PSP Multiple Firmware Hack

Posted Apr 25, 2006 at 12:51PM by QJ Staff Listed in: Hacks & Exploits, Mods, News Tags:
Ó


PSP


Well, it's always been a dream for PSP hackers to somehow have full control over the firmware. It's been possible indirectly using Firmware Loaders like the ones made by MPH or SXT. But it's still emulation. And the available resources for actually trying hacks are pretty slim since most of the memory is used up by the PSP's actual firmware.

Well, not any more. A guy called 0okm has been able to use an external 32MB Samsung NAND chip to boot firmware. Can't figure out what I'm saying? Well, for starters, how about being able to boot your PSP using an external source? Yep, it might just be possible. But, it comes at a big risk. So it's still one of those "Do not try this thing at home" situations for most of us.

0okm has been kind enough to provide a few pics and some technical info, including the schematics for the external NAND interface.


Multi Firmware Mod schematic


Wrapping Nand bus for external FirmwareProgram it to a Samsung 32MB NAND Flash


Here are his observations of the hack on different firmwares:

  • 1st PSP w/ FW 1.00
  • 2nd PSP w/ FW 1.00 update to 1.50
  • 3rd PSP w/ FW 2.50 Multi Firmware Mod 50% success - External FW 2.50, 2.60
  • 4th PSP w/ FW 1.51 Multi Firmware Mod 100% success - External FW 1.50, 2.50, 2.60
  • 5th PSP w/ FW 2.50 Multi Firmware Mod 50% success - External FW 2.50, 2.60
  • 6th PSP w/ FW 2.01 Multi Firmware Mod 100% success - External FW 1.50, 2.50, 2.60
If you're looking for more technical info, make your way to the ps2dev forums using the link below.

If you're overwhelmed by all this info, don't worry. In simple words, what this means is that the future of PSP hacking is looking bright. There could be hardware hacks resulting from this in the future, but right now, it's all speculative. And folks, do not even think of trying this at home.

 
 
 

Comments [refresh]

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:11
»

awesome

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:12
» me

someawe





second post

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:14
» :)

id love to see some psp modchips :)

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:18
» unbricker too ?

can this be used to un-brick psp's too ??

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:19
» This won't work

Even if this guy gets this to work how many people are going to throw away their warranty just to dual boot? I mean sure we are screwing over our warranty with homebrew but as long as it doesn't brick our psp's then we can do it and Sony will never know, but this is hardware hacking. There is no way to cover this up. Good luck though, but majority of people will not benefit from this.

by Pranav T - 2006-04-25 07:20
» -

Well, like I said, there could be hardware hacks resulting from this in the future, but right now, it's all speculative.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:22
» yeaaaaa

MODCHIPS COMIN BEYOCHEZ!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:23
» Great

Let's see; a small NAND chip under you batery, a little button to push when you boot to 1.50 firmware, and you release the button too boot in 3.0 and play some PS1 games, let's see...then you have like 70% of consoles/handhelds available ON 14 CENTIMETERS! This is great.

by Rudi - 2006-04-25 07:28
» wow

Good idea but it would have taken alot of time and alot of money, but i dont think it would have worked but then again im not that good with chips and syscals and that stuff.



Would you spend about £800 on something that you dont even no if it would work or not. Sorry to be annoying.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:33
» @ 6 STFU

nocomment

by slack04 - 2006-04-25 07:36
» i love you nerds

lets get in a heated discussion about this too, okay?

by Ragarnok - 2006-04-25 07:37
» .

'the hell is a 50% sucess anyway?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:41
» Warranty? I guess latecomers still have 'em

I bought mine the day they were released in N. America and now it is over 13 months old. No warranty anymore so no worries. It is all gravy from here. I hope this Firmware project gets consumable soon. I'd be willing to dual-boot firmwares.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:46
» yea baby!

bring on the mod chip!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:54
» ignore those idiots #5 & #6

good work man !



I will love to have that mod on my PSP



it's the only way to keep homebrew alive ( cheap too ) so far , since most homebrew users are considering of getting another PSP for the new features and games .



uhm beside there are also retards who cant do anything by themselves ,but crying so f|_|cking loud



ha ha ha , not everybody are the same lol



PS: PSPHACKS are the ones who giving bs stuff that brick your PSP , not here ,you idiots ( they have some superFirmware flying around there , you should try it instead of bs-tting here)

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:55
» pooz

@14 When I bought my PSP (two days after the NSTC release) I bought a one year warranty. I get the Sony warranty and an extra one year warranty from Circuit City.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 07:56
» Ya ya

This is awesome. My PSP might actually be worth the money I have spent if I could switch between 1.0 and 3.0 (or whatever firmware is out)

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:00
» ha..

sure... you can have one...if you can even get them across the border...lmao

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:04
» Perfect Step Forward

This modification could provide developers a handy method to hardmodify PSPs firmwary without being afraid of bricking their device, so we all could benefit from this

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:12
» damnn

this owns as a mawfckr

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:15
» finally

This is the only way psp homebrew is going to survive. Thank you for your efforts and I hope you best of luck! =( i want to get my grubby hands on loco roco and that sweet flash player.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:19
» Yippie!!!

This could open the flood gates. It could also put the final nail in the coffin for sony. Once the process is figured out and everything gets redisgned, shrunk down, cleaned up. this could be the begginings of the psp mod chip era. customs firmware similar to ps2's toxic os. Unlocking all features for all to use. sony couldnt beat the modchip market on the ps2. and I highly doubt they will on the psp. The only thing left now is a hardware mod to add another analog stick to the other side of the psp!!

by Mosquito - 2006-04-25 08:22
» yeah

Modchip for PSP, I only hope they won't cost as much as PS2 ones tough...

by §åggåR - 2006-04-25 08:22
» my thoughts

ok, i dont know much about psp hardware/firmware and whatnot, but does it have a BIOS lieka computer? if that is possible then im sure ardware hacks are in the bag, other than that this looks very promising, like #14 my warranty is just as void as his is, *first day :)* , i will try this out if i ever learn any technical skills. but anyways keep up the hard work!!!



~NAte

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:35
» Djhg2000

Isn't it just easier to have a socket for the flash under the battery that you can replace? In that case you'll just need another identical flash that you can replace the one in the socket with... But I can be wrong tho...

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:35
» omg omg omg omg omg omg!!!

every JUMP THIS UP!!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! This could lead to EASILY making cutom firmware, since all we woudl have to do is put the custom FW on that external chip, the PSP doesnt load, try fixing it! =) until we can get a custom firmware that will let you choose from 2 flash cghips and be like "FW 1.5 or Latest FW?" and then find place for the second chip inside the PSP and close it back up and BAM!!



And also, this coudl lead to the unbrickable PSP, if you brick the flash chip, load the other, and reflash ti soemthing, this is BEAUTZIFUL!!



I CANT WAIT TO SEE ADVANCEMENTS IN THSI PROJECT!!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:36
» Hell Yeah!

Womg, This is great!



Good luck with the future work 0okm!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:37
» jn.khl.

ok, this is great, kett it comming tothe 100% success rate

by RaiderX - 2006-04-25 08:46
» WOOT!!

"every JUMP THIS UP!!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!! This could lead to EASILY making cutom firmware, since all we woudl have to do is put the custom FW on that external chip, the PSP doesnt load, try fixing it! =) until we can get a custom firmware that will let you choose from 2 flash cghips and be like "FW 1.5 or Latest FW?" and then find place for the second chip inside the PSP and close it back up and BAM!!



And also, this coudl lead to the unbrickable PSP, if you brick the flash chip, load the other, and reflash ti soemthing, this is BEAUTZIFUL!!



I CANT WAIT TO SEE ADVANCEMENTS IN THSI PROJECT!!"



That was me, asnt logged in, juyst wanted to point out that Im not a coward =P

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:47
» At last

i didnt quite understand the sucess rate...is it 50% of the time the FW will boot upp or is it 50% you will permanently destroy your psp? (assuming you make the mot 100% right)



And say you have FW 2.5, will you be able to boot up 1.5 or just the same or higher version?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 08:50
» geeks

geeks geeks

by RaiderX - 2006-04-25 08:50
» IN UR FACE SONY!

We won... (hopefully)





Wait a minute, couldnt this mean a downgrader? Like if you can copy the flash to another chip, then couldnt you copy the 1.5 to a chip and put it on a PSP that is supposed to be 2.7 or w/e and then have it boot normally?

by mupet0000 - 2006-04-25 09:05
» WOWOWOWOW

YES, this is the shnizit!!!!



Multi-firmwares!! That means a 2.7 and a 1.5, on the same PSP hahah yes!!



////Wants a mod-chip....

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 09:11
» Djhg2000

What are you goeing to need a downgrader for if you already have 1.x on the external card?



It should be able to run what ever firmware you want unless there's traces of the firmware somwhere else than in the flash...



I still think my Idea was great, I mean, isn't there enough space under the battery to cut up a hole and put a socket in there? Custom-made of course. I've got to try this one!



Anyways, risking not to be able of play anything on the PSP is worth it if it works... And yes, I have a 2.5 that I'm starting to hate (the FW, not the PSP itself)

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 09:57
» 50%, i think this is what he means

whats the 50% success all about, i think he means only one of the external fw's worked out of the two tested.



e.g. for psp 3, only 2.5 fw worked on the external nand chip.



here is what he says



1st PSP w/ FW 1.00

2nd PSP w/ FW 1.00 update to 1.50

3rd PSP w/ FW 2.50 Multi Firmware Mod 50% success - External FW 2.50, 2.60

4th PSP w/ FW 1.51 Multi Firmware Mod 100% success - External FW 1.50, 2.50, 2.60

5th PSP w/ FW 2.50 Multi Firmware Mod 50% success - External FW 2.50, 2.60

6th PSP w/ FW 2.01 Multi Firmware Mod 100% success - External FW 1.50, 2.50, 2.60

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 10:16
» f*ck warranty

i got my psp on christmas

my mom spend 700 dlls in this bllsht from a credit store....f*ck that store in tijuana www.elektra.com.mx

and i upgrade my fw in the same day i opened...whit 1.5 FW....:(...i have no idea this block fw i was noob....right know im working in the diablo project (the blizzard game)....see you soon ,)

by KilleRxElitE - 2006-04-25 10:28
» interesting...

nice work

by MasterQ - 2006-04-25 10:29
» Not Mod Chips...

You guys arent looking at the big picture here... this guy can look at the contents of every future firmware, giving developers the information to make new exploits and develop homebrew for the newest firmware. Since this is hardware, there is NO WAY $ony can block him from doing this. I dont think this project was intended to help to make mod chips but rather give developers a "nitrous boost" to catch up to $ony's devastating lead. Just make sure to keep the UMD emulators and ISO loaders not working and $ony shouldnt care much...

by cory1492 - 2006-04-25 10:38
» the REAL big picture

Firmware stored in the nand chip is still crypted, we already are able to see the crypted files though.

by FreePlay - 2006-04-25 11:07
» Oh, come ON, people.

If you can do this, a downgrader/unbricker is without a purpose, since you can just boot from an easily rewriteable memory source.



FYI: The "32MB Samsung NAND flash chip" he used is just a memory stick!! (I may be wrong, but I'm probably not, since it's the exact same size and shape.)

by comedy - 2006-04-25 11:09
» this could be quite good news

so they're saying this could-be-mod-chip is simply a nand flash blob with some wires?



yeah, just imagine fw1.5 with all it's perks and then a flick of a switch and it's ps1 emulator and fully functional web browser.

by pspfan - 2006-04-25 11:25
»

Awsome stuff. The possibility of dual-booting firmwares is just incredible. I could "upgrade to the newest firmware, use my camera, GPS, flash, streaming audio and video, location free player, web browser, play new games, and then switch to 1.5 and play all my homebrew...Simply amazing!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 12:18
»

@ 43, ITS A FLASH CHIP not a mem stick ..there different, flash is whats inside the psp. and you can have External flashes, such as a NAND chip.

by RaiderX - 2006-04-25 13:04
» @#47 and #43

ur right abouyt that 57, but the mem sticks are also FLAHS Chips, they are flash memory, but the difference is that the smsung thing he used is a NAND chip, the mem sticks arent NAND

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 15:32
» LSO loader

is this the LSO loader for 2.7

by Oinker - 2006-04-25 16:10
» oh mer gurd

oh god i can't wait to have this... so i can play my emulators without have to load up some gay bull*****ty game (GTA) to play my homebrew! and i can still play katamari and untold legends2!

by Zarifus - 2006-04-25 17:04
» Amazing!

This is crazy! Can't wait till they make this simpler or near 100% fool proof. They could probably make it like mod chips where everthings premade, you just have to solder in the wires.



As for space restraints, I've come up with a pretty nice idea: The UMD drive. If you place the newest firmware on your actual PSP, and 1.5 on your 'external' NAND chip, you wouldn't need to use the UMD drive when playing homebrew.

Most ppl would ask "But wouldn't it have to stay in the UMD drive then?". Well, UMDs are round near the bottom, but your UMD drive slot is square (or rectangular), you could solder your wires to the MoBo, then the wires to a connector at, say, the bottom left corner of the UMD slot (so it wouldn't get in the way of an actual UMD). Place all the components in a rectangular box the size of the UMD, with the other end of the connector. When you want 1.5, pop in the 1.5 NAND flash "UMD" and off you go!

Lol, if anyone actually makes one using my method, give me a discount OK? lol, or better yet, you could send me one for free hahah XD

by lansingone - 2006-04-25 18:37
» can't wait to see how this turns out

wow this is great news! but you do have to think whats sony going to try to put in a fimware to stop this? or will this end thare trying to stop it?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-25 21:25
» you idiot

if the firmware is running externally, then sony cant do jack *****.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 00:50
» How Ironic

Once Sony had disabled the possibilities of kernel access thereby preventing ISO's being run from firmware 2.0 they could have stopped there allowing basic homebrew to run while they concentrated on actual UMD games. Since they went all out and released updates even stopping the GTA hack from working they have pretty much given people more motivation to develop a more fool proof method i.e a hardware modchip. Well done Sony, maybe you can release firmware 2.8 with a hardware mod to prevent this lmao. You will never win!!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 03:17
» SWAP MAGIC TRICK HOMBREW

what about swap magic style trick thats been used for ps2 to play back up games. They can be a future way to play hombrews on psp. There must be a way like that, and the best thing is that sony can't do anything with that, just like on the ps2. It's just a thought, but a good possible way to play hombrews while getting the latest upgrades.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 04:47
» yes!!!

oh yeah!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 04:55
» Swap trick my arse

what the hell? what are you gonna swap trick with? a memory stick? shesh...



havent seen any blank UMDs.. or UMD writers..

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 05:23
» UMD Maybe..

sony are planning to release umd cd writer disc soon in the states, it's arleady out in japan. UMD disc are basically no diffrent than a mini disc which can be written with a dvd-rewriter. You can arleady get the plastic cover that proects the umd, so i think it can be possible that there might be something like a swap magic that will boot hombrew aplications in the near future. 56> Nice thought

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-26 10:46
» BS

59> Nope, didn't spot any UMD writers in Akiba today, maybe you're out of your goddamn mind.

by Mog - 2006-04-30 07:38
» samsung 32mb nand chip?

I've looked around but havent found one... keep ending up finding memory sticks...

Does anyone have a link to a site selling these things?

I don't see why 0okm should have all the fun!



All i can say is let's get the soldering irons out and start burning holes in our psp's!

- Mog -

by Djhg2000 - 2006-05-10 04:32
» NAND

the flash chip is a standard flash and can be found at samsung.com



but the 32mb is out of production



I hope that a 64mb will fit in the psp

by KingPepper - 2006-05-16 09:56
» How about This.......

to 58 & 60, Swap Magic is along the right lines, but your thanking of the wrong Method,

what you could do, is somebody could develop a Homebrew Loader UMD, made by Sony themselves Maybe!!!!!

Ever thought of that idea.....Let me explain.........

this UMD could Scan your Memory Stick Duo for any Homebrew on there, if it finds any, it would display those on Main Menu, for you to Select it, Press X to Run,( Just like the Eloader from Fanjita )

Simple as that.......



Its name could be SWAP MAGIC UMD.......

hows that sound..........

by Anonymous piglett - 2006-05-24 08:35
» Sony....

Oh yeah.... I'm sure sony wouldn't mind writing a UMD

that would run Homebrew, just like they decided not

to allow on the last updates!!! ---actually I know nothing

about computers =)---

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