well.

You would HDL to transfer these games across, or alternatively use one of several utilities to transfer from the PC to the PS2 via the Network Adaptor (quicker).

Would there be any way for me to use GameShark, Action Replay, or Codebreaker with games loaded off my harddrive?

I don't believe they copy across, but I could be wrong...

Anything else you think I need to know?

Hmm... Just make sure when you buy your HDD you get one which fits onto the network adaptor and has full functionality. A chart with this info to help you pick the best one can be found here: http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list

Hope that helps...
LUFCfan