Unbricking The Psp.... What Needs To Happen

[Ttiger]

THE WAY I WENT ABOUT TRYING TO DISASSEMBLE MY PSP IN THIS TOP POST IS ALL WRONG, READ BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE...

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AT YOUR OWN RISK> I ASSUME NO LIABILITY IF YOU TRY THIS AND BREAK YOU PSP! (AS A MATTER OF A FACT, I DON"T RECOMMEND TRYING THIS AT ALL, AS YOU WILL AT A MINIUMUM, VOID YOUR WARRANTY LIKE I HAVE JUST DONE)

So anyone with some basic electronics knowledge would understand that the bios for the Sony PSP has to have an EEProm to store it's data in.

So one would assume that if a diligent individual were to open their PSP (Thereby VOIDING THE WARRANTY!)
and find this chip in the PSP, they could then do a little research on the internet to find the pin-out and data specs on the chip. Then a data cable that would clip to the chip could be built, allowing the reading and writing of data to the chip. A backup copy of the original (WORKING) PSP BIOS could then be obtained, and if the PSP was ever "bricked", that data could then be written back to the BIOS, thereby rendering the PSP functional again. I have just tried to open my psp up, and got as far as getting the front case off, and most of the screws removed. I removed the lower button data cable, and popped off one of the two side input switchboards. Here was where I ran into a problem. The back cover is held in place by some screws which are under the UMD disk drive door. I managed to get one of the two plastic hinge tabs popped out, but the other one is in there nasty-tight, and I was afraid of breaking the door hinge, so I put 'er back together and called it a night. (It did still work, by the way).

Another Note: There appears to be 2 separate boards inside the PSP, both are squeezed in under the display, which would have to be removed to find the bios chip.

ALSO: Once the front cover is off the PSP you risk damaging the LCD screen! It can be scratched or rendered uselessif you were to touch it with a tool. I got fingerprints all over it, and had to very carefully clean it off with a very soft cotton cloth, and some steam from my breath.

If anyone DOES try this and manages to get the door off without breaking the hinge, I'd be interested in knowing how. Please post info here, and upload a pic if you have a camera, of the hinge mechanisms.

If you have BRICKED your PSP (which would mean that your warranty is possibly voided anyways) Or even dropped or damaged it beyond repair and SONY said that they would NOT cover it under the warranty, that would be the perfect opportunity to go into the unit a little deeper. Once we know the numbers off chipsets inside the PSP, we can start looking for more info on how to backup the BIOS. I am going to search google and see i anyone has internal pictures of the unit.

If I can figure out which chip it is, and get some specs on it, I will build a data cable, and write the code for an eeprom read/write routine, and open my PSP and make a backup. What would really be nice is if SONY had made some kind of port on the PSP that allowed BIOS/VIDEO connectivity. Then these viruses would not have been such a major problem, and plus someone could have build a Video-OUT adapter so you could hook it up to a TV to watch movies and play games with.

HELLO SONY? MAYBE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT FOR THE PSP II.....

Good Luck all........ TTIGER

[Ttiger]

One Other Thing.......

Sony, in their "Infinite Wisdom" decided to lock out everyone from homebrew apps and games with the 2.01 update. I myself fell victim to this update. Not yet knowing that homebrew was available, I thought the best thing to do when I got my brand new PSP unit home, I got the networking going, and hit the network update button to add all those "kewl new features" to my machine. Little did I know, I was screwing myself out of the things I wanted most!

Well kiddies, If we can figure out how to update the BIOS thru the back door as per my last post, we will effectivley "Stick the mighty Homebrew-Dong" back in Sony's keester. Because then we will be able to jump back and forth to any update version we want! The more I think about it, the more I'm willing to bust the hinge off my PSP's door to get in there... Hell, I may even add a little port out the bottom of the unit so I can hook up to the BIOS anytime I want.


How bout them apples, my big sony friend?

Ttiger

[Ttiger]

Wooot!

I found a complete listing of PSP dissassemble pics HERE:
http://forum.lik-sang.com/other/psp-release/

Starts at the box, and goes till th last screws are out...
This may help with disassembly!

[Ttiger]

REMEMBER THE STUFF BELOW VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY, and MAY TURN YOU PSP INTO A DOORSTOP! Proceed at your OWN RISK! I ASSUME NO LIABILTY if you mess up your PSP!

Even Better Step - by - step instructions with pictures on PSP Disassembly are Here:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=380915

A Kewl addin... FM radio transmission using a gutted IPOD ITRIP BUILT INTO YOUR PSP! :^) is here:
http://badacetechshow.com/psp_itrip.htm
Now THAT is KEWL... Now you can beam those MP3's straight into your car's radio, and it gives you over 100 digitally selectable FM channels. I searched for a price on the Itrip and came up with an average street price of $25-$35 US. And I'm wondering if the crystal that he had to cut a hole in the back of the PSP to make it fit could be unsoldered from the ITrip board and made to fit completly inside the PSP case...

ALSO, here is an external WIFI antenna project, to boost the PSP's WIFI signal strength around you house:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=383849
These guys got 12dB more signal with this antenna (although it is a bit large and unwieldy, I was thinking maybe a slightly smaller flip-up style mounted to the very bottom of the case might be a little more eye pleasing, although the signal gains would be less... but hey 12dB is alot, and even if you halved that number, it would be a vast improvement!)

He mentions working on a flipup screen project too... can't wait to see that one...

I'll keep searching for the kewlest hacks and dropping them in here as I find them.

Now I have no reason not to pull my PSP back apart!

-TTIGER-

[*o*]

i dont think you have really illaborated. you can buy a new mobo for $50

[omniosiris]

I think a great use for this would be the addition of a small hard drive (ipod or other mp3 player drive) to the PSP if possible. Imagine the possiblitys if the PSP had 20GB of memory!

[Grim_Reaper]

You have to peel off the label in the battery compartment, there are two
screws underneath.Dont try and take the disk tray out and those screws you
can see have nothing to do with taking the back off.
This will lose you warranty as it is a foil like material and will not go back
on the same.

You've been warned, your day will come

[Ttiger]

Yes, Iknow that NOW, since I read the "how to take it apart" link...