So, what's Dark AleX been up to these days? A quick trip to his site - and a tip from sinX - reveals that the developer's just finished work on a new flashing application, dubbed nandflasher 0.1 beta.

This PC-based flasher app is built as a tool for executing advanced operations on PSP nands, and will work for the Undiluted Platinum and PSP-Devolution modchips. Not so much on Devolution, though, since DaX doesn't own a Devolution.

Future updates for nandflasher include a GUI fix, improved Devolution codes, bug fixes, and the capability to let the nand logical flash be detected by Windows as a storage device. Usage instructions are available in the file bundle - we strongly advise users to head there before doing anything else.

Download: nandflasher v0.1 Beta

Not exactly an announcement to a new homebrew, but a teaser to a possible one in the works. In case the guys here are wondering what PSP custom firmware (and homebrew) guru Dark AleX has been up to, we've picked up a report that he's currently developing a new flasher for the PSP's Undiluted Platinum (UP) and Devolution modchips.

And while the venerable UP has been the subject of many a tweak since its arrival, it still remains to be seen how the to-be-released Devolution will fare come its stint in the unpredictable world of homebrews and hacks. Stay alert in case we pick up more details on this latest project - and hopefully a confirmation.

Wondering what's the latest with Dark_AleX? Well, according to him, he will be out with his chipped PSP for a month so he decided to come up with something that will be appreciated by every UP user: 3.03/3.10 OE Mix for UP.

In simple terms, this is just an OE update for UP users to have both the vsh for 3.03 and the kernel of 3.10 to launch PSP and PSX games.  DAX also mentioned that pressing L at boot and at recovery from sleep is kind of annoying so he fixed that as well. 

A very simple yet valuable application. DAX has done it again. Here are the program's installation guide as well as some of its features:

Instruction

• On the PSP original NAND, install 3.10 OE-A (or A', doesn't matter because the patches of A' will be applied)
• On the UP nand, install 3.03 OE-C
• Copy 303_10 mix to GAME150, and run it from the UP nand
• Done

Benefits

• 3.03 vsh, which you can customize
• When you execute a psp or psx game, or a homebrew, OE will switch the nand to the psp one (containing 3.10 OE) automatically, so you will be able to play psx and psp games in the higher firmware, and since it will run on the psp nand, you won't have problems with psx games or with 333 MHz
• When you recover from sleep mode, OE will also be back to the nand you were, so you don't need to press L (in fact, you must not press it )
• You can access both flashes via usb in the recovery

Download: [3.03/3.10 OE Mix for UP]

 Needless to say but our beloved homebrew coders do a lot of testing before they come out with their creations. This is particularly true for sensitive matters like firmwares, modchips, and others.

Some of you may not be aware of this, but Fanjita and the Noobz team have been thinking of coming up with a "flash cleaning" application. What's a flash cleaning application, you ask? Well, according to them, they have this theory that the flash runs out of space after several cycles of upgrades and downgrades.

Fanjita wrote that they've reached this speculation after the Undiluted Platinum test PSP showed signs of having ran out of space on the flash. To those of you who are quite knowledgeable about these things, the symptom was an error code of "8001001C when starting ipl_update.prx".

The error appeared after they tried to run the 3.03 downgrader, meaning there was no space left on the device. So Fanjita and the Noobz team continued experimenting and according to them,

After some exhaustive testing, we've now come to the conclusion that there is no unnecessary wastage of flash space during the 3.03 downgrader process. We believe we can now put the problem down to issues with the interaction between the Undiluted Platinum flasher program, and v3.00+ firmwares, which has previously caused flash problems with other people's UP PSPs.

So there. You should not be bothered by this process, except for the usual risk that comes with any downgrader. Thanks for the clarification!

We at QJ pay much attention to our readers. Believe it or not, we actually heed your requests, comments and all other stuff that you send us. Well, one of our readers, Jordan just sent us a treat via mail. It's a video of his USB mod for the Undiluted Platinum modchip. We admit that the video's not that crystal-clear, but we're pretty sure you can make out Jordan's crafty mod.

Hmmm... the UP modchip. We're guessing that you got that for the nifty Epsilon BIOS v1.1. And who wouldn't? The Epsilon BIOS works somewhat as a "bootloader" and "piggybacks" real firmware from the real flash. Sounds interesting don't you think? Of course it's stored in the UP modchip, so you gotta get that first to load Epsilon on your PSP.

But enough of that. Why don't you check out the video below? And if you got more interesting stuff to share with us, don't hesitate to give us the heads-up. We'll sure appreciate it.

Just a few days into its first release, the Epsilon BIOS core has been updated to v1.1. For those who don't know, Epsilon was and still is one of the most compelling reasons to buy the Undiluted Platinum modchip.

Apart from fixing problems in their ISO loader, the only new update is in the form of a bugfix. In their own words, "Fixed a bug which made it impossible to remove game saves from XMB." And while we do not support the use of pirated backups, as a news source, we feel obligated to inform Undiluted Platinum owners that compatibility issues with several games has been resolved, although there are still titles which do not work properly.

For obvious copyright reasons, we can't give out the file here. Please do not give out links in the comments. Offenders will be banned. Please contact your modchip dealer.

Episode 18 of PSP Hacking 101 has just been released for your viewing (and listening) pleasure.

This time around, PSP Hacking 101 will be featuring the installation of the much talked about PSP modchip: the Undiluted Platinum. We've given you a sneak peek of this modchip installation session, and now we're offering you the complete podcast of PSP Hacking 101 episode 18.

If you want to follow the hints and guidelines on the installation, be sure to prepare the following equipment requirements before starting the podcast:

• a microscope
• a very fine tipped solder iron
• a tip tinner and some cleaner powder
• a 30 gauge wire (for the L button and power solder points)
• good lighting, and
• Flux

Enjoy, and good luck!

Download: [PSP Hacking 101 Episode 18] [Video Podcast Feed]

After a lot of hype, some skepticism, and a lot of fanfare, the Epsilon BIOS is finally released. Billed as one of the true Custom Firmwares, and one of the main reasons to buy the Undiluted Platinum modchip, it has quite a feature set. Among other things, it supports homebrew right on 2.71. We didn't have a modchipped PSP at the QJ labs to test it out, but given some of the early reviews coming out, it does seem to do its work quite well.

Here are some of its features:

1. Runs alongside 2.71 firmware, so you get all the features of 2.71 such as RSS feeds, web browser etc combined with the advantages of homebrew software and ISO loading.
2. Allows execution of homebrew software in kernel mode, removing all limits previously in place while running homebrew on firmware versions above 1.50.
3. Built-in recovery menu which can be used to to update your Epsilon BIOS installation or restore your PSP flash contents if it becomes "bricked".
4. Ultra reliable, near transparent UMD emulation allowing users to run their backups from a Memory Stick with ease, including games which require 2.0+ firmware without rebuilding the backup or relying on nasty hacks.

An excerpt from the User Manual:

"Epsilon BIOS can be compared to a "bootloader". It is stored on the U.P. flash memory and executed when your PSP is powered on. Once Epsilon BIOS is running it loads and "piggybacks" the real firmware from the PSP flash. Currently only 2.71 firmware is supported, you must upgrade your PSP onboard firmware to 2.71 in order to use Epsilon BIOS. If you attempt to boot Epsilon BIOS with an unsupported firmware version you will be taken to the recovery menu where you can upgrade the PSP firmware. The great thing about Epsilon BIOS is that since the "bootloader" always runs before the real firmware we can apply whatever patches are necessary to disable whatever protection Sony tries to add in the future, making a U.P. modified PSP using Epsilon BIOS very future proof."

While the feature set definitely sounds impressive, I'll be the first to stick my neck out and say that it still doesn't have enough to 'force' everyone to buy a modchip, unless they're stuck on 2.7+ firmware.

If this was a few months ago, I would have easily pestered myself to buy one of them chips, but looking at the really great programming coming out in the last few weeks, I'm not so sure now. Apart from the only advantage of loading kernel mode homebrew in 2.71, it doesn't offer any feature which the homebrew community haven't got already.

But then again, let this not be a bad review. I am personally looking forward to the stuff which they can offer in the future. I do understand that given the minimal time frame they had to make this, they have really done a great job of packaging it all together. I'm sure that given a substantial amount of time, these guys can accomplish a lot of really great things, for the simple reason that they can work with a lot of hardware which will aid them.

Unfortunately, we can't give it out since it does contain a large portion of the official Sony firmware. If you have a modchip and haven't yet received your copy of Epsilon BIOS, please contact your modchip dealer.

Download: [The Epsilon BIOS User Manual]

The Undiluted Platinum fact sheet may have branded the modchip as a PSP owner's dream come true, but it also admits that it would be a better investment if Team Epsilon delivers their custom flash replacement Epsilon BIOS. Now we have all been promised that the Epsilon BIOS is indeed coming. We were even shown a video of the custom bios flashed onto the U.P. modchip. Pretty believable video, but some still can't help but shout, "Fake!"

Now burnmp3s wrote QJ (thanks!), informing us of an Epsilon BIOS v1.0 review, video, picture, and manual making the rounds of the netvine. Wanting to share these with you guys, we quickly checked out the goods. The review was there - although in my book, it hardly qualifies as a "review" as it never gave a critical overview of the bios, just a simple "I also unbricked a PSP with the "Restore onboard NAND" function and YES it really works!!" statement after a quick recap of what the Epsilon BIOS can do; so were the manual and picture of the recovery menu (shown above).

The manual (which you can check out in the Full Article) provides installation procedures, steps on unbricking a PSP, and running a homebrew for an Epsilon Bios-enabled PSP. It educates users that Epsilon has two parts: bootloader and BIOS. The manual reads further, "The bootloader is flashed to UP memory once, then to install or update the BIOS the bootloader recovery menu is used. You shouldn't need to flash via the UP tool again once the bootloader has been initially installed, making things easier for customers."

With all these new info on Epsilon, dare we hope that the custom bios is indeed nearing its release? Well, as they say, good things come to those who wait. Let's just hope that the PSP community's patience will soon yield a good thing dubbed "The Epsilon BIOS".

It wasn't such a pretty picture: PSP owners rejoicing at the fact that they can play games without having to pay for them thanks to the smart minds of homebrew developers and Sony trying to quash these creative geniuses' products by improving their official firmware security making it impossible (or should that be 'almost impossible'?) to run homebrew on their handheld console. Add to that messy picture the fact that some of the best games now does a forced auto firmware check, requiring an unexpolited firmware to run original UMD cartridges.

Since the whole scene was leaving the PSP owners and developers a bit (?) jaded, we cannot exactly blame them for rejoicing at every bit of development that allowed later firmwares to play homebrew - eLoader, downdater, etc. The eLoader, however, was not a really stable platform for allowing homebrew on all PSP firmware revisions, while the downdater removes all privileges higher firmware versions have. Which leads us to looking hopefully at the one solution that promised to permit running of homebrew on newer PSP versions plus allowing features of the official firmware to be enjoyed at the same time - Team Epislon's Undiluted Platinum.

Of course, when the Undiluted Platinum (U.P.) was first announced, the PSP scene was skeptic. How can such a beautiful piece exist? Is perfection really possible in this lifetime? Apparently not...because U.P. is nowhere near perfect (as this review will reveal)...but it does exist. Believe it - it has arrived.

Read the full article after the jump!

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Admin Note: There seems to have been confusion on the part of our reader base. Many users have accused this article of plagiarising the work of another site. This is not true. The information and images contained in this "review" was mailed out by the modchip makers as a Press Packet to many online sources. This is why many parts of this article are identical to other sites' reports. There was no plagiarism involved and what was done with this article is standard procedure for any official press release.

This should serve as wake-up call to many of our commenters who are quick to judge - its best not to get up on a soap box and make accusations unless you have all the information and know what's going on. Remember the old adage about assuming...