Search

[kompact]

Hey guys, I was hopeing someone would be willing to take 10 minutes and write up an Easy Quick Start Guide for the PSP. I just got a used PSP and of course want to run homebrew on it.

I figured it would be as simple as my DS (d/l the homebrew, toss it on my R4, turn it on and go) but it is not! I went to a few sites including http://www.psp-hacks.com/ (link graciously provided by bitblt) and the plethora of information is overwhelming! The "tutorials" on some of these sites are as long as a short novel!

So, I am asking someone to write up a quick and simple guide to help me and anyone else new to this to get started. If you are willing I would appreciate it  

[bitblt]

The procedures are different depending on what version PSP you have. Here is a summary of what you need to do.

1) Identify what version firmware your PSP is currently running by selecting Settings->System Settings->System Information in the PSP crossbar menu.

2) Identify if your PSP hardware is PCB version TA-082. Don't worry if your PSP is a TA-082 as it can still be downgraded.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/3291/p0wer4ou1.jpg

3) Find the tutorial that matches your current PSP firmware version and follow the instructions for downgrading your PSP to firmware 1.5 version.
http://www.psp-hacks.com/forums/about17935.html

4) After you have downgraded your PSP to 1.5 version it is recommended you then upgrade to the latest DarkAleX custom OE firmware.
http://forums.qj.net/f-psp-firmware-discussion-253/t-official-330-oe-a-and-303-oe-c-installation-guide-faq-and-support-thread-84905.html

[Koji]

The newer DS owners are spoiled with things like the R4 making everything incredibly easy. Us old timers had to worry about things like flashing the firmware, and bricks caused by the first wave of WiFi games.

The PSP is more difficult not because of the scene, but because Sony is actively fighting against homebrew and piracy on it with constant firmware updates. Add to that the fact that you can't just insert a magic UMD to play backups and unlock everything and you can see why it's reasonably harder than the DS to setup.

That said, it's worth jumping through all the hoops because once you're set a whole nice world of emulators opens up (including Sony's official PS1 emulator, which is the entire reason I bought the PSP to begin with)

[kompact]

Thanks for the help thusfar. I got it all figured out via the links you gave me. I do have the TA-082 and it had 3.00 firmware on it. From what I understand the only way to get this to work it to upgrade to 3.03 (which I did), then downgrade to 1.50 using an unpatched copy of GTA:LCS. I went all over town to find an unpatched copy, all of the stores only had the newer v2 of the game. This inluded second hand game shops.

I finally found what I thought to be an unpatched copy of the game using these guidelines http://pspupdates.qj.net/cm/xml/image_list.php?aid=58178 but it looks as if it is a patched copy after all, it doesn't work!

So that brings me to a question: Would someone here who has an unpatched copy of GTA:LCS be willing to patch this sucker for me if I sent you my PSP? I'd pay for all the shipping and whatnot of course. I'll still look around to see if I can find an unpatched copy of it but it is looking fruitless.

[liquidnitrogen]

hm.. according to my friend, an Unpatched GTA will have a firmware loader of 2.0

a patched one will be 2.6...

haha, he has an Unpatched GTA and downgraded a lot of psps haha

[bitblt]

I finally found what I thought to be an unpatched copy of the game using these guidelines
http://pspupdates.qj.net/cm/xml/image_list.php?aid=58178
but it looks as if it is a patched copy after all, it doesn't work!

It's a good idea to format your memory stick using your PSP before you begin. Are you sure you followed the downgrade instructions exactly? Does your GTA:LCS match the picture exactly, and does it have a 2005 copyright? At what point does it not work?

[kompact]

I did follow the instructions exactly, a few times. I tried formatting the mem card as well. The pictures on my copy of GTA are correct and the serial number does not have a #2 at the end. I noticed last night though that my copy of GTA has "Greatest Hits" on the top of the package. Looks like they re-released it as a "Greatest Hits" game, making it look like the old one but it is patched.

The point that it fails on is when you load up GTA it is supposed to start loading the save then the psp resets itself. Mine just loads the save and is ready to be played.

[bitblt]

I noticed last night though that my copy of GTA has "Greatest Hits" on the top of the package. Looks like they re-released it as a "Greatest Hits" game, making it look like the old one but it is patched.

Bummer. So you still need to find the correct version of GTA. Try eBay. I don't have a copy myself. The PSPs I've downgraded have all been 2.7 TA-082.