Can anyone tell me how to operate the different modes of messiah 2...such as sleep mode, how to boot dvd originals, cd originals, dvd-r's, cd-r's, and psx games...thanks!

Try this :

BOOTING PS2 ORIGINALS (CD or DVD, DVD9 ALL REGIONS)
• Switch on the PS2 to STANDBY (red light) and press EJECT to open the disk tray
• Insert the game into the disk tray and press EJECT or RESET to close the tray & boot the game
BOOTING PS2 BACKUPS (CD-R or DVD-R ALL REGIONS)
• Switch on the PS2 to STANDBY (red light) and press EJECT to open the disk tray
• Insert the game into the disk tray and press EJECT or RESET to close the tray & boot the game
BOOTING PS1 GAMES (CD or CD-R ALL REGIONS)
• Assuming the PS1 disk to be in the disk tray, put the PS2 into STANDBY mode (red light)
• Hold RESET (until the blue EJECT light comes on) then release RESET. The game will boot.
PLAYING LOCAL REGION DVD MOVIES
• Insert the DVD movie into the disk tray and put the PS2 to STANDBY (red light)
• Hold RESET (until the blue EJECT light comes on) then release RESET.
• If the Browser appears, select the gold disk and press X to complete the movie load.
• Alternatively hold RESET for 5 seconds to turn the Messiah 2 off.

Taken from http://www.cdrom-guide.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=241159