Brewology

As per my post in the intro. section, here is my request for some friendly help.

I have a Sim PSP, and I will be able to aquire a phat PSP (without CFW) to start my homebrewing process. From what I understand, I need to have the following...correct me if I'm wrong...

1) A phat battery and a PSP with CFW to turn that phat battery into a pandora battery to use in the slim [2 PSPs total]
2) A 256 MB memory stick to make the magic stick
3) Patience

Anyway, I do have all of those, but as I said in my first post, the fat PSP I will be able to acquire from a friend does NOT have CFW on it. Anyway, I've seen some of the tutorials on here and they kinda throw me for a loop because I've never done anything like this before (modding a gaming system) so I guess I'm a little hesitant. The good news is Wally World (Wal-Mart) hooked me up with a 2-yr warranty on my PSP so if I brick it I can go get a new one.

So here's where I need some help. What is the first step I need to take? Homebrew the fat PSP so I can make a Pandora? I really don't want to do this because like I said the fat one isn't mine but if I have to I will. Can anyone offer any guidance (links to other posts, etc) that can explain this process to me a little more clearly?

I appreciate the help.



PS: I'm running FW version 3.73 on my slim.

Your correct, you'll need those "tools" you listed to create your pandora and mms.

You can create the battery 2 ways...
1. Use the fat psp with custom firmware as you already mentioned. (I'll need to know the firmware of the fat psp for this)
2. Open up the fat battery and disconnect a pin. (I can link you to a tutorial if you want to go this way)

The magic memory stick you can create with any psp or even by just using a card reader. We use a easy installer called "Total newbi installer" for this process.

Let me know which route you have in mind and i'll post back with some links for you.

Thanks for the help Staxx!

Okay, I have 2 PSPs that I can acquire, and they're both fatties. The first one (which is easiest to get) is running FW v2.60. The second is running FW v2.0. I hope it's possible to make-do with the 2.60 since that's the one I have closest to me, the other is a friend's as well but he's a dick about letting people borrow any and every thing.

Anyway, get back to me and I really appreciate the help. Anyone else is welcome to chime in too, thank you all in advance.

Alright.

The first thing your going to want to do is grab the 2.60 fatty and head on over to this link. http://www.pspbrew.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9454

In there you'll find a downgrader section. Use the 2.71 downgrader (it should have the files to upgrade the firmware to 2.71 in there as well) You'll have to check to see which motherboard you have as there is one specific for TA-082's It should have a guide to show how to check in the tutorial though.

Once you've figured out your motherboard type and downgraded, your firmware should now read 1.50.

Your now ready to proceed with the battery conversion and memory stick files. Use the following link...
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/552549

Sounds good.

I just found out that I will have access to the v2.0 PSP as well, and I do prefer to use that one...since it belongs to a non-family member haha. So, in that case, how should i proceed?

Thanks again for the help

Just as an update, I have the Fatt PSP with v2.0FW on it, so I'm ready to go...I just need some links. Also, I need to find a memory stick to do the magic memory since I'm not using my 4-gig and the only other one I have is a 32MB, which isn't big enough. Any suggestions?

You can still use the 2.71 downgrader for the 2.0 fatty from the link i provided.

Just pick up anything from 256mb - 2gb for a memory stick.

I just can't seem to find a good v2.71 firmware file. The one I did find, I keep putting it in the PSP/GAME/UPDATE folder and when I try to run it it tells me the data is corrupted and it won't execute.

Help anyone please?

Post Merge:
NM I got it updated finally via www.psp-hacks.com. Wish me luck with the downgrade!

ok cool, just in case you need it...heres another link to the update.
http://dl.qj.net/Firmware-2.71-PSP/pg/1 ... /catid/163

Good luck.

Okay, I successfully have v1.50 on my phat PSP! Now, I need to make the pandora and memory stick to go my slim...but the linke you posted is kind of confusing.

Am I supposed to run the pandora / mem stick application and replace my PSP/GAME folder with the one the program generates? The post has some confusing instructions like:

1) Use mspformat.exe from the Pandora's Folder to format the Memory Stick.

I really don't get what this means...does this mean put the new GAME folder on the PSP and then use that app. on the PSP to format the stick?

Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I don't want to mess this up and brick a PSP that's not mine ya know. Thanks for being helpful and patient!

UPDATE: I formatted the mem. stick and created the Pandora and MMS! BUT, when I insert the Pandora into my slim the green light comes on, but it does not boot. I tried to re-flash the battery and make it over and it still doesn't work. Any advice?

What do you mean by this, I can help...

I was just confused on the formatting language. I successfully formatted the mem stick and loaded the magic mem. stick files...but my pandora battery won't auto-start my PSP...when I put it in the power light goes green, but the PSP doesn't boot up. I also tried using Pandora's GUI and that didn't work either...same thing. This is my dilemma right now...I know I'm SO close...

Yeah slims are a little weird for pandora, theres a little trick to get it to boot up.

Anyways, push your power button into the hold position. Now hold the L Trigger while you put the battery in and keep holding the L trigger until the green light turns off.(Takes about 5 seconds) Take the battery out flip the power switch to its normal position and hold the L trigger again while you place the battery in and keep holding the L trigger until you see the service menu pop up (should come up within 5 seconds).

If your still having trouble, then try formatting your memory stick and use this program to reinstall the files for you.
http://dl.qj.net/TOTALNewbi-easyInstall ... ies-(on-PC)/pg/12/fid/14749/catid/193

Your battery will still already be converted so just use the instructions above to boot into the service menu after you've finished running the program.

I tried using the L trigger but it still didn't work. The link you posted below that doesn't exist...check it again? I'll keep trying...just let me know about the link and about what else you're thinking.

PS: I don't need CFW to do this right? I'm running 1.5 and that's cool?

Oh by the way: I tried the Pandora Battery in the fatt PSP as well, and the same thing happens...I think there's a problem with the setup of the battery somewhere, but I really don't know where. I've followed everything to a T.

UPDATE: The Pandora works on the fatt PSP! I had the wrong eboot file loaded when I used Pandora's GUI (I was using the 2.71 eboot, not 1.5). But it still will not work on the slim, which was the whole point of this experiment. Any suggestions?

Also: Just doing some research here...do I need to use Despertar del Cementerio???

Despertar is the only way to install CFW on a slim. Any other method can screw your psp up, badly. Good thing you noticed that, and great to see that you've gotten this far so easily. Good luck.