Archive for the ‘homebrew’ Category

PS2 Emulator for the PSP

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

To all those who just logged in after April first, please read: This post is just a joke. It was intended as an April Fools prank. Like everybody else, I, too want a PS2 Emulator.

PS2P - Finally a PS2 Emulator for the PSP. So who’s not been waiting for it? If we could play PSOne games on a PSP then why not PS2 games on a PSP. The PS2P has been programmed by me. I went through a lot of trouble just creating this one (Read the rest of the post for the whole story). It requires Dark Alex’s custom Firmware to run and it works on both PSP types. Wicked ain’t it? So what are you waiting for? Read the rest of the post and grab the PS2P - The PS2 Emulator for the PSP.

PS2 Emulator for PSP

A few days ago, I received a request from a visitor asking me to create a PS2 Emulator program for the PSP. I did not waste anytime. Since I didn’t have a PS2, I grabbed a mask and my pellet gun. I took the car and then drove off and I went straight ahead to one of the local stores here in our area selling PS2s. I was in the car and my hands were getting a little sweaty. I waited for the last customer to get out of the store before I broke in. I pointed the pellet gun on the store owner and asked him to lend me one of those PS2 consoles and games. I could’ve asked for the 60G PS3s but I realized that wasn’t my goal. So I took off before the police came and went straight home.

I opened up the PS2 and connected my computer to it, hacking into the mainframe and the firmware. After a few hours of decoding and encryption, I finally got ahead of the PS2 firmware. So from there, I grabbed my PSP and opened my favorite code editor, Notepad and started coding. It took me more than 5 hours before I finished the program. I copied the program into my fat PSP and it’s time to test it. Oh I forgot to place a PS2 game. So I grabbed one of the PS2 games I borrowed and converted it into ISO with my computer. I copied the ISO into the PSP, it’s a whopping 2 Gig game.

I ran the program, the PSP’s screen went black and after a few seconds of waiting, my PS2 emulator started. Nice! So I tried out the game that I ripped and voila it worked. I tried to play the game and it was smooth and flawless, the frame rate is burning like hell. I was in the middle of testing the program when suddenly a bang came from thru my door. There were policemen all around the house. I was doomed. But before they can arrest me, I uploaded the program. I sneaked out of the window and I tried to run away. Two cops went chasing me and without warning they shot at me and I was hit in the leg. I passed out. A few minutes later, I woke up and thank God it was just a dream.

Before any of you guys overreact, I’d like to say, Happy April Fools Y’All. This post was intended as a prank for April Fools day. Of course we all want a PS2 Emulator for the PSP but the thing is, is it possible? Can the PSP support the graphics for PS2 games. That, I don’t think so. So until this PS2 Emulator remains a joke, we can all keep on dreaming for it.

How to Install 1.50 Kernel Add-on for 3.90 M33 Custom Firmware

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

A Custom Firmware without the 1.50 Kernel add-on is only half a Custom Firmware. Without the 1.50 Kernel on your PSP, the whole purpose of the custom firmware is defeated. 1.50 Kernel is all about the homebrew apps. I have already installed the 1.50 kernel add-on on my PSP and it’s awesome. I could still use the remote control, the WiFi sniffer and a lot more homebrew applications. So how do you install it? It’s quite easy.

The Requirements

  • A Phat PSP with 3.90 M33 custom Firmware installed. This one does not work on a PSP slim but don’t fret, because there is one coming.
  • A USB Cable. This is used as a connectivity tool between the PSP and the computer.

The Installation Guide

  1. Download the 3.90 M33 Addon from Dark Alex’s website.
  2. Unzip and you will find the 150k_addon folder. Copy the 150k_addon folder from your PC to PSP in this directory: PSP/GAME/
  3. Download the 1.50 Firmware and place it into the root directory of your PSP.
  4. Disconnect your USB cable and then on the XMB, go to GAME>Memory Stick then run the 1.50 Kernel Add on update.
  5. Follow the onscreen instructions and wait. The PSP will restart automatically after the update has been installed.
  6. Congratulations. Go and get your homebrew applicatons now.

PSP Custom Firmware 3.90 M33 is out together with the 1.50 Kernel Add-on

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Sony has just released a few days ago, the latest official firmware for the PSP. It’s 3.90 and I think it mostly benefits the PSP Slim users. Phat PSP users like me won’t really benefit anything from it. The new firmware has the Skype application now. Skype enables you to call using your computer to any phone around the world. Now you can call your friends from PSP to computer or PSP to PSP or PSP to phone via Skype. But you would need to buy the PSP mic and headset though. But that’s not great news. The great news is Dark Alex has done it again. You can go to his website now and download the new 3.90 M33 custom firmware and install it on your PSP.

But wait, there’s more! Dark Alex has also released the 1.50 Kernel for the 3.90 M33. You can grab it from his website too. If you have problems installing the latest custom firmware, do not worry because I will write a guide as soon as i have installed the latest update on my PSP.

I also heard that you can install 1.50 kernel on the slim now. Don’t get too excited because I’ll be writing a guide on that too.

How to Update to 3.80 M33-4 Custom Firmware

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

It seems that Dark Alex has been working overtime again. The latest update for the 3.80 M33 custom firmware is now out. And again for noobs out there who’s looking for an easy guide on installing these updates, this is the right place.

There’s actually 2 different ways on how to update your 3.80 M33 custom firmware to 3.80 M33-4. The first one is doing it manually by downloading the update file and copying it to your PSP. And the other one is the easier way - thru the PSP’s native Network Update. Now that is very cool. So hold on to your seats as I give you the details on how to install the 3.80 M33-4 update.

The Requirements 

  • You must have 3.80 M33 Custom Firmware already installed on your PSP. If you don’t have it yet, follow my guide here.
  • A sufficient battery so your PSP won’t turn off in the middle of the update.
  • A Good Wifi Connection
  • A USB Cable (optional)

If you  have a WiFi connection, follow the steps below.

  1. On your XMB Menu, just go to Settings > Network Update then choose your connection. The PSP will then detect if you have the latest custom firmware. If you don’t have it yet, your PSP will automatically download the update file.
  2. After the update has been downloaded, you will be asked to press X or O to begin the update. Press the corresponding button, the screen will turn black and the updated files will be flashed.
  3. After the flashing, your PSP will restart by itself. Enjoy!

If you don’t have WiFi connections, then you should follow the steps below.

  1. Download the 3.80 M33-4 update.
  2. Extract the contents of the file you’ve downloaded anywhere you want on your computer.
  3. connect your PSP to your computer using the USB cable. Copy the UPDATE folder to your PSP in this directory: ms0:/PSP/GAME/
  4. Disconnect your PSP from your computer and go the XMB menu. Go to GAME > Memory Stick then run the M33-4 update program. Follow the onscreen instructions and wait for 10 secs.
  5. Enjoy your newly updated PSP.

How to Install the 1.50 kernel Add-on for 3.80 M33 Custom Firmware

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

This is the third guide I’ve written today. I was checking Dark Alex’s website a few minutes ago and I saw the 1.50 Kernel Add-on for the 3.80 M33. That was pretty quick. Dark Alex is really amazing. I downloaded the 1.50 kernel Add-on for 3.80 M33 and then installed it on my PSP. It was actually quite easy. The files I downloaded has no instructions so here’s the simple guide on how to do it. But like all of my other guides, there’s always a very tiny chance of bricking your PSP.

The Requirements

1. You will need a Fat PSP installed with 3.80 M33-2 custom firmware. The 1.50 Kernel Add-on does not work on the PSP Slim. Follow my 3.80 M33-2 custom firmware installation guide if you’re not into it yet.
2. 75% Battery or more. Why? So you don’t brick your PSP when it shuts off in the middle of the update because you forgot to charge the battery.
3. A USB Cable to connect your PSP to your computer.

Please make sure you pass all the requirements before getting on with the installation.

The Installation Guide

  1. Download the 1.50 Kernel Add-on for 3.80 M33 and the official 1.50 Sony Firmware.
  2. Connect your PSP to your computer via USB cable and copy the 150.PBP file you’ve downloaded to the root of your memory stick.
  3. Extract the 1.50 kernel Add-on file you’ve downloaded anywhere on your computer. There should be 4 files. Copy these files to your memory stick in this directory: ms0:/PSP/GAME380/UPDATE. If you don’t have the GAME380 and the UPDATE folder then you must create it manually.
  4. Disconnect your PSP to your computer and go to your XMB menu. Scroll to GAME > Memory Stick and run the 1.50 Kernel Addon program. Follow the on screen instructions and wait for the flashing of files to get finished.
  5. Enjoy your homebrew capable 3.80 M33-2 PSP!

For questions and comments, please use the comment form below.

PSP Custom Firmware 3.80 M33 To Be Released Soon

Friday, January 4th, 2008

Update: 3.80 M33 has now been released. You can follow my very easy 3.80 M33 installation guide if you want to install this custom firmware.

Dark Alex will soon be releasing the latest custom firmware for the PSP according to Mathieulh. Mathieulh is one of the forefathers of the PSP hacking scene in case you don’t know. He works with Dark Alex right now and the N00bz team.

So what’s new with the 3.80 M33 Custom Firmware? The new custom Firmware will have all the new features included in the official 3.80 Sony Firmware plus the capability to run homebrew apps. In case you don’t know yet, here’s the list of the new features that are added on the latest Sony Firmware.

  1. Internet Radio Feature has now been added under Network. How does that work? We will soon find out but I’m sure you will be needing a wifi connection to connect to the internet radio stations available.
  2. You will now have the ability to preview each scene of a video using the Scene Search feature. for example, if you selected a thumbnail using the Scene Search function, wait for a few seconds and a video preview will begin. The screen will return to the thumbnail of the scene after a few seconds of the preview clip. How cool is that?
  3. New visualizations has been added! That’s freakin’ awesome.
  4. Under the Network tab, you can now view photo RSS feeds. That means you can view RSS flickr photo feeds on your PSP. Way too cool! OPML is also now supported.

I really can’t wait to install the new Custom Firmware on my PSP. I mean who wouldn’t get excited on the new awesome features? While we’re waiting for the new custom firmware to be released, let’s just enjoy the last days of our 3.71 M33 PSPs. Creating custom firmware’s not an easy task so I think we should just wait. As the elders say, “Good things come to those who wait.”, and I totally believe that!

How to Add 1.50 Kernel Add-on to 3.71 M33 Custom Firmware

Friday, December 14th, 2007

I know this post is a little bit late. It’s more than late, probably, but there are still a lot of guys asking me to make this tutorial. I’ve been very busy the past few days that’s why I haven’t been updating too much. But because you guys asked for it, I’ll give it to you. Well, here you go. This is the ultimate guide on how to add the 1.50 kernel add-on for your 3.71 M33 or higher.

REQUIREMENTS

Be sure you meet all the requirements before attempting to do this process.

  • A PSP Fat (No it does not work with a SLIM) with 3.71 M33, 3.71 M33-2 or 3.71 M33-3
  • Make sure you have the GAME folder configured to 3.71 or the program won’t start. How? Enter the recovery mode and go to Configuration -> Game folder homebrew. It should read Currently 3.71 Kernel
  • A USB that will connect your PSP to your PC
  • A keen and watchful eye and a brain that will help you follow and read the instructions very carefully

If you meet all those requirements then you are good to go.

INSTALLATION GUIDE

  1. Get the 1.50 Kernel Addon on the QJ download site. Once on the page, scroll down a bit, and you’ll see an orange button that is labeled “Download”. Click that button and save the file to your computer.
  2. Extract the file and you will see and UPDATE folder. Connect your Fat PSP to your PC with a USB cable. Copy and paste the UPDATE folder from your computer to your PSP ms0://PSP/GAME/
  3. Download the 1.50 Firmware here. Connect your PSP to your PC and copy the 150.PBP you’ve just downloaded into the ROOT of the memory stick.
  4. Disconnect your Fat PSP and on the XMB menu, go to GAME > MEMORY STICK and you’ll find the 1.50-2 update. Run the update and press X to agree with the installation. After the installation, the program will auto-exit.
  5. Done! You can now install homebrew applications. Visit this post for a list of 1.50 homebrew apps and learn how to install them.

Now, wasn’t that too easy. Remember, before asking for help on the comments, please read this post very carefully. Make sure you meet the requirements and make sure you follow the guide step by step. Thank you and if you have more requests about the PSP just leave them on the comments are.

How to Upgrade to 3.71 M33-3

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

It’s been days since Dark Alex has released something for the PSP homebrew community but with his return he brings you the third update for his 3.71 M33 custom firmware. If you’re wondering what’s new on this update, well here they are exactly according to DAX:

  • Fixed a bug in access to flash by usb.
  • HEN core: kernel prx’s with syscall exports work again.
  • PSP Slim: programmers can set the size of user memory to 52 MB by using a sfo flag.
    Check sample in sdk for usage.
  • March33 NO-UMD driver:
    * Fixed a bug that could hang the psp when exiting with home.
    * Fixed compatibility issue with Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, and maybe more games.
  • Vshmenu: it wasn’t displaying properly with psp slim TV-OUT due to the change of resolution. Fixed.

Below are the easy steps on how to do the update on your PSP.

Requirements

Instructions

  1. Download the files here.
  2. Extract the contents of the file. Grab the UPDATE folder and copy it into your memory stick to the directory PSP/GAME/.
  3. On the XMB menu go to Games > Memory Stick and run the update. You will be asked to press X to start the update. Do so. The program will exit automatically and restart your PSP. You now have a PSP 3.71 M33-3 PSP

About the popsloader, I haven’t been able to try it yet. Actually I haven’t been using it for quite sometime. I really dig the new games around. But I’ll be glad to write something about it if a lot of people asked. Thank you all.

UPDATE: You can now skip this guide and go directly to the 3.71 M33-4 update. I wrote a guide on how to add the 1.50 Kernel Add-on for 3.71 M33. Please check it out if you need it.

A List of Useful PSP Homebrew Apps

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Many PSP owners are still wondering what homebrew for the PSP is. PSP Homebrew is not a game but applications created by skillful coders and hackers for the PSP. To make you understand it better, I made a short list of the top PSP homebrew applications that I often use. These are not arranged in any manner whatsoever.

  1. Bookr 0.7.1- This is a PDF reader for the PSP. I found this application very useful. Copy your PDFs to anywhere on your memory stick then open it via Bookr and then BAM! You can read PDF files anywhere. This runs on all custom OE firmwares and all M33 firmwares that has 1.50 kernel installed. Place the app inside the GAME150 folder. Download it here.
  2. IRShell 3.7 - This is one of the best homebrew apps ever for the PSP. Here’s what you can do with it - You can play your backed up games on your PC via USB connection, Output your PSP screen on the monitor of your computer and a whole lot more. Yes it’s compatible with 3.71 M33. Download it here.
  3. PiMPStreamer - This application is a realtime video/audio streamer from your PC to your PSP. it can play almost any video format. It requires WiFi connection. It works on 3.52 M33 and all custom firmwares that has 1.50 kernel support. Get it here.
  4. Wifi Sniffer - I use this handy application all the time especially when I’m looking for hotspots. It shows a list of local wifi access points. TheWiFi detection works real time so it is really handy. Get it here.
  5. AFKIM - An instant messenger client. I use this when I want to chat with my friends online even when I’m lying down on bed. Requires WiFi connection and 1.50 kernel. Get it here.
  6. PSP Comic - This is a very handy comic reader. If you love comics like I do, you gotta have this one. Download it.

These are just a few but the ones I listed are the ones I frequently use. If you’ve got any suggestions on more useful PSP homebrew applications you can leave a comment below.

How to Upgrade to 3.71 M33-2

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Just a few days ago, Dark Alex released an update for 3.71 M33 custom firmware. The update fixed a few bugs. It also disables the VSH menu when on the onscreen keyboard. This update will let you toggle the on screen keyboard again. For the PSP Slim, a functionality to let the charge of battery when connecting a usb cable has been added. Let’s get it on with the guide.

Requirements:

  • Fat or Slim PSP with 3.71 M33 custom firmware. If you don’t have a 3.71 M33 yet, here’s a guide for installing 3.71 M33.
  • USB Cable
  • Computer
  • Make sure you have the kernel of GAME folder configured to 3.71. Shutdown your PSP then restart while pressing R then the recovery menu will appear. Go to Configuration>Game Folder Homebrew. Make it 3.71.

Instructions:

  1. Download the update here.
  2. Unzip the file anywhere on your computer. Connect your PSP to your computer then copy the contents of the UPDATE folder to ms0:/PSP/GAME/UPDATE
  3. Go to XMB menu and then go to GAME>Memory Stick then run the Update
  4. Wait for 5 seconds. Voila! You now have a 3.71 M33-2 PSP

After you have this installed, head on to the next guide on how to install update 3 for 3.71 M33. Let’s give thanks to Dark Alex for his hard work.

UPDATE: You can now skip this guide and go directly to the 3.71 M33-4 update. I wrote a guide on how to add the 1.50 Kernel Add-on for 3.71 M33. Please check it out if you need it.