Gaming PSP Slim Questions and FirmwareQuestions.

[Tortimer]

So, I've earned a fat wad of ca$h, and since I already have DSLite with R4 + 2GB Japan Kingston and an EZ 3-in-1 I was thinking of buying the PSP.

I'm thinking of buying the Slim & Lite version.

And here are my questions:

1. Are there any specific downsides to the Slim & Lite versus the old Fat one. I know the UMD-hatch is different (simpler). Is this a problem?

2. Are there any diffrences in Firmware betwen S&L and the fat version.

2.5. Are there any diffrences in Firmware between a PSP from Europe or a PSP from the US? I live in Europe (Sweden), can I use US CFW?

3. If i get a Pandorabattery from DealExtreme will I be able to upgrade and downgrade my PSP whichever way I like? (I've read about alternative ways, such as modifying an official battery, but 10$ for an extra, already modified one seems okay to me)

4. Is 1.5 still the only FW that will play ISO's or have the always jolly, hardworking hacking community arranged so that you can run ISO's with the latest CFW?

5. Any good forumthread recommendations?

6. What is the easiest way to modify Firmware? The Battery hack with the restoringconsole or something else?

 

[myuusmeow]

1. No, Slim can now do everything the Phat can and more, see 2.
2. No, other than having Skype etc.
2.5. No, there is only one CFW which works for all. PSPs are region free anyway (except for UMD movies, but who buys those)
3. Yes, Slims can only go as low as 3.60 [m33]
4. It hasn't been for ages! All CFW let you play ISOs, 3.XX homebrew and if you're on a Phat, 1.50 homebrew
5. ediblebird's guide, essential psp games.

 

[Tortimer]

My deepest gratitude is expressed towards myuusmeow. Now my fat wad of cash will lessen and my gaming will increase. I'm still wondering about the pros/cons with the S&L compared to the Fat however. Is the difference like that of the DS and DSL or are there things that was better with the Fat model (the only downside with the DSL compared to the DS, that I can see, is that GBA-games stick out, but apart from that, the DSL is a major improvement on all sides).

What about the grip for example? The Fat model had rounded backsides and a smooth/rough surface. Does the S&L feel better?

And the UMD hatch. Is it for better or worse that the S&L is simpler?

And the differences in batterylife? Which is the best?

 

[myuusmeow]

If you liked the flatness of the back of the DSL, you'll like the Slim's flatness. Even better is the corners don't dig into your palms. (ugh, DSL ftl) I prefer the slim.

The grip is fine, obviously it isn't console controller good, but good enough for a portable.

UMD hatch is better IMO too. Just open it with a finger nail (even if you have none), but if you get your Slim to CFW you'll never even need to touch it.

IIRC, they have the same battery life with their respective batteries. Put a Phat battery in a Slim (it'll stick out some so you'll need a special cover) and you get more life, but on the other hand (literally) it'll make the Slim feel lopsided.


Oh, and:

6. If you get a Slim, Pandora's Battery is the only way. If you get a Phat with older firmware (harder to find and more expensive) you might be able to downgrade via GTA or Lumines etc, but I don't know too much about those. I'm a Slim dude.

 

[Originality]

Pros of Slim:
Double the internal memory (up to 64MB - important for certain homebrew)
TV Out
Slimmer, lighter, with speakers and WLAN switch relocated to be out of the way
Slightly less likely to break when you drop it

Cons of Slim:
No native support for 1.5 kernal (although Time Machine seems to remedy this)
THEREFOR no support for v1.5 homebrew (including downgraders)
No InfraRed port
The UMD is slightly more fiddly (but I don't use it anyway)
Feels like cheap plastic (I've never cared - it's lighter to hold!)

Generally, the S/L is everything the Phat is, without the phat. I have both (due to a whiney brother who made me pay for his one) and the one thing I miss from the Phat is the IR port (to act as a remote control for my TV). Aside from that, I prefer the S/L in every way that matters - the playing of games!

 

[Tortimer]

Thank you Originality and myuusmeow. Just the kind of answers I was looking for. S&L it will be I guess. But that doesn't mean more people can't post there opinions here and give me a wider basis of knowledge in the matter.

Another question: What about online play when playing ISO's/backups? Does it work as with the DS (no problem) or have Sony blocked this in some kind of way?

 

[onispawn]

I only played online for a bit, but it seems to work fine.

 

[Tortimer]

Thanks Onispawn for your reply.

And yet some more questions (they never seem to stop coming, do they?)

1. How big is a PSP-ISO? Maximum size? General size?

2. Will I experience slowdowns/longer loadingtimes when playing them from my memory card? Are certain brands of memorycards to be recommended?

3. Logically, the batterylife should be longer when playing from the memorycard compared to the UMD (no moving parts). Is this the case?

4. If I backup my original nand, will I always be able to restore my PSP (through Pandora) no matter what happens or are there still cases where I risk turning the PSP into an expensive bookstand?

5. Is there anything else I should think of?

6. So, I've studied the PSP-scene a bit more and I read that FW 1.5 was good for homebrew since;

"It's the firmware. All of the original psps had 1.0 or 1.50 firmwares (a firmware is basically a system version, like a Version 1.5). They are the most primitive of the psp's firmwares and that means that they didn't kill the homebrew support yet. When the firmwares got updated they beefed up the security making the psps unable to run homebrew. Not all phat PSPs come under 2.8 FW, especially new ones. It would be best to try to find a used psp with a low firmware." -cupajoe38 in http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=84696.

And with the Slim not supporting 1.5 (I've read about timemachine, but nevermind that), has all these little gates of hardship Sony tossed at the homebrew community been solved? Is the newest CFW as good at everything "homebrewy" as the old primitive ones? I really want a slim and this would be the real downside to it.

Long question short: Is the latest CFW the best, and does it have full PSP functionality using every up and down of it or are some parts locked out compared to 1.5? Will my future Slim with the latest CFW kick ass?

7. While Pandoramodding, the memorystick must be between 128MB and 4GB, but can the PSP handle 8GB and 16GB cards (flawlessly) otherwise? I have a 1GB card that I would use for Pandora and I'm considering buying an 8GB card (the more the merrier, but the 16GB version costs ~2500SEK which is aprox. 410USD and that's a little much IMO (more than the PSP itself))

 

[myuusmeow]

1. Max is 1.5GB, it REALLY depends, some shovelware 2d crap could be 10MB with no music etc. And, ISOs can be compressed to CSOs, trading size for speed (really only slows down streaming games, like GTA)
2. It will usually be even faster, flash memory>>>>laser reading disk. Most people recommend SanDisk Ultras, I recommend anything that is not fake. (tons of counterfeits on eBay)
3. Yes, but again it depends, you might be able to play a game at 133MHx (Phoenix Wright on the GBA emulator) or it may even require 333MHz (God of War Chains of Olympus, GTA to get tolerable speeds)
4. Yes, there is always a tiny, tiny risk that something might go wrong, or you'll accidentally trip and remove the battery and the power cord while it is flashing etc. But it is a tiny TINY, risk.
5. idk
6. Almost all 1.50 homebrew has either been ported to 3.XX or can be run through eLoader, so the Slim is good to go. Latest CFW is the best, IIRC Dark_Alex fixed the problems with 8GB+ cards, but I am not 100% sure. Any PSP with either 1.50 or any CFW kicks MAJOR ass.
7. Yes, as said above, there used to be some problems with 8GB+ cards, but I believe they were fixed. I was not even aware that there was a 16GB card out

 

[Tortimer]

Thanks again myuusmeow for great informative answers. (and for interesting reading at http://bangforbyte.890m.com/)

What exactly is it that could go wrong when flashing. The obvious answer would be bricking the PSP but that, in my (inexperienced) opinion, happens when a Firmware installation goes bad. The console powers off before completion or some other less than nice reason.

But what I've understood a pandora battery enters the console into recovery-mode which, as far as I know, is accessible even though the PSP is bricked. And when accessed, you just pop in your original backup nand and away it goes again.

1 (and parts of the above). Is there something apart from this, that really can go TERRIBLY wrong, (memories becoming unreturnably corrupted or something) or does recoverymode cover it all?

2. And if I for some stupid reason would lose my original nand backup, can I use one of the internet? (or do I have to make a thousand copies of mine and store them on different nuclearsafe locations on earth?)

Thanks for everyones support in integrating me into the PSP-community

//Tortimer

 

[Originality]

1. The only thing that can go "terribly wrong" is the flash data where the system files are located. If they get corrupted or deleted without any new files to replace them, then your PSP becomes what is belovedly known as a brick. To recover from this, use a pandora to return your PSP to v1.5 (Phat online) or to manually install CFW directly (S/L only). As far as I know, this works with all cases aside from actual hardware damage, where you need to rely on warranty.

2. I've never actually seen someone post their NAND backup online. As far as I can tell, they're only useful as a way to quickly restore the settings you had, so using someone else's NAND wouldn't be so helpful. Otherwise, using a Pandora to restore corrupted files is all you need to worry about.

 

[Tortimer]

Thank you Originality.

So what I've gathered so far is; with the S&L (what I'll be getting) just use a Pandora battery and you can pop in any FW or CFW you wan't to, since the PSP enters recovery mode. This means the only real way to actually end up with a real brick is through hardware malfunctions and this is covered by the warranty.

If I for some reason would end up with, for example, a lot of pixels dying (or the backlight) or any other really irritating hardware malfunction, can I just pop in the official FW so that the "warranty-people" can't say it was CFW that ruined it?

 

[Rock Raiyu]

I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be doing this but its better to ask in here instead of just making a new topic.

I read places that GTA (CSO, ISO, or Official game) for PSP bricks it (or causes the blue screen of death, I forgot which) is it true? If so, is there anyway to prevent this?

 

[IBNobody]

Thanks again myuusmeow for great informative answers. (and for interesting reading at http://bangforbyte.890m.com/)

What exactly is it that could go wrong when flashing. The obvious answer would be bricking the PSP but that, in my (inexperienced) opinion, happens when a Firmware installation goes bad. The console powers off before completion or some other less than nice reason.

But what I've understood a pandora battery enters the console into recovery-mode which, as far as I know, is accessible even though the PSP is bricked. And when accessed, you just pop in your original backup nand and away it goes again.

1 (and parts of the above). Is there something apart from this, that really can go TERRIBLY wrong, (memories becoming unreturnably corrupted or something) or does recoverymode cover it all?

2. And if I for some stupid reason would lose my original nand backup, can I use one of the internet? (or do I have to make a thousand copies of mine and store them on different nuclearsafe locations on earth?)

Thanks for everyones support in integrating me into the PSP-community

//Tortimer

There are NAND backup programs out there (some are included in UPMS, google it) that will partially restore your NAND. They will restore everything but your private IDStorage keys, which are unique to your PSP.

 

[Tortimer]

Thanks IBNobody.

Now i know why I should backup my NAND. It wouldn't be my PSP without my keys.

I have to ask, is the NAND additional files beside the FW or is it integrated into the Firmware?

 

[Originality]

I read places that GTA (CSO, ISO, or Official game) for PSP bricks it (or causes the blue screen of death, I forgot which) is it true? If so, is there anyway to prevent this?

I've never heard of it, but more importantly, I've never seen it. There are very many YouTube videos (mostly demos or tutorials of CFW installation) that involve either of the GTA games, and if they work live, then they certainly don't brick. Also there is no reason why a game should brick a PSP - it should only be able to write to the memory card, and nowhere else (at least, if you run the game and not the accompanied OFW patch on the UMD).

Something I have heard though is that "streamed" or "live-updated" games such as GTA (i.e. games that don't use loading screens everywhere) are largely incompatible with PSP S/L TV-Out unless you use the composite cable (even with FuSu). This is due to the graphics being "progressive" instead of interlaced, for higher quality - something that can't be transferred to anything less than the 3 video ports used in composite. However, there are few of these games that I know of, so FuSu will usually make games work with TV-Out, no matter the cable.

 

[IBNobody]

Thanks IBNobody.

Now i know why I should backup my NAND. It wouldn't be my PSP without my keys.

I have to ask, is the NAND additional files beside the FW or is it integrated into the Firmware?

It wouldn't function without your keys.

The NAND contains the firmware. It's a 64MB chip on the slim and 32MB on the fat. When you make a backup, you effectively copy the entire contents. This includes the firmware, the PSP's settings, all your security keys, and some applications (Skype).

 

[Tortimer]

Thank you IBNobody.

My knowledge in the matter grows bigger by the day but the world of the PSP hasn't yet ceased to astound and amaze me.

One question just seems to pop into my head when reading this:

I've read that one of the pros of the S&L is that it has 64 MB memory, which homebrew developers can make use of compared to the Phat ones 32. Does homebrew utilize this 64MB memorychip?

 

[Originality]

I've heard mixed reports about exactly how it is used. Some say (recently) that all your settings, key files, and certain applications (Skype) are located there. Some say (Sony I think it was) that it's used for predictive UMD reading to lower loading time (and makes the UMD spin less, lowering battery usage). Some say it's the equivolent of RAM in computers, allowing you to run bigger/more complicated/more processes at the same time.

If someone knows specifically how it's used, take their word for it over mine.

EDIT: I misread the question. I thought you said "How does...?" instead of "Does...?". Yes, some homebrew (e.g. IR Shell) do make use of the doubled memory. Some homebrew don't, either because S/L didn't exist then, or to ensure backwards compatability to PSP Phat. It all depends how it is written.

 

[IBNobody]

I've heard mixed reports about exactly how it is used. Some say (recently) that all your settings, key files, and certain applications (Skype) are located there. Some say (Sony I think it was) that it's used for predictive UMD reading to lower loading time (and makes the UMD spin less, lowering battery usage). Some say it's the equivolent of RAM in computers, allowing you to run bigger/more complicated/more processes at the same time.

If someone knows specifically how it's used, take their word for it over mine.

EDIT: I misread the question. I thought you said "How does...?" instead of "Does...?". Yes, some homebrew (e.g. IR Shell) do make use of the doubled memory. Some homebrew don't, either because S/L didn't exist then, or to ensure backwards compatability to PSP Phat. It all depends how it is written.

The PSP has a NAND flash, which is non-volatile RAM. Meaning: data saved to it stays when you turn off the power. It also has normal RAM which is faster and is used like normal PC RAM is used. On the fat, it had 32MB of NAND Flash and 32MB of RAM. On the slim, it has 64MB of each.

Everything I mentioned about what's in the NAND is true. Sony also uses some of the NAND for UMD caching.

If you were curious, you can access the contents of the NAND flash using custom firmware. Instead of having your USB connection linked to the memory stick, you can set it to point to Flash0, Flash1, Flash2, and Flash3. These are the 4 NAND flash sections. The fat, I think, doesn't have all 4, but I could be wrong.