MY PSP got Partially Bricked!!! HELP!!

[MasterChafed]

too bad u guys couldnt have used this custom firmware. You could have just booted to the recovery menu, then turned on usb, copied over an update, and reflash. I pity you guys, best wishes on getting it fixed.

[Accordion]

how about wrapping the gta eloader in a wipeout save?
probably wont work though...

forget it

[Apoklepz]

i didnt mean it quite that way i was trying to point out it could have been used to recover a psp if this mod was done beforehand. i didnt mean to imply that you were careless or doing it on purpose. in fact this mod is as dangerous as the mod that you tried but this one if successfull could be used to fix your particular problem if this was available beforehand. unfortunatly it wasnt. anyway apologies for the misunderstanding.

Apology accepted. I think it was me who misunderstood you in the first place, so my bad there too. Sorry.

the mod chip does unbrick your psp you need 2 psp the seocnd one has to have 1.50 frimware

Oye Boricua! You've got some explaining to do...You can't just cut off another "compatriota" like that...
I beg you please, from one Boricua to another... retract to your source and post a link up here. I think it would not only be helpful to me, but to a lot of people, too...So please, do your best to find this information that you already came across once...It is very valuable...Search your browser's history and cookies if you have to...don't leave a single stone unturned. I think I'm being a little overly dramatic here, but I hope you get the point. Gracias tipo.

Maybe we can send an e-mail to fajita or dark_alex and ask them if they could or maybe have done an exploit for 1.5...

Well, I haven't exactly emailed either of them...but I did however post about my 1/2 brick problem and linked back to this thread, in various forums where dar_alex frequents...like pspdev and pspupdates, but I'm afraid as of yet, my pleads have gone unanswered and on ocassion (pspupdates) I've been flamed at by 3 year olds. I've yet to try consulting Fanjita...Anybody know the best way to get in touch with the guy/girl?

the whole world would know by now if there was an exploit for 1.5 because eveyone would probably have been using it.

Yeah, I know...It's called the Kxploit method, and that was discovered eons ago, then people looked forward in making exploits possible on other firmwares...We all know that. What I'm talking about is a second alternative of an exploit for 1.50 that hasn't yet been implemented...but it supposedly has been thought of, after the GTA exploit through game save method came out...I don't know...maybe it'll never be done, but I do consider it a possibility that'll help unbrick my PSP, since I can run a 1.50 or less UMD and save data too on my PSP.

however since the change of firmwares by sony the hackers have been concentrating on 2.x firmware hacks so maybe noones looking for a 1.5 hack anymore.

Exactly. That's why this mentioned 2ND exploit hasn't even been looked into...It's called supply and demand my friend.

how about wrapping the gta eloader in a wipeout save?
probably wont work though...

Now that's a thought. But I don't think it would be that easy...Someone refresh my memory for a second...the GTA eloader boots thru the GTA UMD or through the XMB save data of GTA?

[stef2627]

the GTA eloader boots from the GTA UMD...when it loads the game...if Gta was 1.5 that would be perfect...lol..i wonder if we try whts gonna happen...

[Accordion]

the eloader boots through the gta load screen(i think, ive never used it) but wipeout automatically loads its updates ( extra level packs) during its normal load screen(it takes forever when you have them all on there!!)
im guessing the update packs are the biggest chance of an exploit as the game is meant to run external data... which possibly could be swapped for an eloader

send a message to fanjita and ditlew if you can, they may be able to find something(if they want)

[Apoklepz]

Hya everyone.

I just thought I'd bump my thread to share these news I found at Eurasia ... The Epsilon BIOS has been released, and it claims to unbrick your PSP's original flash...read on for the full skinny. BTW, for those of you wondering, I still don't have a modchip...It appears my contact got confused and fetched a PS2 modchip instead of a PSP's...I'm glad I hadn't payed for it yet...Oh, well...here's the article:

[source: Eurasia / EpsilonBios-UsersGuide.pdf]

Epsilon BIOS is a custom flash "replacement" for the Sony PSP which unleashes the full potential of your handheld, allowing you to both use homebrew software and run UMD ISO games from your Memory Stick on the latest firmware releases while also enjoying the impressive features built into the operating system such as RSS feeds, WMA support etc. Currently the 2.71 firmware release is supported. It is important to note that Epsilon BIOS is not standalone firmware replacement but more like a bootloader. It works using the dual-firmware system provided by the Undiluted Platinum hardware modification by loading when the PSP is initially powered on, then once running executes and "piggybacks" the real firmware stored in your PSP flash memory. Due to the way this works it is NOT possible to use Epsilon BIOS unless your PSP has an U.P. hardware modification installed.

Features

- Runs alongside 2.71 firmware, so you get all the features of 2.71 such as RSS feeds, web browser etc combined with the advantages of homebrew software and ISO loading.
- Allows execution of homebrew software in kernel mode, removing all limits previously in place while running homebrew on firmware versions above 1.50.
- Ultra reliable, near transparent UMD emulation allowing users to run their games from a Memory Stick with ease, including games which require 2.0+ firmware without rebuilding the ISO or relying on nasty hacks.
- Support for compressed ISO files for UMD emulation, allowing you to fit more games onto your Memory stick at one time.
- Built-in recovery menu which can be used to update your Epsilon BIOS installation or restore your PSP flash contents if it becomes "bricked".

Functional Description

As described above, Epsilon BIOS can be compared to a "bootloader". It is stored on the U.P. flash memory and executed when your PSP is powered on. Once Epsilon BIOS is running it loads and "piggybacks" the real firmware from the PSP flash. Currently only 2.71 firmware is supported, you must upgrade your PSP onboard firmware to 2.71 in order to use Epsilon BIOS. If you attempt to boot Epsilon BIOS with an unsupported firmware version you will be taken to the recovery menu where you can upgrade the PSP firmware. The great thing about Epsilon BIOS is that since the "bootloader" always runs before the real firmware we can apply whatever patches are necessary to disable - whatever protection Sony tries to add in the future, making a U.P. modified PSP using Epsilon BIOS very future proof.

With Epsilon BIOS you can run homebrew software (EBOOT files) directly from the OS main screen. Kernel mode applications are also supported meaning there are no limits when it comes to homebrew software. Both 1.00 and 1.50 style EBOOT's are supported.

UMD emulation is handled almost transparently. You do not need to launch a separate application in order to load your UMD games from the memory stick, all the ISO's you have stored on your Memory stick are listed alongside your homebrew applications in the "Game-Memory Stick" screen and executed from there. Copying new games to your Memory stick is easy, simply enable the USB connection and copy ISO's to the "ISOS" directory in the root of your memory stick. Please note that each time you change the contents of the ISOS directory a cache file containing the icons etc for each game must be updated, and this will cause a slight delay while viewing the "Game-Memory Stick"
screen.

Compressed ISO's are supported for UMD emulation using our own custom format, "Epsilon ZIP". Using the "Epsilon ZIP Tool" included in the archive you can convert UMD ISO files into EZIP files and vice versa. Simply copy the EZIP files into the same location as normal ISO files in order to play them.

Epsilon BIOS includes a recovery mode which can be used to update the PSP onboard firmware, restore a bricked PSP or upgrade your Epsilon BIOS installation. If there are any problems while booting then you will be presented with the recovery menu. To forcefully enter the recovery menu, hold SELECT+START when you power on the PSP.

Installation

Epsilon BIOS is broken into two distinct parts: the bootloader and the core. The bootloader is programmed to U.P. flash from the PC and is what actually takes control of the system when you first power on your PSP. The bootloader attempts to load the core installed in U.P. flash; if the core has not yet been installed or there is another problem you will be taken to the recovery menu. When you first program the Epsilon bootloader onto your U.P. you will need to install the core separately since it is not bundled inside the bootloader flash image. However, whenever an Epsilon BIOS core update is released you simply copy the update file onto your Memory Stick then use the recovery menu to update the core. This system is much safer and more user friendly than having to reprogram the U.P. flash from the PC each time you update which would be required if the bootloader and core were integrated.

Installing the Bootloader

1. Turn on the PSP while holding LEFT to enable U.P. programming mode
2. AFTER the PSP has turned on, connect the USB cable to the U.P.
3. Program the bootloader flash image (epsilonBootloader*.flash) to U.P using the flashing tool
4. Cold restart the PSP by cycling power

Installing/Updating the Epsilon BIOS Core

Updates and the initial installation of the Epsilon BIOS core are handled through the Epsilon recovery menu. To enter the recovery menu hold SELECT+START while you power on the PSP. The procedure to install/upgrade the BIOS is as follows:

1. Copy EBUPDATE.BIN to the root directory of your memory stick. This can be done via the
recovery menu by selecting "Memory Stick USB" or with a card reader, PSP XMB etc
2. Select "Update Epsilon BIOS", then hit X to confirm
3. Once the installation/update is complete the PSP will power off.

Notes Regarding Homebrew

As the majority of homebrew software currently available is designed to run on the 1.50 kernel we decided that for compatibility reasons it would be best to have Epsilon BIOS load the 1.50 kernel instead of 2.x when running homebrew software. This is possible since the Epsilon BIOS bootloader is actually based on the 1.50 firmware so when running homebrew software the kernel is loaded from U.P. flash rather than PSP onboard flash. The only known issue with this method relates to wireless network configuration - since the 1.50 kernel does not support WPA encryption you will need to configure your PSP to use WEP if you wish to use WIFI enabled homebrew software.

Recovery Menu

To forcefully enter the recovery menu hold SELECT+START while you power on the PSP. The Epsilon BIOS recovery menu from the 1.0 bootloader has the following menu selections:

1. Memory Stick USB – Enables the USB connection between the PSP and PC for transferring files. This is the same as the USB connection in the PSP XMB.
2. Update Epsilon BIOS – Installs an Epsilon BIOS core update from the memory stick. The update file must be named EBUPDATE.BIN and placed in the root directory of the memory stick.
3. Launch Firmware Updater – Launches an official Sony firmware updater EBOOT stored on the memory stick at /PSP/GAME/UPDATE/EBOOT.BIN. You may use this feature to both upgrade and downgrade your PSP onboard firmware version. Please take note first of the following important facts:

a. Epsilon BIOS releases are only compatible with certain firmware versions. If you flash your PSP to an unsupported version you will be taken to the recovery menu by the bootloader until such time as a supported firmware version is installed.
b. In order to downgrade your firmware certain files must be modified in your PSP onboard firmware so the official Sony updater *thinks* you have a very early firmware version installed. There are always risks involved with modifying your onboard firmware and such an action can be potentially hazardous to your data. Please note that when upgrading the firmware version no files need to be edited so this warning does not apply.

4. Restore onboard NAND – Used to “un-brick” a PSP by programming a known good flash dump (such as a dump of 1.0 or 1.50 firmware) to your PSP onboard NAND flash. The flash image must be a file called “nandImage.flash” in the root of the memory stick, in the same format used by the UP flasher tool (512bytes user + 16bytes extra for each page, interleaved).
5. Shutdown PSP – self-explanatory

Version Information

Epsilon BIOS v1.0 - Bootloader v1.0, Core v1.0
Required onboard firmware: 2.71

FAQ

Q: Why do I get a 0x86660000 error when I try to launch a Sony firmware upgrade?
A: Epsilon BIOS blocks you from trying to install firmware versions that are not supported by the installed core. If you wish to upgrade to a new firmware, you might first need to upgrade Epsilon BIOS to a version which supports said firmware.
Q: From firmware 2.6 and up, PRX files are protected with a new encryption method. How did you figure out how to decrypt these files?
A: As most people will now be aware, the discovery of the 2.6 kmode exploit lead to decryption of modules using the new encryption method. However when we started working on this the kernel mode exploit was unknown so we took a different approach to reach our goal, one that doesn’t rely on exploits so should allow us to easily hack new firmware releases in the future once Sony changes the encryption method again. Here’s how we did it - warning: this is a bit technical, which unfortunately is required to give a proper answer. Since we couldn't get a dump of kernel memory from a PSP running the 2.6 firmware, the only way to figure out how to decrypt the 2.6 PRX files was to disassemble the IPL and see how this decrypted the files while the PSP is booting. Unfortunately, Sony used a clever trick in the 2.6 IPL to prevent hackers disassembling it. They read out some data from the reset vector and use it to decrypt the main portion of the IPL code. The problem here is that by the time we can run code on the PSP, any attempt to read out this data will be in vain as it gets scrambled inside the IPL. However, through some hardcore trickery we found a way to dump the data at the reset vector which enabled us to decrypt the main portion of the IPL code and then use this to figure out how the 2.6 PRX files were encrypted. The same encryption method and keys are used in 2.7 and 2.71, so when 2.7 came out we had this dumped and decrypted very quickly. There is nothing left now they can use to hide the IPL so when the 3.0 firmware eventually comes out its highly likely the encryption will have changed again but it shouldn’t take too long to figure it out. Sorry to give you the bad news Sony.. the hackers win another round, you cannot hide your firmware from our eyes anymore

[Fanjita]

It's likely that there will eventually be a way to run an exploit on a different game - and it also seems likely that people looking for such an exploit would look in a game that lots of people have - so a v1.5-compatible game would be a likely choice.

However - it also seems likely that any exploit that included a way to fix your PSP would also need to have some sort of access to your XMB to set it up, or at least get it onto your memory stick.

I'd guess that your best bet is to look into the hardware unbricking methods - otherwise, you'll be waiting for an exploit to come along that might or might not help, and it looks like the odds are against you on that.

[Apoklepz]

Hey thanks for the informative post, Mr. Fanjita. It's quite an honor for me to finally have your say about this in my thread.

I think with the way I'm sitting down money-wise right now, it's likely for me to be patient and wait for such an exploit....I recently got a new car and I've been forced to put my consumer hungry manners away for a long while...Thank god for emulation on my PC.

About my PSP...I'd like to add, that I do have access to the memory stick, but not directly through the XMB, of course...So, given that I can save and load data for 1.50 UMD games on my partial brick, is it possible to make an exploit of that kind? You know, a kind of exploit that would load through a game save....or even through one of those Wipeout Pure content Packs?

Also, it would be no problem at all for me to put the exploit to the memory stick, I recently purchased both the card adapter and the card dock adapter for a measily $10 U.S.

[l Zero Fox l]

hey cant there be like an exploit to load dev hook? then you could emulate your firmware, then update then downgrade? cause from what i understand the eloader doesnt work for you?

[Apoklepz]

Well yeah, eloader is not intended for 1.50 firmware which I have, and word is that Devhook is considered ilegal by Sony right now, so my chances are kinda slim for that part...I really don't know what could be done there.