Sony PSP

I recently got a used PSP to try some homebrew applications.

Homebrew by exploit

To enable homebrew you have to downgrade from the official firmware using some kind of an exploit. There are different kinds of exploits depending on what firmware version you are going from.

This method is using the Grand Theft Auto Libery City Stories exploit to execute the 2.60 to 1.50 downgrader. From that point it's possible to upgrade to a new custom made hacked firmware, in this case the latest M33 3.52 firmware.

Downgrade

1. Download Downdater Auto Final for 2.50/2.60.
2. Put DOWNDATER FINAL AUTO EBOOT in the /PSP/GAME/ folder on the Memory Stick
3. Download DOWNDATER.rar (sear for it). It contains the already extracted 1.50 firmware files needed. Normally done using Downhelper on a 1.50 machine, but since that's hard to find another PSP with 1.50 get that rar archive.
4. Download eLoader 0.9.9.5 or newer zip or installer.
5. Install the eLoader files into /PSP/GAME/. This includes the GTA exploit.
6. Insert the GTA UMD and run the game
7. Wait for the eLoader menu system to load and execut the Downdater Final Auto from the list.
8. The screen will be black but the Memory Stick light will flash. This means the flashing proceedure is running. Leave it alone for a few minutes untill it asks you to reboot.
9. At the first startup a message about corrupted config will be displayed, press O.
10. The PSP is now running 1.50 and able to execute all homebrew applications located in the Memory Stick directly.

Custom Firmware

1. Download the M33 3.52 firmware pack
2. Put kxploitpatcher and kxploitpatcher& into the /PSP/GAME/ folder
3. Go to the Memory Stick PSP menu and run the KXploit Patcher to not require the spesial %-folder to launch an application
4. Download the official 1.50 and 3.52 PSP firmware and rename them to 150.PBP and 352.PBP respectively, put them in the M33CREATOR folder
5. Copy the M33CREATOR folder to the /PSP/GAME directory
6. From the Memory Stick menu, launch the 3.52 M33 CREATOR application. It will exit back into the menu after it's finished writing the new files.
7. Again from the Memory Stick menu, launch 3.52 M33UPDATE this time.
8. The PSP will now be flashed to M33 3.52.

Homebrew by Pandora

Pandora is now the universal downgrade method for almost every PSP. It enables a service mode that will allow writing to the flash, and thus allow for homebrew to be enabled. This works for all fat PSPs and slim PSP with version 3.60. It requires a spare PSP Battery and a Memory Stick Pro Duo 512 MB or larger card.

The Battery and Memory Stick can only be prepared on a fat PSP, and not yet on a Slim.

Setup Pandora

1. Download the Pandora Battery v1 package and Update 1.50. For slim support down load M33 Slim Custom Firmware and Update 3.40 and 3.50.
2. Connect the Memory Stick and format it using the mspformat tool. Open a command prompt, cmd and execute "mspformat.exe g", where g is the drive letter. Eject the Memory Stick and reboot the PSP.
3. On the Memory Stick, create a new folder PSP and a subfolder named GAME.
4. From the Pandora package, extract "pandora_battery", "pandora_battery%", "pbfirm_install" and "pbfirm_install%" into the GAME folder.
5. For Slim support, copy "pandora_slim" and "pandora_slim%" to the same folder.
6. Extract the 1.50 update and rename it to UPDATE.PBP. Move it to the root of the Memory Stick.
7. For Slim, extract the 3.40 and 3.50 update and rename them to 340.PBP and 350.PBP respectively. Move them to the "pandora_slim" folder.

Configure Memory Stick

1. Now in XMB on the PSP, run the "Pandora's Battery Firm. Installer" application to create the necessary Memory Stick files to interface with the patched Battery.
2. Connect to USB and backup the "kb" folder. This folder is used to downgrade a fat PSP and will be updated next to make it support the Slim. Move it back to support the fat PSP again.
3. To configure the Memory Stick, copy "msipl.bin" from the root into the "msinst" folder in the Pandora Battery folder.
4. In a command prompt execute "msinst.exe g msipl.bin" and click Yes. This will install the IPL (Initial Program Load) code to the Memory Stick.
5. Now to make the Memory Stick setup Slim compatible, execute the ""Pandora Ext. for Slim 3.60 M33 Installer" application.
6. This will update the "kb" folder. Make a new backup of it named "kb-slim" if you want to switch between fat and slim downgrading.

Configure Battery

1. To configure the Battery, execut the "Pandora Ext. for Slim 3.60 M33 Installer" application.
2. Create a backup of the Battery EEPROM by pressing the triangle-button. Use the other function mentioned to restore the Battery later on.
3. Press X to update the EEPROM. The battery is now Pandora ready.

Downgrade

1. Now, insert the Memory Stick and Battery into the stock PSP and power it on.
2. A short menu will appear with a few options. Press X to begin the downgrading to a new M33 firmware.
3. On the Slim, the screen will be black because of missing screen driver, but the options will still work. Press X to downgrade the Slim to M33 3.60.
4. Remove the Pandora Memory Stick and Battery, and insert a normal Memory Stick and Battery.
5. A installation log will be saved on the Pandora Memory Stick for reference.

On M33 3.71 and later it's now possible again to skip the battery level test by holding the left-trigger and triangle while the updater is loading.

Universal Pandora

There is now a Universal Unbricker package that creates the Pandora + Memory Stick and copies all the required files.

• Univeral Unbricker Guide

Select option 1 for 'Pandora Battery' and after the format, pick option 4 for 'Universal Unbricker (Fat and Slim)'. It will install 3.71 (as of writing) and download the latest GEN or M33 update to upgrade to the latest firmware. Works on Fat and Slim

PSP Pandora Deluxe

This is a complete configurational installer to copy all the necessary files to the Memory Stick in order to patch the Memory Stick and create a Pandora battery.

• PSP Pandora Deluxe

Latest Firmware

To update to the latest homebrew enabled homebrew, look at sites like psp-vault.com and psp.qj.net. Currently the most popular firmware is released from the M33 team.

Follow the update instructions for update. A major update might require a Sony PSP Update file while other incremental updates just require a previous hacked firmware version.

PSP-200x TA-088v3 and PSP-300x

The newest PSP-200x models with the TA-088v3 motherboards and PSP-300x series cannot be fully flashed because the IPL cannot be patched at boot anymore, and has yet to be decrypted.

• Dark_Alex Wiki Motherboards

To enable custom firmware on these models, a two step process has to be performed. First enable homebrew support by exploiting an TIFF vulnerability and second to flash the M33 custom firmware files to flash0:/ using CFWEnabler.

This exploit only works on the official v5.03 PSP firmware.

1. Find a small Memory Stick Pro Duo memory card (M2 works too) and format the card on the PSP, this will create the necessary file structure
2. Download the latest ChickHEN release (as of writing R2) and extract the files
3. Put the /SLIM/ChickHEN/ directory on to the Memory Stick under /PSP/PHOTO/, create the PHOTO directory if it doesn't exist
4. Put the h.bin file in the root of the Memory Stick
5. Now CFWEnabler, download the latest version and simple put the CFWEnabler folder under /PSP/GAME/
6. Download the v5.03 firmware and put the EBOOT.PBP under /PSP/GAME/UPDATE/ and update the PSP
7. Now, go to the Photo menu and scroll down to "Memory Stick" and press X
8. Wait a few seconds for the picture of the egg is displayed in the small rectangle and at once press X again
9. Let it do its ting, don't touch any buttons. The 4 GIF images will now load and at the end the TIFF exploit will execute.
10. If the exploit executed successfully, a green screen will flash briefly and the PSP will automatically reboot. Homebrew is now enable!
11. If only a black screen appears and the PSP shuts down after a while, turn on the PSP and try again.
12. Next, go to the Game menu and down to Memory Stick, select CFWEnabler and press X
13. Wait for it to load and a menu with "Flash and Start" should appear on the right, select it to flash the require files and start the custom firmware.
14. M33 custom firmware is now loaded and ready to be used! Check under System Information to verify that the CFW is loaded.

Remeber that once the PSP is shutdown, the homebrew and custom firmware will be cleared from the memory (RAM). To enable CFW, execute the ChickHEN exploit and start CFWEnabler, then simply select "Start" to load the CFW files.

If you get an "Error writing" message, try to use the official ChickHEN R2 official not the modified version.

• Guide to run ChickHEN on PSP-3000 and TA-088v3

GPS

The PSP is capable to use as a navigation unit via GPS and there's even a Sony PSP GPS adapter.

Sony PSP-290

This adapter is the official GPS adapter for the PSP and is only sold in Japan. But thanks to eBay it's pretty easy to get hold of one. With the latest PRX files it works fine in Norway.

MapThis

MapThis is a homebrew application used as to interface the GPS data to maps.

• Download MapThis

Maps

Since MapThis doesn't come with any maps, you have to download the maps using a special GMDL (Google Map Download) application.

• Download GMDL
• How to turn your PSP into a GPS Navigation System

Put the final map folder in the MapThis/Maps/ folder.

PRX Files

MapThis requires two prx modules, usbacc.prx and usbgps.prx. These are property of Sony and can not be distributed with MapThis. But these files are standard with all firmware since 2.71. To access the files you need to run one of the oe/m33 firmware editions.

On M33 firmwares hold the R button while powering on the PSP, and you will enter the recovery menu. Connect the USB cable to the computer and select 'Advanced' and 'Mount flash0'. The flash will be mounted and you can find the files in ms0:/nodule/.

Put the prx files in the same directory as the MapThis PBP file.

References

• Install M33 On Slim
• QJ PSP Download Archive
• Sony PSP Updates
• PSP Downgrading, Firmware Exploits & Launchers
• Firmware compatibility chart
• List of Guides, Downloads and Information
• How to put 3.71-m33-3 on ANY PSP (Fat or Slim)
• GUIDE: Universal Unbricker V3 Using FAT 1.50 or FAT/SLIM custom firmware PSP
• GUIDE: Universal Unbricker V3 Using Official Firmware FAT/SLIM PSP
• GUIDE: Clarification for the TA-088 motherboards