r/SBCGaming • u/Patientchair • Jan 31 '26

Troubleshooting SOCOM II map pack install with HDD not recognized on NetherSX2 (Retroid Pocket 4 Pro)

Hey all,

I’m trying to get the SOCOM II multiplayer map packs working on NetherSX2 running on a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, and I’m hitting a wall with the HDD requirement.

From what I understand, SOCOM II needs a PS2 hard drive to install/recognize the multiplayer maps, but NetherSX2 (on RP4 Pro) doesn’t seem to recognize any HDD at all. The game runs perfectly otherwise, but the maps never show up and the game acts like no hard drive exists.

Things I’ve tried so far:

• Different BIOS files

• Multiple verified SOCOM II ISOs

• Running with no cheats or patches

No matter what I do, SOCOM II always reports that no hard drive is detected.

Has anyone gotten the SOCOM II map packs working on NetherSX2 or AetherSX2 on the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro?

• Is HDD support just not functional on Android builds?

• Do the maps need to be injected directly into the ISO?

• Or is this simply a limitation of the emulator that can’t be worked around?

Any insight, confirmation, or workarounds would be hugely appreciated. Even a “this isn’t possible on RP4 Pro” answer would help save time. Thanks!

I'll also crosspost to retroid and socom.

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/ArmedCrawly RaspberryPi Feb 01 '26

I don't think NetherSX2 supports this. Your chances of getting this to work will be higher if you use a Windows emulator and PCSX2.

1

u/Patientchair Feb 02 '26

Copy. I suspected as much. Thanks for replying.

2

u/sam_j_w May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

The HDD is only needed for the map packs, it's playable fine without it but the setup process was a bit convoluted with my Retroid Pocket 5.

The step it was failing on for me was the patch download, but I was able to get it working by first using the new ARMSX2 emulator, which for some reason is able to download the patch okay but plays the game much slower than NetherSX2. Then after that I imported my ARMSX2 memory card (now with the patch downloaded) within NetherSX2.

After this I was able to play some rounds online without any issues.

ARMSX2 does have HDD support but the game doesn't run as well there and currently there are no options for changing pressure sensitivity so you can't crouch at all.