[TUTORIAL] Hacking 200xV3 and 300x PSP's - A Comprehensive Guide

BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER - I CAN TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO PROPERTY/INJURY OR DEATH RESULTING FROM ANY INSTRUCTION GIVEN INFERRED OR IMPLIED BY THIS TUTORIAL - FURTHERMORE, THIS GUIDE IS BASED ON INFORMATION GLEENED, ABSORBED AND TAKEN FROM OTHER PSP FANS AND I CLAIM ONLY TO HAVE COMPILED THIS INFORMATION, NOT TO HAVE CREATED/INVENTED OR DISCOVERED IT MYSELF!

TERMS:

CFW - Firmware Created by Developers
CHA - A completely hackable psp
Flash0 - The area (1 of 5 folders) where all of the firmware files needed for operation are kept - DO NOT TOUCH!
GEN - Developers of CFW (for CHA - 5.50GEN-B/B2/C/D/D2/D3 & for PHA 5.03GEN-A/B/C)
MHU - Developers of CFW - Xenogears and Becus25 (MHU refers to CFWEnabler 3.60/70 - Other versions (3.50) known as 5.03m33-6)
MOBO - The PSP's MOtherBOard
MS - Memory Stick
MS0:\ - The Root of the MS (The first window you see when you open it on a PC - Contains the PSP, SEPLUGINS and other folders)
OFW - Official Firmware from SONY
PHA - A partially hackable psp - (IF the firmware installed is 5.03 or less)
XMB - X (Cross) Menu Bar - The Main screen when the PSP is running - Showing GAME/MUSIC/PHOTO etc



IDENTIFYING YOUR PSP200x MOTHERBOARD


Ensuring that your PSP2000 is a TA088V3 is important because many of us with Fully UnHackable PSP's would be VERY upset to find you with Temporary CFW and a CHA mobo!


NB! For OFW5.03 and below!


*Install OFW5.03 (Step 1 of this guide)
*Install ChickHEN R2/MHUSpeed (Step 2 of this guide)
*Download PSPIdent.04
*Extract, Install and Run this homebrew (MS0:\PSP\GAME\PSPIdent - run from GAME on the XMB) - Also see OTHER TIPS E
*If your mobo is a TA088v2 or lower Then you are on the wrong Tutorial - Its fully Hackable! Go HERE!
*If your mobo is a TA088v3 or a TA090v2 (3k) then proceed!

Thank you for the sensible and constructive advice mattyyey and skyend



STEP ONE - OFW


If your psp is below OFW5.03 then follow this guide
If your psp is OFW5.03 then move to the next step
If your psp's FW is higher than OFW5.03 then it is currently unhackable


OFW5.03 -

DOWNLOAD OFW5.03

*Your battery must be at least 78% charged (I plug in the AC charger too)
*Extract the “PSP_Firmware_503.RAR” on your PC to get "Eboot.pbp".
*Format your MS via your PSP Settings>System Settings> Format Memory Stick.
*Then Create a folder "UPDATE" in the "GAME" folder in the "PSP" folder on the root of the MS - MS0:\PSP\GAME\UPDATE
*NB! The folder names are case sensitive
*Place "Eboot.pbp" in the UPDATE folder
*Run the update on your PSP and after it’s completed it will reboot into OFW 5.03
*NB! Do not switch off the PSP or remove the battery during the update as this will result in a PERMA-BRICK!

Thank you for the sensible and constructive advice skyend



STEP TWO - ChickHEN / MHUSpeed3



If your psp is running OFW5.03 follow this guide
If your psp is below OFW5.03 then move to step one
If your psp's FW is higher than OFW5.03 then it is currently unhackable


ChickHEN -DOWNLOAD ChickHEN R2 The Original and works on ALL PSP's
Or – DOWNLOAD ChickHEN Mod Only for 2k's and 3k's
Or – DOWNLOAD ChickHEN Mod 2 Only for 2k's and 3k's
Or - DOWNLOAD the NEW MHUSPEED3 Not compatible with Phat PSP's


*Reset the PSP to factory defaults
*Turn off UMD AutoStart and Cache
*Set Themes/Background to ORIGINAL
*Set USB CHARGE and AUTO CONNECT to OFF
*Some say that the screen brightness should be on the lowest setting
*The Language must be set to ENGLISH and the Character Set to US(437) for PSP's purchased in Japan!

*Backup your MS – Specifically Game Saves
*Format MS (many claim that the smaller (512m/1g/2g) original cards work best - And I agree!)
*Rename the MPROOT folder to "MSROOT"

*Extract “ChickHENR2.RAR” Open the Slim folder and copy the ChickHEN folder contained to the MS0:\PSP\PHOTO folder

OR

*Extract the "MHUSpeed3.RAR" open the PICTURE folder and copy the contents ('mhuspeed3' folder containing images and three other images) to the PICTURE folder on the root of the MS (ms0:\PICTURE\mhuspeed3 + 2.jpg + 3.jpg + seis.jpg)

*Place a copy of the “h.bin”/"speed.bin" file extracted earlier on the ROOT of the MS as well as in the MSROOT folder
*FOR CHICKHEN USERS ENSURE THAT THERE ARE NO OTHER PICS OR PHOTOS ON THE MS - ESSENTIAL
*FOR MHUSPEED3 USERS ENSURE THAT ONLY THE PICTURES THAT CAME IN THE ORIGINAL RAR FILE ARE PRESENT ON THE MS - ESSENTIAL

*CHICKHEN USERS
*IF YOU ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS
*Some say copy 3 more versions of the pictures of the Eggs into the ChickHEN folder and rename e/f and g
*Some say scroll down to the last image while they load but don’t click X on it


UPDATES

1: I have noticed that with MHUSPEED3 specifically that removing the battery instead of Power Button Rebooting significantly increases the chance of the HEN loading on a PSP300x!
2: It has also been confirmed that HOLDING the 'L' Trigger while activating ChickHEN/MHUSPEED3 ensures an installation on some PSP's
3: It has also been confirmed that the presence of custom themes on the PSP (don't even have to be installed) negatively affects the installation of MHUSPEED on some 3k's
Thank you for the sensible and constructive advice mattyyey & thank you to TheSpecial7 for L trigger HEN installation confirmation


NOW

*Fully switch off the PSP
*Restart and immediately scroll to PHOTO in the XMB and select MS\ChickHEN – When the thumbnail loads – press X – Nothing else!
*Funky ‘Green’ screen (See attachment) ensues and Auto-Restart
*To check the ChickHEN’s establishment on the PSP look in Settings>System Settings>Sytem Information>System Software =

"5.03 ChickHenR2" OR "5.03 SPEED3"
*If so move ahead to 5.03 - CFWE 3.60/70 or GEN-B/C

IF

*The screen freezes and the PSP crashes BUT does not Restart Itself – The attempt was Unsuccessful so return to step “NOW”

IF NOT

*Go back to the start of the ChickHEN section of this tutorial and start again (Try booting the PSP while Holding the ‘R’ trigger and continuing to hold it while installing ChickHEN – Unconfirmed by me)



STEP THREE - HEN CFW



If your psp is running OFW5.03 ChickHEN R2/SPEED follow this guide
If your psp is OFW5.03 then move to step two
If your psp's FW is higher than OFW5.03 then it is currently unhackable


So here goes an attempt at explaining WHY you should choose one over the other:



The CFWEnabler family:

CFWE3.50 and below (System Software = 5.03m33-6) Outdated now but available HERE!
CFWE3.60 (System Software = 5.03MHU) Increadibly stable and plays Most games (pre June 2009)
CFWE3.70 (System Software = 5.03MHU) Plays many new games but NOT some older ones and is tempremental


My choice - CFWE3.60! (Because I dont have many NEW games)



The HEN GEN family:


GEN-A (System Software = 5.03GEN-A (Full)) Buggy and outdated but available HERE.
GEN-B (System Software = 5.03GEN-B (Full)) Much more stable and includes the first decrypter for newer games
GEN-C (System Software = 5.03GEN-C (Full)) Includes the latest decrypter but has an unfixed savegame glitch


My choice - GEN-B! (For the newer games I do have)


Now you can make an informed decision below....


CFWE 3.60 (5.03MHU) - DOWNLOAD CFWEnabler3.60
CFWE 3.70 (5.03MHU) – DOWNLOAD CFWEnabler3.70

*Extract The CFWEnabler360/370.zip
*Open the PSP Folder you extracted in it will be a GAME Folder which you will copy including its contents to the MS (When prompted to replace files, choose YES (Assuming you formatted your memory stick)) - MS0:\PSP\GAME
*Run the CFWEnabler 3.60/3.70 on your PSP (It is under Games\MS\CFWEnabler3.60/3.70 on the XMB)
*Press X on “Flash and Start”
*Exit and Enjoy
*NB! OFW6.00+ games require decryption to play and heres how to do it!


OR

GEN-B - DOWNLOAD 5.03GEN-B
GEN-C - DOWNLOAD 5.03GEN-C

*Extract the cfw5.03gen-b/c for3000.zip
*Place the 5.03GEN-B/C folder in the game folder on the MS - ms0:\PSP\GAME\5.03GEN-B/C
*Run the 5.03GEN-B/C Installer from GAME on the XMB
*Click X to Flash GEN-B/C
*Click X to restart into 5.03 GEN-B/C environment



CHANGING FROM MHU/CFWEx.x to GEN-C or VISA VERSA

*Download CFWE 3.30 (Version doesn’t matter as long as it is different to the CFWE that is installed)
*Unzip and Place in the ms0:\PSP\GAME folder
*Run CFWE3.30 from the MS in GAME on the XMB
*Use 'Uninstall' option to Uninstall All CFW
*Exit CFWE3.30
*Reboot
*Install ChickHen/MHUSpeed3


*IF YOU ARE RUNNING 5.03GEN-x USE THE 5.03GEN-C Installers UNINSTALLER TO REMOVE ANY REMAINING GEN CFW

GEN-C
*Download 5.03GEN-C
*Unzip and Place in the ms0:\PSP\GAME folder
*Run 5.03GEN-C from the MS in GAME on the XMB
*Click X to Flash
*Click X to exit into 5.03GEN-C
*IF GEN-C does not establish and says "Restarting into 5.03GEN-C environment" but shuts down, HOLD THE L trigger while loading the 5.03 GEN-C Installer to access the Emergency Installation Screen or follow OTHER TIPS B below)

MHU
*Download CFWE3.70
*Unzip and Place in the ms0:\PSP\GAME folder
*Run CFWE3.70 from the MS in GAME on the XMB
*Click X on Flash and Start
*Click X on Exit to return to the XMB


OTHER TIPS

A) CHECKING YOUR MS FOR MAGICGATE SUPPORT

* On Photo-Video-Music-Game icons on the XMB scroll down to the MS
* Press Triangle and then press X on 'Information'
* MAGICGATE - Supported/YES = Original MS
* MAGICGATE - UnSupported/NO/Unknown = Fake MS
* Fake MS's suffer from Data Transfer Speed issues, Actual Memory Issues, Data Corruption/Deletion
* Not advised for MMS creation or ChickHEN installation


B) ENABLING VSH/RECOVERY MENU FOR 5.03 GEN-x & CFWEx.x

*On the XMB press SELECT and see what happens
*A: Nothing – Hold “L” and “R” triggers and press square while looking for green text on the bottom left of screen. Text will be VSH Menu/RECOVERY/DISABLED, stop pressing square when you see the required selection.
*B: RECOVERY MENU – Exit recovery menu by selecting “Reset Device” (Don’t worry it wont reset). When back on the XMB Hold “L” and “R” triggers and press square twice to select the VSH menu.
*C: VSH MENU – Exit VSH by pressing SELECT and when back on the XMB Hold “L” and “R” triggers and press square once to select the RECOVERY menu.


C) 'FORCE' INSTALLING or EMERGENCY INSTALLATION MENU 5.03GEN-B/C

*Install ChickHEN R2/MHUSpeed3
*Run 5.03GEN-B/C from the MS in GAME on the XMB WHILE HOLDING THE 'L' TRIGGER
*Click X to Start the Patch
*Click X to exit into 5.03GEN-B/C


D) PUTING SEDNA TO GOOD USE on 5.03GEN-B/C

Use SEDNA to update Plugin Changes and for Game Categories 12 changes etc

*Install Plugin
*Make any necessary changes
*Enter RECOVERY menu
*Select 'SUSPEND DEVICE' (actually RESET device)
*This will reboot into the HEN/SPEED and GEN-B/C environment with any adaptations applied!

NB! SEDNA does NOT work with Ultimate VSH menu (Access Recovery through UVSH and Restart from there) and is Buggy with 5.03 GEN-C


E) USING PSPIdent to Establish your PSP's Motherboard

*Install ChickHEN/MHUSpeed
*Uncompress the PSPIdent file and place in the GAME folder in the PSP folder on the root of the MS (ms0:\PSP\GAME\PSPIdent)
*Run the application from the MS under GAME on the XMB
*The application will take a screenshot of the PSP's vital statistics (found in PHOTO on XMB) - Post the pic or the details in any query as reference
*Press HOME to exit the application

A very good guide Gusha! My pleasure to have you here!

My Pleasure - thanks

Will you join the contest Oh, and I gave you +rep.

Nah! Im a lecturer not a programmer... not my forte at all! Ill leave that to the clever people! Thanks for the +rep!

You are welcome!