PSP newbie

Hi everyone. This is my first post here (probably of many!!)
Ive just invested in a PSP. Its a brand new one, and the firmware is (i think) 2.81.
Im not planning on doing a load of things with it, i just want to play games.
What i am interested in though is Homebrew.
Ive read up in a few places, and ive got a vague idea of what i need to do to play said homebrew, but im sure there are huge, glaring gaps in my knowledge so far!

As far as i understand, i need to downgrade the firmware. However, i have no idea where to start with this task.
Ive invested in a 2gig memory stick, to put homebrews on, but i have no idea if this is a simple job, or if it will need up/downgrading in someway to do this.

I know that theres always an inherent risk of bricking the console (little term ive picked up!) and id really like to know how to avoid this!!

If someone can step up to the plate and earn themselves the title of 'Dumb Newb Helper' id be very much obliged. Even if its simply some info to put me in the right direction, it will be much appreciated.

Thanks Peeps!:thumbup:

You need to be at least version 1.50 to play homebrew. If you are on 2.81 you have to upgrade to 3.03 and then downgrade from there. In order to do that, you need an unpatched copy of the game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

An unpatched game will have the serial numer ULES-00151# on the disk label and have version 2.00 update data on it. Patched ones have ULES-00151#2, have the 2.60 update data and are copies sold from June 2006.

At this time, downgrading to 1.50 via 3.03 and GTA is the only way for those who are stuck with 2.81, 2.82, 3.00, 3.01, 3.02 and 3.03.


To downgrade to 1.50 from 2.81:

1 - Ensure you have an unpatched copy of GTA:LCS.
2 - Get the 3.03 updater here, put the EBOOT.PBP in the GAME folder of your memory stick and run it. While you're about it, you should get the 1.50 updater here as well.
3 - After updating to 3.03, get the downgrader from here and follow the instructions described in the readme document.
4 - If you did everything correctly, you should reach version 1.50 without any problems. When the downgrader finishes and you restart your PSP, a corrupted settings message will appear. Just press circle and then you will be asked to input settings like when you first got your console.

Firstly congratulations on buying the finest mobile gaming machine there is.

Your best bet if you want the most from your machine is downgrading to 1.50 and up to a custom firmware I like 3.03oe-c cos you can customize it more than 3.10oe ther is as you said an inherent risk of bricking but that not big of a chance if you do it all correctly, going to custom carries many benifits, you have a recovery console so if by some chance you do happen to brick once your running custom you have a way to "unbrick" and get going again, you also have benifit of being able to play ps1 games on your PSP via the inbuilt emulator popstation which is available on official firmwares but you cant play your own games on the official one and then you can customize your xmb bootsounds gameboots and much more (you cant change topmenu in 3.10oe only 3.03oe) and finally the best benifit of all is the pride you have running firmware by dark alex and poking sony in the eye.

if need more info on anything just PM me I'll be happy to talk you through things.

alright, congrats on getting yourself a PSP, its truly a great system.

first things first you will need to do something about that firmware. I would recommend upgrading to FW- 3.03, then downgrade it to 1.5 and then either stay at 1.5 or upgrade it to 3.10-OE.

downgrader for 3.03
http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/3-03v-do...ble-51035.html

now getting homebrew on 1.5 or 3.10-OE is easy as pie. just download the homebrew you want, load it into your memory stick into the right folder.

1.5 : PSP->GAME
3.10-OE: PSP->GAME150

ok, thanks for the info so far guys. Do i assume then that i need to buy a copy of GTA LCS from a shop/ebay etc and use this as my starting block then?

Yea you need an Unpatched version of GTA LCS....meaning it has the 2.00 update on it....I myself downgraded using the Noobz team downgrader.....from there i upgraded to DarkAlex's 3.03 oe-c custom firmware.....im enjoying my psp more than i ever did.....

if you want live help, you can instant message me on aim - aysevenexfan

Hey guys. Just a quick question.
With regards to homebrew, what format(s) should i be looking for?
Ive seen them mainly in .ISO so far, but also a couple are .CSO, and some are pairs of .PBP and a 1k .BIN file called 'keys'??

Appreciate any light you can shed on this if possible.
:D :o :D

Are you talking about Popstation or other homebrew?

.ISOs and .CSOs are not homebrew. Those are the two common formats for ripped games. .ISO being the full and .CSO being the compressed. Most homebrew will have an .eboot extection. .pbp are for fw updates like the ones you will need to downgrade. .bin files are used for keys like you said, and sometimes for homebrew/plugins configs.