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PSP Custom Firmware Thread

spineduke

Unconfirmed Member
Classic_Gs said:
I've hit a wall guys and could use some suggestions. I am trying to rip my UMDs to the memory stick. I have a PSP-1000 using CFW 5.00 M33-3 and I have tried UBSSS100, umddump 2 and PSP filer, and every time I end up with a "the game cannot be started" message. I have also tried switching the mode to UMD Disc via the vsh menu but my PC will just recognize the memory stick and not .iso.


Any ideas?

Try this.

Scroll to the bottom for the downloads.
 

gokieks

Member
Classic_Gs said:
I've hit a wall guys and could use some suggestions. I am trying to rip my UMDs to the memory stick. I have a PSP-1000 using CFW 5.00 M33-3 and I have tried UBSSS100, umddump 2 and PSP filer, and every time I end up with a "the game cannot be started" message. I have also tried switching the mode to UMD Disc via the vsh menu but my PC will just recognize the memory stick and not .iso.


Any ideas?

Make sure the UMD ISO MODE is set to M33 driver or Sony NP9660 to start ISOs - the USB Device setting is what changes whether your PC will detect the UMD or the MS when you connect via USB.
 
gokieks said:
Make sure the UMD ISO MODE is set to M33 driver or Sony NP9660 to start ISOs - the USB Device setting is what changes whether your PC will detect the UMD or the MS when you connect via USB.
I've set the UMD mode to M33 driver, but when I boot the ISO get a black screen. What am I missing?

EDIT:Figured it out, the file extension was too long.
 

-Rogue5-

Member
Damn it, so some games don't work unless you're fully upgraded? I just bought Resistance Retribution but haven't had a chance to play/open it yet -- will it work with 5.00 m33-x?

I wanted to get Rockband Unplugged and Phantasy Star (and Monster Hunter at the end of the month) am I walking into the crack of doom, or what?
 
For some reason when I dump RB:U to my memory stick, it won't load up. The disc works fine in my PSP, but the load times are terrible. All my other dumped games work. Any idea's?
 

Oni Jazar

Member
-Rogue5- said:
Damn it, so some games don't work unless you're fully upgraded? I just bought Resistance Retribution but haven't had a chance to play/open it yet -- will it work with 5.00 m33-x?

I wanted to get Rockband Unplugged and Phantasy Star (and Monster Hunter at the end of the month) am I walking into the crack of doom, or what?

Resistance Retribution works ok.
 
Blu_LED said:
For some reason when I dump RB:U to my memory stick, it won't load up. The disc works fine in my PSP, but the load times are terrible. All my other dumped games work. Any idea's?

try taking everything off the stick, formatting it, then put everything back.

it works fine for me, except the game always crashes when coming out of sleep mode. I've only tried it off the stick, not sure if it's the same from the disc.
 

-Rogue5-

Member
shattyboombatty said:
try taking everything off the stick, formatting it, then put everything back.

it works fine for me, except the game always crashes when coming out of sleep mode. I've only tried it off the stick, not sure if it's the same from the disc.

Don't most games crash coming out of sleep (especially when running off the UMD)? I haven't used sleep since Ridge Racer kept crashing out... although I guess that was years ago and the firmware has gone through dozens of changes.

Oni -- thanks for the heads up.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
The version.txt workaround built into 5.00 M33-x by Dark-Alex can be used to get around the majority of FW-related lockouts and restrictions.

My copy of Class of Heroes (requires 5.03) runs without a hitch on 5.00 M33-6.
The only obvious exemptions that I can think of are those games that specifically require a functionality added in the newer firmware it asks you to update to. Most games don't, and instead enforce an arbitrary restriction that is otherwise easily circumvented with the aforementioned version.txt trick.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
CFW 5.50 Gen-A is out.
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=216394

As announced a few days ago, was finally released by the team at the brand new PSPGEN Custom Firmware 5.50GEN-A, compatible with PSP-1000 and PSP-2000 (excluding those with TA-088v3).
More to follow.

Features - Installation:

Quote:

.: Install:.

It 'must have:
- PSP-1000 or PSP-2000 (no TA-088v3)
- At least CF 3.52M33-4

- Copy the UPDATE folder into PSP / GAME
- Rename the fw 5:50 in SCE.PBP and copy the UPDATE folder
- Start the installer

.: 5:50 Features fw:.
- Under Newtwork Playstation has been added to the Information Board.
- In the Internet browser was added support for web security provided by Trend Micro.
- In the menu bar of Internet Browser was added an icon for Internet search.
- In the menu of game options in the game is now possible to perform an internet search.
- You can now see another layer of folders under Photos, Music & Video.

.: News 5.02GEN compared to CF-A:.
- Including all the functions of fw 5:50
- Reset options removed, and Pandora StandBy
- Removed the plugin classification Bubbletune
- Removed the Slim Colors Patch Bubbletune
- Pops native running fw 5:50
- Launching of ISO / CSO games and PS1
- MAC Address Spoofer kättesaadav Recovery

.: Coming Soon:.
- Popsloader 5.50GEN
- CXMB 5.50GEN
- Add-on 1.50 for PSP-1000
- PSARdumper for fw 5:50
- Update the fw 5:51
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Dark-Alex has openly shot down 5.03 M33, 5.05 M33, and 5.50 M33. The updates were too minor to warrant the effort, according to him.

I'm not hearing amazing things about this 5.50 Gen-A.
So far, no 1.5 kernel patch. No POPSloader. No IRShell. None of Dark-Alex's memory stick optimizations. None of Dark-Alex's PSN access restrictions work-arounds. No CXMB. No IRShell. No shutdown from VSH menu. No game categories plugin. Lots of broken apps/plugins.

Basically, it seems like a melding of official 5.50 firmware and older, more limited M33 functionality (that is, lacking many of the improvements added in 5.00 M33-x).

I'm not going to bother to install this, not as is, anyway. I'm got version-check-breaking workarounds on my current 5.00 M33-6 set up that allows me to freely access the PSN and play the newest demos, PSN releases, PSOne Classic releases, and PSP retail games, even those that require something higher than 5.00.

There's literally no reason for me to adopt a much less compatible and feature-incomplete custom firmware at the moment.
 

sykoex

Lost all credibility.
Mejilan said:
Dark-Alex has openly shot down 5.03 M33, 5.05 M33, and 5.50 M33. The updates were too minor to warrant the effort, according to him.

I'm not hearing amazing things about this 5.50 Gen-A.
So far, no 1.5 kernel patch. No POPSloader. No IRShell. None of Dark-Alex's memory stick optimizations. None of Dark-Alex's PSN access restrictions work-arounds. No CXMB. No IRShell. No shutdown from VSH menu. No game categories plugin. Lots of broken apps/plugins.

Basically, it seems like a melding of official 5.50 firmware and older, more limited M33 functionality (that is, lacking many of the improvements added in 5.00 M33-x).

I'm not going to bother to install this, not as is, anyway. I'm got version-check-breaking workarounds on my current 5.00 M33-6 set up that allows me to freely access the PSN and play the newest demos, PSN releases, PSOne Classic releases, and PSP retail games, even those that require something higher than 5.00.

There's literally no reason for me to adopt a much less compatible and feature-incomplete custom firmware at the moment.
Hey can you go into more detail on this? I did linkboy's version.txt trick and that got FFVII to work, but I still can't play PSN demos.
 
shattyboombatty said:
try taking everything off the stick, formatting it, then put everything back.

it works fine for me, except the game always crashes when coming out of sleep mode. I've only tried it off the stick, not sure if it's the same from the disc.
Just did that, and still nothing. I boot up the game, it goes through the PSP splash screen, and the just locks up into a black screen. No clue why. This is the only game that has done this to me.

And its the only game were the load times are unbearable at some points (at least what I have played)
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
sykoex said:
Hey can you go into more detail on this? I did linkboy's version.txt trick and that got FFVII to work, but I still can't play PSN demos.

What version are you on? I don't know what I did to mine, but I can play PSN demos absolutely fine. I downloaded Monster Hunter and Birdman and works fine, I'm on 5.00 M33-6.

PSN games however need the NPDecrypter to work. That's how I had to get Patapon 2 working.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
sykoex said:
Hey can you go into more detail on this? I did linkboy's version.txt trick and that got FFVII to work, but I still can't play PSN demos.

For recent PSP demos and/or purchased PSP downloaded games, you can use NPDecryptor to strip out their DRM and convert them from restricted eboots to un-restricted ISOs. I've done this for Everyday Shooter, the Patapon 2 demo, and the Patapon 2 full game. It used the license information that gets downloaded to your PSP when you download a legitimate demo/purchased game to strip out the inconveniences. For the full games, it means you have to have purchased them. Another benefit is that as an ISO, they're no longer locked to the sometimes arbitrarily named folder locations they're initially downloaded to. So if you're using the Game Categories plugin to create specialized/centralized locations on your mem stick, you'll be able to shift them over to the proper categories without repercussion. I won't get into too much detail, as the application is easily Googled up (and might not be legit to post here), and the included readme is very easy to follow.

This does not work for purchased PSOne Classics or retail UMD-based games. For those, you can use the version.txt functionality Dark-Alex purposefully developed for 5.00 M33 in order to make it more future-proof than his older firmwares. I'd recommend upgrading to 5.00 M33-6 if you're not already there. I keep on seeing people mention that they're still on 5.00 M33-3 or whatever in this and various other threads, and I can't help but shake my head.

To get the version.txt trick going, follow the easy steps below:
1) Boot into the recovery menu from a full shut down by holding R as you power on.
2) Click on 'Configuration,' then navigate down and click on 'Use version.txt' until it says it's '(currently: Enabled)'.
3) Click 'Back,' then click 'Advanced.'
4) Plug in a USB cable connected to your PSP and click 'Toggle USB (flash0).'
5) You should see a window pop up on your PC showing the contents of your PSP's flash0. Be very careful what you do here, as you're now actively engaging your PSP's flash memory. If you modify/move/delete something here that you shouldn't, you could semi-brick your PSP.
6) Navigate to ms0:\VSH\ETC and you should see version.txt sitting there with a few other files.
7) Right-click on it with your mouse and select 'Properties.' Under 'Attributes,' make sure that the 'Read-only' box is UNCHECKED.
8) Hit 'OK,' then double-click on version.txt to open it up and edit it.
9) You'll probably see something that looks almost exactly like this, minus the bolding which I've added for convenience:

original version.txt said:
release:5.00:
build:2740,0,3,1,0:builder@vsh-build6
system:46876@release_500,0x05000010:
vsh:p6264@release_500,v46652@release_500,20081010:
target:1:WorldWide

10) You'll want to edit the bolded 5.00/500 references so that they read 5.51/551, accordingly:

new version.txt said:
release:5.51:
build:2740,0,3,1,0:builder@vsh-build6
system:46876@release_551,0x05510010:
vsh:p6264@release_551,v46652@release_551,20081010:
target:1:WorldWide

11) Save the new version.txt, exit it, then on the PSP click 'Back' to disengage USB, and then click 'Exit' to resume normal boot up. Enjoy! P.S. - You'll be able to similarly edit version.txt when new firmwares hit. I simply selected 5.51 because that's the newest official firmware to come out.

12) As long as you enabled version.txt before, this will make most games that have version-checking think that you're running a 5.51-based firmware, instead of the 5.00-based firmware you're actually using. The overwhelming majority of games out there do not actually require the new firmwares, merely artificially restrict you to the newer firmwares as a Sony-tactic to get you to upgrade from older, more exploitable/hack-able firmwares. However, if a game truly requires the functionality added in the firmware it requires, then it probably won't work. One game that I can think of that might apply is Idolmaster PSP, which is JP-only for now.

But for most purposes, these two tactics will defeat 9/10 firmware restrictions. I can personally vouch for Patapon 2 demo/full downloads (which I think required 5.03 or 5.50), FFVII PSone download (5.50) and Class of Heroes retail (5.03). All run on my 5.00 M33-6 machine without a hitch. Everyday Shooter is a much older game so it'll run on 5.00 without a problem. I only used NPDecryptor on it in order to circumvent the folder restrictions and move it to a more comfortable (for me) location of my mem stick.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Ultimately, no. Slow it down? Sure. Stop it entirely? No.
I expect the PSP Go to get hacked eventually.
Even the 3000 has finally fallen.

I'm not sure what you mean by "this piracy" however.
I don't see any piracy in this thread.
If you mean piracy in general, then it's too late for that.
There are tens of millions of PSPs out there in consumers' hands that are capable of being hacked. So piracy will always be an issue.
 

sykoex

Lost all credibility.
Thank you very much Mejilan, now I can play the Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! demo.

I did just recently upgrade to 5.00 M33-6. I think people should know that all you have to do to upgrade the custom firmware is go to Settings -> Network Update. It should download the latest version of M33. I was deftly afraid of hitting "Network Update" because I thought it would install official Sony firmware, but it doesn't. In fact all it does is download the installer to your memory stick and you start it from the "Game" tab in the memory stick. The installer should clearly say something like "M33-6."
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
You're welcome.

People do know about the M33 Network Update. And it's right in my OP, in any event.
It's never been a secret.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
SocksForWoks said:
I can't do any of these things without that pandora battery, right?
You can make one yourself.
It's actually not too hard, when I did it I was really freaked out I was going to screw it up but it turned out to be one of my most memorable "HOLY FUCK I GOT IT TO WORK" moments since I was in third grade and installed a sound card into my gateway2000.
 
Jtwo said:
You can make one yourself.
It's actually not too hard, when I did it I was really freaked out I was going to screw it up but it turned out to be one of my most memorable "HOLY FUCK I GOT IT TO WORK" moments since I was in third grade and installed a sound card into my gateway2000.

Its not made from an ordinary PSP battery, is it?
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
SocksForWoks said:
Its not made from an ordinary PSP battery, is it?
Yeah, I did this on an 18 month old PSP2000 so I'm not sure if things have changed.
But you just cut open the battery and then sever this wire on the circuit board. Then after you've loaded the CFW you open the battery back up and fill in the cut you made with lead from a mechanical pencil.
 
Jtwo said:
Yeah, I did this on an 18 month old PSP2000 so I'm not sure if things have changed.
But you just cut open the battery and then sever this wire on the circuit board. Then after you've loaded the CFW you open the battery back up and fill in the cut you made with lead from a mechanical pencil.

You're just trying to get me to explode my PSP, aren't you?
 
SocksForWoks said:
You're just trying to get me to explode my PSP, aren't you?
if you are at official 5.03 or lower and have a 1000 or a 2000 that isn't a TA-088v3, you can actually use the ChickHEN exploit to make a pandora battery and then flash m33 with Despertar del Cementerio v8
 
The Faceless Master said:
if you are at official 5.03 or lower and have a 1000 or a 2000 that isn't a TA-088v3, you can actually use the ChickHEN exploit to make a pandora battery and then flash m33 with Despertar del Cementerio v8

I thought all PSP's started being TA-088v3 during like the middle of 1000's lifetime (when stand alone 1000 models were released)
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
No, that's not right.
All 1000s and any earlier 2000s are easily unlocked via a Pandora.
Only the 2000s with the later motherboards and 3000s are Pandora-proof.
 

Bog

Junior Ace
While I'd love to have my entire PSP collection on a mem stick that's always in the PSP, I'm not sure it's worth all this trouble.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Depending on your PSP's model, it's not necessarily much trouble.
Regardless of your PSP's model, it's definitely worth it.
 
Mejilan said:
No, that's not right.
All 1000s and any earlier 2000s are easily unlocked via a Pandora.
Only the 2000s with the later motherboards and 3000s are Pandora-proof.

Does the pandora proofing also apply to those datel TOOL batteries as well? Do they operate on the exact same principles or is one a variation on the theme? A friend of mine bought a new 2000 off amazon and one of said batteries and hacked it with no problem. I was surprised he was able to do so.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
I've never used a Datel battery, but it should be noted that they have a habit of stealing freely available homebrew/scene tools, reskinning them, and commercializing them.
Regarding the 2000s, it really depends on the motherboard inside it. In other words, it depends on when the unit was manufactured.
 

Diablos54

Member
About to try and make a pandora's battery, but do you need a spare battery to run the PSP after you've installed the CFW, or can you just use the pandora battery?
 

Erebus

Member
Diablos54 said:
About to try and make a pandora's battery, but do you need a spare battery to run the PSP after you've installed the CFW, or can you just use the pandora battery?

You can either use a spare battery or convert the pandora battery back to its normal state.
 
Mejilan said:
I've never used a Datel battery, but it should be noted that they have a habit of stealing freely available homebrew/scene tools, reskinning them, and commercializing them.
Regarding the 2000s, it really depends on the motherboard inside it. In other words, it depends on when the unit was manufactured.

Hell of a stroke of luck on his part then.
 

Diablos54

Member
DarkUSS said:
You can either use a spare battery or convert the pandora battery back to its normal state.
Which would mean opening the battery to convert is a no go because you can't convert it back, right?
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Two questions:

If you do the version.txt thing, does it mess with the updater? I guess you need to change it back whenever a new firmware is released?

I completely forgot how to do this, but does anyone have a link to somewhere that shows you how to add PS1 cheats to CWCheat?
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
You don't need to change version.txt back to what it was when updating. Just boot into the Recovery Menu and disable the version.txt functionality.

The default cheatpops.db file that comes with CWCheat should have just about every code for just about every game out there. But should it not, then I recommend a combination of http://www.codetwink.com/ for cheats and this app for entering 'em. That app can edit both the regular cheats.db and the cheatpops.db databases.

Himuro said:
I'm trying to play FF8 on my cfw psp. I've got 5.00 m33-3 installed, and it keeps freezing. I've tried 3.71, 3.72, 3.80, 3.90, 4.01 and it freezes when some attacks are made or someone (like Quistis) does her limit break.

It seems the best way to get around the freezing is changing the game id. Thing is, I've already clocked close to 5 hours in the game already, so I'm not restarting shit. How can I continue my game with my old game save id (00892) while playing the game under a completely different game id (for example 02180)?

http://www.gamerspress.com/index.php?title=PSX_on_PSP_Compatibility_List#F

They say that the game runs pretty well using the POPS from flash when running 5.00 M33-6. I'd try upgrading my CFW before fucking around with switching IDs.

That resource also has a TON of tips/pointers for you to review. FFVIII has always been one of the trickier games to get running.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
I don't even think such work-arounds are necessary anymore. Load up the game in a modern version of POPS (3.90+? 4.01+? I forget). Access the new (to those and later POPS versions) virtual memory card manager and you can port over the saves from other games' virtual memory cards to the current one.

It's how I successfully copied my Suikoden 1 cleared save file from the Suiko 1-specific virtual memory card to the Suiko 2-specific virtual memory card. Once I did that, I was able to create a new game in Suiko 2 using the clear data from Suiko 1. No special tools or PC trickery required!

Edit - And no, I didn't even bother giving Suiko 1 and 2 the same game ID. Left 'em each at their defaults.
 
pancakesandsex said:
Does the pandora proofing also apply to those datel TOOL batteries as well? Do they operate on the exact same principles or is one a variation on the theme? A friend of mine bought a new 2000 off amazon and one of said batteries and hacked it with no problem. I was surprised he was able to do so.
their TOOL battery is a Pandora battery with their fancy marketing name. you still need to make a magic memory stick to run the code to flash the PSP (i recommend Despertar del Cementerio v8) and it still needs to be a PSP with an exploitable IPL, such as a 1000 or a non-88v3 2000.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Thought you knew about it, sorry!

Did you update to 5.00 M33-6?
Is it a multi-disc or single-disc eboot?

I'd probably try re-ripping all 4 discs with IMGBurn, then convert them all into a multi-disc eboot using PSX2PSP 1.4.2 (default/standard game ID), then running it on a PSP with CFW 5.00 M33-6 installed and either using POPSLoader (original from flash) or with POPSLoader flat-out disabled.
 
DarkUSS said:
You can either use a spare battery or convert the pandora battery back to its normal state.
no, with the new bootloader from Time Machine and Despertar del Cementerio v5 (DCv5) and up, you can modify a config file that will boot to the PSP's NAND (boot normally) if a button or no button or certain buttons are pressed. i have mine set to boot the PSP normally if the L or R triggers or nothing is pressed, and to boot DCv8 if up, down, left, right, x, o, triangle, square, select or start is pressed. you can use button combos and pretty much any button on the PSP, including the wifi switch, volume buttons, etc...
 

dfyb

Banned
it's been so long since i've done this (updating custom firmware). it's normal for it to look like a normal sony update mid-installation, right?
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Yeah, Dark-Alex started using the official Sony updaters quite some time ago.
FYI, once you're on 5.00 M33-6, you can go into your Recovery Menu to make sure that M33 Network Update is enabled (it should be by default) and, if so, use the wifi Network Update to make upgrading to future M33 CFWs quicker and easier. M33 Network Update communicates with Dark-Alex's update servers instead of Sony's. Woohoo!

Himuro, 5.00 M33-6 isn't a whole new CFW flash. It's an incremental bug-fix update. It's just flat-out better than 5.00 M33-2, 3, 4, or 5. I don't remember offhand what benefits it has over the older versions, but if nothing else, it'll allow you access to PSN without any of the usual FW-related restrictions, and with the working version.txt functionality (which was broken in some earlier 5.00 M33-x updates), easier work-arounds for game-related FW restrictions/lockouts.
 

dfyb

Banned
success. any worry about logging into PSN with custom firmware?

edit: and one of my games wants 5.50 (I bought FFVII off PSN) -- i forgot how to trick it into thinking it's the right version. any tips?
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Himuro said:
And play the game with the default game id, yes?

That's what I would do, yes.

dfyb said:
success. any worry about logging into PSN with custom firmware?

5.00 M33-6 has workarounds in place for accessing the PSN without needing to update to 5.51 official.

edit: and one of my games wants 5.50 -- i forgot how to trick it into thinking it's the right version. any tips?

I posted about that in this very page!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16293820&postcount=5428
 
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