Functionality
The Swap Magic disc allows the user to boot into software which allows the system to read discs that it would normally refuse because of the lack of a burst cutting area on discs that have been burned with an ordinary DVD drive, as opposed to regular retail discs which are stamped or pressed en masse. The user then removes the disc (after installing small modifications to prevent the system from detecting the drive being opened) and replaces it with another disc which can then be started. The software also allows other homebrew software to be run from a memory card or USB flash drive.
Swap Magic and most other non-Sony-made PlayStation 2 bootable discs use a method of "growing" and "splicing" stampers from original PlayStation 2 discs, a method of growing a stamper from an original game disc and joining a new stamper with the program data on to it; in essence, the resulting discs contain a portion of an original disc.
Datel, the first company outside Sony to make a bootable PlayStation 2 disc, researched the protection and produced their own discs with protection in their on-site mastering facility.
Read more about this topic: Swap Magic