Homebrew guide for newbies!

[gdf]

Homebrew Guide for newbies
Welcome to the noobs homebrew guide by gdf! this is a quick guide to psp homebrew for newcomers to the scene, and will include details of how to setup and run homebrew on YOUR psp and some of the best games and applications.

1) What is homebrew?
homebrew is any game, emulator or app created by a member of the public for others to use, and is rarely sold commercially. no psp homebrew is at any cost!

2) Why run homebrew on my psp?
It opens up all sorts of new possibilities and uses for your psp and makes it much more useful to have. You can play classic games via emulators and now play your ps1 games on your psp thanks to dark alex. more on this later!

3) Is homebrew legal?
though this is still a grey area, most homebrew is legal, especially homebrew games. the most sticky areas are emulators, as it is illegal to run a game you don't own. it is also illegal to share copied versions of ps or psp games, often reffered to as isos (this is usually the rip type). also illegal is the sharing of bios files, which are required for use with the gba emulators.

4) Ok, that's all cool, i want to do homebrew, but how do i get it on my psp?
first of all, if you are on a higher firmware than 3.03, you won't be able to for at least another while. if you are on 3.03 or below then you are cool to go. heres a breakdown of all the ways of playing homebrew:
i) firmwares of 2.0 to 2.71 (i think) can use the Eloader, found on the excellent website noobz.eu.
ii) firmware 1.5 can play homebrew straight from the memory stick, as long as the appropriate folders are put in PSP/GAME.
iii) firmware 1.0 can play homebrew in a similar way, with less faffing about with seperate folders.
iv) firmware 2.71 SE can play homebrew in the same way as 1.5, but is a bit more complex to work.
v) many firmware compatible Hen (homebrew enabler), a patch that allows you to run homebrew.
vi) THE BEST WAY is firmware 3.10/.03/.02 OE (open edition). this will be explained in another section.
BE AWARE that to get the most homebrew you may have to DOWNGRADE your psp, as in putting it to a lower firmware. this is explained below.

5) How do i downgrade?
If you are 3.03 or below you can downgrade. There are downgraders for 2.0, 2.5, 2.6, 2.71, 2.8 and 3.03. if you are below these then you can simply upgrasde then downgrade afterwards. BE AWARE, if you have a TA-082 motherboard, you can't use some downgraders. most will say in file descriptions or the readmes. to find out if your psp is TA-082, look directly into the UMD tray. if there is a green strip at the top right (looking from BEHIND) with gold writing you are ta-082. to downgrade you'll need specific files, all of which can be found on DL.QJ.NET. please note all downgraders go to version 1.5! the files you need are: the downgrader pack; the 1.5 eboot; the eboot of the version you are on. remember to llok at the readmes included. some downgraders also require an unpatched version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. if it has version 2.00 update it is the unpatched one, if it's 2.6 it won't work. PLEASE NOTE, the eboots for downgrading don't make a difference if they are usa versions used on uk psps or whatever, REGIONS DO NOT MATTER!

6) So now i'm on 1.5, what should i do?
Well the best thing is to upgrade to 3.10 OE-A. get the 3.10 update and 1.5 if you don't already have it. get the OE pack and follow the instructions!

7) What makes OE so cool?
well it has the ability to use a hacked version of sony's very own ps1 emulator so you can use your own games on it. you go through a complex process of ripping the games to iso format and then converting them using a tool called postation included in the pack. if you find postation too hard, there are piles of GUIs for it on dl.qj and psp-hacks. it also has all the capabilities of 1.5 homebrew! remember to read the damn readme and don't hesitate to ask about it if you are stuck. to play 1.5 h/brew you need to

8) can i still play commercial games?
you can play them just like "normal" 3.10 or whatever on OE, but you'll need devhook if you are using a different firmware, it is a firmware emulator, find it on psp-hacks. by the way, don't ever re upgrade from OE to a normal firmware, it will risk "Bricking" your psp.

9) Bricking?
a brick is a dead psp, you don't want this! using any homebrew is risking a brick, but they rarely happen unless there is a drastic error by the user or the user somehow corrupts the psp's flash memory, so don't tamper, and go to dcemu.co.uk for help if needed.

10) so i'm OE'd up to the nads, what should i do now?
start enjoying the ps1 goodness! other good psp games can be found on ALL the sites mentioned, so can good emulators, the best of which are, Dgen (mega drive/ genesis), snes9xtyl (snes), daedalus (n64), nester j (nes), and a pile of others!

11) Thanks, what sites can i use?
the best are:
lmt.nr
splodger15's site (soon to be homebrew hideout!)
DCEmu.co.uk
psp-hacks
qj.net
zionmax

12) thanks for the guide!
no problem, and remember if you have any problems don't be scared of asking!

(btw to all non noobs, is there anything i should add?

[Shrygue]

This guide is well good to see, good work gdf.

[gdf]

thanks man!

[King of Fire]

Thanks really nice.:thumbup:

[gdf]

happy to help

[scottyboynow]

Can I stick this on my site, help a few noobz out, especially some friends from school.

[Gold Line]

(btw to all non noobs, is there anything i should add?

talk about flashing and the big risk of bricking your psp if you use apps like x-flash and psp filer

[The King]

thx for the guide man i know this will be help full for those pesky noobs that are always asking the same question over and over lol

[MattZani]

Thanks! should be helpful!

a few Q's

what FW do most PSP's ship with now, and do they all have a ta-082 mobo?

Matt

[chino18]

Sorry about my english.
Here's the deal, I was given a PSP + an UMD game which asked me to update immediately in order to play. I did it so, and now I have a PSP with firmware 2.81. I have read that I can downgrade if I have a GTA Liberty on UMD, but I don't and it's immposible for me to get it. Is there any way to downgrade my psp to 1.50 and then to 3.01 by Dark_Alex without GTA game?
I found a .CSO image of that game (GTA Liberty), would it work?
THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!