Dark Alex has done it again! What should we ever do without him. The most awaited custom firmware has finally been released. Now, I know this post might be a bit late, I’ve been having problems with my DSL connection and I haven’t been online for days, but I know a lot of you guys are still waiting for this.

So what are the new features of this custom firmware? This new custom firmware has all the features the 4.01 official firmware has plus a few extras. Many people are asking me if it’s worth installing it and my answer is a YES. I have 4.01 M33-2 custom firmware installed already on my phat PSP and I haven’t encountered any bugs yet. But don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. You can always revert back to your old 3.90 M33-3 if you want.

So much for the rambling. Here are the instructions on how to install the new custom firmware on your PSP.

Requirements

As always, please do check that you pass all the requirements before you can do the installation.

• A Fat PSP or Slim PSP already installed with a custom firmware. At least 3.52 M33-4 custom firmware must be installed on your Fat PSP and 3.60 M33 for the slim.
• A fully charged battery. I know it will run on 70% battery but 100% battery with the AC adapter plugged is the safest setup.
• A USB cable to transfer files from your computer to your PSP.
• The 4.01 M33-2 installer pack that I created for easy install. Download the 4.01 M33-2 installer pack and unzip on your computer.

The Steps

The steps are divided into 3. Please follow the directions carefully. I will not be held responsible for any bricks. Do this at your own risk! But I’m 100% sure you won’t brick your precious PSP if you follow the instructions carefully.

Step A - Installing the 4.01 M33 custom firmware

1. Connect your PSP to your computer using the USB cable. Open the Step A folder and copy the UPDATE folder to ms0:/PSP/GAME/. After copying, disconnect the PSP from your computer.
2. On the XMB menu on your computer, navigate to GAME > Memory Stick and run the 4.01 M33 update. When you run the update, the screen turns black. Follow the text instructions. It will take you to the Official Sony Update screen. That is normal. Continue with the process following the instructions.
3. The Sony Updater will run. Don’t turn off your PSP or interrupt the update. After the Update, you will be asked to press a certain button to restart your PSP. Do so.
4. Congratulations, your PSP is installed with 4.01 M33 custom firmware now. On to Step B.

Step B - Installation of the 4.01 M33 update

1. You can only do this if you are successful with Step A. Connect your PSP to your computer. On your memory stick, navigate to PSP/GAME and delete the UPDATE folder.
2. Now open STEP 2 folder to your computer and copy the UPDATE folder to ms0:/PSP/GAME/. Disconnect your PSP from the computer once you are done.
3. On the XMB menu, scroll to GAME > Memory Stick and run the 4.01 M33-2 update. Just follow the onscreen instructions and you’ll be safe.
4. After the installation, you will be returned to the XMB screen.
5. Congratulations on your 4.01 M33-2 PSP.

Step C - 1.50 Kernel Add-on Installation Guide

1. This last set of steps is optional. You may do this or not. The next set of steps will be instructions on how to install the 1.50 Kernel Add on for the Fat PSP. Sorry slim owners.
2. Connect your PSP to your computer. Open Step C folder and then copy 150.PBP file from your computer to the root directory of your memory stick. And then copy 4XX folder from your computer to ms0:/PSP/.
3. Exit the USB mode and on your XMB, navigate to GAME > Memory Stick and then run the 1.50 Kernel Add-on program. Follow the onscreen instructions.
4. After the installation is successful, you will be taken back to the XMB.
5. Congratulations. Your PSP is now the same as mine, a full battle gear handheld. Place your 1.50 homebrews on the PSP/GAME150 folder.

Whew! That was long. I really enjoy writing these kind of stuff. If you have questions or comments, scroll down and leave your message. Thanks to the M33 team for the goodies especially to Dark Alex!

*Update: The screenshot plugin also works with this new custom Firmware!

Months have passed by since the last release of Dark Alex’s custom firmware. The last custom firmware Dark Alex released was 3.90 M33 and right now we’re still waiting for him to release 3.95 M33 that is if he’s working on it. I checked out Dark Alex’s website and I found out that he’s working on the PS3 too. That’s uber cool.

According to QJ, the new 3.95 custom firmware was reverse engineered from Team M33’s work. Does that mean Team 33 isn’t working on the new custom firmware? If it is, then who is working on 3.95 custom firmware. Also, QJ reports that the new custom firmware will not support Popsloader. If so, then what good is a custom firmware without Popsloader?

There has been no reported date yet when this next firmware’s gonna be released yet but the question here is, is it worth the wait? According to rumors PSP Official Firmware 4.0 will be released this May and maybe PSP OFW 4.0 will be released first than 3.95 CFW.

I’d rather wait for Dark Alex to work on 4.0 M33 which I think is more worth the wait than to grab 3.95 CFW with only a few additional unimportant features added. Well, that’s just me. If you have something to say about this then please feel free to make the comments below.

I just found a place where to buy cool accessories for your PSP. If you want to pimp your PSP you can head to XCM and buy your PSP accessories online. The most catchy of them all are the glow in the dark faceplates. If you are wondering what a face plate is, it’s like the housing or skin of your PSP.

The glow in the dark faceplates are really eye catching. It also helps you locate your PSP better in the dark too. Here are some screenshots from the XCM website.

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.

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.

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.

Finally, the update we’ve been waiting for has been released by Dark Alex. The update basically fixes the bugs causing the PSP to run slow at times. According to the readme file from Dark Alex here are the changes:

• Fixed custom CPU clock not working in games
• CPU clock has never (in any SE/OE/M33) be set at all in games that restarted using sceKernelLoadExec to use a subgame or reload themselves, after said restart happened (e.g. Castlevania). Fixed.
• Added setting to recovery to hide PIC0.PNG and PIC1.PNG in the XMB game menu by default off, when on you will probably notice a faster browse in XMB games. This setting only applies to any kind of apps/games (pbp, iso) that load from MS, but not to UMD’s.

So how are we to install this update? It’s actually so much easier right now if you have the 3.80 M33 custom firmware already. You can do it by your PSP alone via the Network Update. But for PSP fan boys out there that doesn’t have WiFi connection, here’s the guide for you.

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 (optional)
• A USB Cable (optional)

If you are lucky and have a WiFi connection, follow these 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!

Here’s for the guys who don’t have WiFi connections, follow this guide:

1. Download the 3.80 M33-5 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 M33-5 update program. Follow the onscreen instructions and wait for 10 secs.
5. Enjoy your new 3.80 M33-5 powered PSP.

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.

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.

Just minutes ago, I wrote the installation guide for 3.80 M33 Custom Firmware. now I’m writing a guide on how to update 3.80 M33 to 3.80 M33-2. So why update? Is there a bug or something? Actually there is. This update is necessary for plugins and kernel homebrew reporting psp cpu speed. Also 80 by 80 PSX icons will not be replaced by a Dracula icon anymore.

So let’s get on with the guide. But first, a few reminders, I will not be held responsible if something happens to your PSP. I’ve updated mine using this guide I made and was successful.

The Requirements

1. You will need a PSP installed with 3.80 M33 custom firmware. If you don’t have it yet, then follow this easy 3.80 M33 installation guide I wrote earlier.
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 3.80 M33-2 update files.
2. Extract it anywhere on your computer.
3. Connect your PSP to your computer via USB cable and copy the UPDATE folder from the file you’ve extracted to your PSP in this drive: ms0:/PSP/GAME/
4. Disconnect your PSP from your computer then got the XMB menu. Scroll to GAME > Memory Stick and run the M33-2 Update Program. Follow the onscreen instructions.
5. Enjoy your updated PSP!

If you love homebrew applications then you might consider installing the 1.50 Kernel add-on for 3.80 M33-2. This only works for the Phas PSP.

Dark Alex has released days ago the 4th update for the 3.71 M33. This one’s easy to install but for newbies out there, I’ll still make you a very simple a guide even your grandma can follow. But what’s new on the 3.71 M33-4? Here’s the changelog according to Dark Alex:

• Bugfix: Multidisc psx games bought in the psn store would not work due to the format being different and M33 treating them as decrypted games.
• Added support for decrypted multidisc psx games created with popstation_md (supplied with this release)

So let’s go on now with the installation. The process is very easy but like I always tell you boys and girls out there, it’s better to read the instructions very carefully.

Requirements

This is the essential part of this guide. If you find that you don’t meet the requirements, better not continue the process because it won’t work or you’ll might end up bricking your precious PSP.

• PSP with 3.71 M33, 3.71 M33-2 or 3.71 M33-3 custom firmware. For newbies, you can see the version of your PSP on your XMB by going to System Settings > System Information. And again, for newbies, this doesn’t work with Sony’s official Firmware
• USB Cable for transferring files from your PC to your PSP

Instructions

1. Download the M33 Update 4 file here and save it to your computer. You can get it on Dark Alex’s website.
2. Once downloaded, extract the contents of the file to anywhere on your computer. Copy the UPDATE folder to your memory stick in the x:/PSP/GAME where x is the drive of your PSP.
3. Go to the XMB menu, scroll to Games> Memory Stick and run the M33 Update-4 program. 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 M33-4 PSP. Grab a Coke or a Pepsi. Eat spaghetti and celebrate.

Well that’s it. I hope you guys like this easy guide.