Where to start?

[half9]

Hey gang,

I am new to this whole PSP hacking so of course I have alot of questions to ask!

Do not get me wrong I did try to do as much research as I can but came up with no dice, plus I can not search the forums b/c the spam filter image will not display...

anyways!

What do I need to do to hack my PSP? I know you have to do something called "Pandora's Battery". I did see a good soft mod guide on how to do that on this site. After thats all done, what do I do next? What else do I need to install to get my ROMS working, do I need to install new firmware? How do I got about installing some utilities, themes, can I connect to the Playstation network with a modded psp? Can I still connect to a PS3 with a modded PSP? Once I backup one of my PSP games, how do I play the backup?

as you can see, I am lost in the dark! There is no real guide that tells you EVERYTHING you need to know for newbies like myself... A good example Im talking about is a .pdf file made for the xbox360 community that tells you step by step (with pics) on what to do, how to do it, why to do it, and what you can do!

Thank you for all your help!

[feverlax]

1. To hack your PSP, you need a Pandora Battery and a Magic Memory Stick. Look in the Guides section for tutorials on how to make both. I recommend Catb50's Magic Memory Stick maker as it is extremely easy to use, and works great.

2. To put ROMs on your PSP, you need to download an emulator for the ROM's system. Once you do, drag the folders containing the emulator into the GAME folder in the PSP folder on your memory stick. If that doesn't work, try the GAME150 folder.

3.Utilities and homebrew are the same, download the files, drag them to the GAME folder in the PSP folder of your memory card(X:/PSP/GAME) where X is the drive letter of your memory stick.

4.By connect to the Playstation Network, do you mean, play games wirelessly, or do you mean access the PSN store? You can definitely still play games wirelessly. I'm not so sure about accessing the PSN Store, I think you can, but I'm not sure.

5. To play the backups, simply go to the Game section of the XMB, go down to the Memory Stick icon(last one) and press X, then just select the game.

6. I'm not sure about connecting to the PS3 as I do not have a PS3.

7.There are plenty of Guides out there that will help you with all of these. Go to the Guides section of this site, and find the one that's right for you. There are ones relating to hardware mods, and software mods, among other things. Everything is there, as long as you know where to look

[half9]

Thank you very much!

3 more questions...

Once I do mod my PSP, what do the other firmwares I can download do?

You saying I need a new battery to use my PSP, I cant use my Pandora battery? I am looking at this "Time Machine" guide and I dont understand what it does!

What is better for modding, phat or slim?

thanks!

[eli_90]

One of the best overall guides I've found is here: PSP Hacking Guide | Blast Processing

It's pretty easy to understand, good place to start.

As for your new questions:
1. I'm still looking into this myself. Basically, the firmwares can do everything the Official ones can do and more - aren't the emulators enough

2. It depends. If you make your own pandora by using the method where you have to open it, it pretty much can't be turned back into a regular one- there are ways, but they aren't too succesful from what I've heard. I recommend getting a Datel Tool- they can turn a battery from a pandora battery and back to regular with a switch. See here: YouTube - Datel Battery Service Tool - PSP (Pandora)

3. Both can be modded, but fat is easier in some ways. It depends on personal choice really. Apparently there are things the fat can do that the slim can't- although what, I don't know as I haven't looked into it. Hopefully someone can give you more thorough info.

Have fun!

[half9]

OK cool thanks,

I was thinking of doing this method to make my battery "Easy-To-Use Pandora's Battery Guide "

then using time machine to ubbrick it. When I do unbrick it useing time machine do I really need to buy a 2nd battery? Cant I just use the AC adapter to power up the PSP then install the file then insert my battery to fix it?

also someone told me about soft hacking the PSP...

[RyuKisargi]

If you buy a Datel Tool Battery cover you won't need to mod your personal battery.

And I like 3.80 m33-5, it's what mine has, it's what my friend's has, and it works fine.

[feverlax]

To me, the phat is better for modding because it has the 1.50 kernel in it(the slim doesn't) which means that not all homebrew will work. Now, this probably isn't a big deal because only the most obscure homebrew doesn't work, but there is the possibility. In your situation I'd probably just buy the slim.

I've never used time machine, nor have I tried soft modding a battery, and from what I've read, it really is hard to revert back to a normal battery. I would just recommend buying a Tool battery from someplace like Dealextreme.com for cheap(like under 20) and use that.

[half9]

I want to mod it by hand because

1. I dont want to wait a week to get the tool

2. Why spend $20 when you can do it yourself?

More I think about it, my coworker told me he soft modded his PSP so I bet he has the tool!

thanks guys!

[feverlax]

I agree with doing it by hand, it's always more satisfying knowing that you did it yourself, but the tool battery is probably cheaper than a normal PSP battery that you would buy to do it yourself. If you want to do it yourself and have the money, then by all means, do it, I did, but otherwise the tool works great.

If your co-worker knows how to softmod it, then go ahead and do that instead. It's all in your hands, you get the same result no matter what.

[DumpsterDiver]

I soft modded my Pandora battery. It's really easy. You just use the MMS to mod the battery to Pandora. Then restart the PSP, do your stuff. When done, just load up the psp with the Pandora battery out. Once started up, put the battery in, go to the application in the Game section, and hit O to make the battery a normal one again.

[half9]

[QUOTE=feverlax;333941]I agree with doing it by hand, it's always more satisfying knowing that you did it yourself, but the tool battery is probably cheaper than a normal PSP battery that you would buy to do it yourself. If you want to do it yourself and have the money, then by all means, do it, I did, but otherwise the tool works great.

[\QUOTE]

How true that is : ). I remember the first time I modded my xbox360 and played my first backedup game... haha

I only have 2 questions left...

1 - Can I connect to a ps3 with the modded firmware?

2 - When I do the time machine method, do I really need a 2nd battery? Can I turn on the system with the AC adapter, install the files, then put the battery in to convert it back?

[feverlax]

I am almost positive you'll be able to connect to a PS3, but ask someone else just to be sure. Maybe I read it wrong, but I thought the time machine method was for installing previous cfw's, but maybe I'm wrong?

And off topic, and probably more appropriate for a PM, but how was modding your 360? Easier or harder than this? I've been thinking about picking up a used one on ebay to mod.

[half9]

WIth time machine you can unbrick your PSP... I really do not want to buy another battery.

With the 360, it was fairly easy... Take off the outershell, connect the drive to your computer and install new firmware!

[feverlax]

Hmm, I'll have to look into that. One final option is to find someone you know who has a Pandora's battery and use theirs. I have one if you can't find anyone else.

For the 360, that sounds pretty simple, I might just have to pick up a used one when I get the money.

[thecoo1est]

just quit bullshittin and do it, youll be glad you did