PSP firmware 2.0 to 1.5 downgrader
By Barb Dybwad 
posted Sep 27th 2005 5:10PM
posted Sep 27th 2005 5:10PM
Aight, those of you PSP owners who
fell for went for the 2.0 firmware update and soon thereafter mourned the loss of homebrew goodness —
there's apparently now a working downgrader that'll take you back to the glory days of firmware 1.5. Of course, it goes
without saying that you attempt this at your own risk as it could damage your pacemaker, adjust your refrigerator's
coolness settings or otherwise reach out to sully those things we hold most dear — so caveat hacker, mmmkay?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
2.0s extras are worth the loss of silly old roms. besides, isint 2.0 about to be fully hacked?
DAM YOU EVERYONE ELSE! I WANTED TO FEEL SPECIAL! :P
Mike - silly old roms? I happen to like the idea of bein able to play any game from any (older) platform wherever Iam. Also, if you spend a litte cash and get a 1gig mem stick, you can play any psp game (as long as you can find the .iso dump for the game, or make your own.)
The link is down, any mirror ?
[David:moua]
Being able to play homebrews and emulated games is really the only thing that'd ever get me to buy a PSP. There's certainly no PSP-exclusive content that's worth $290 ($250 plus the cost of a game).
If Sony wants to sell these things, they should just open them up for good instead of trying to keep people from using the thing how they want to. They'd sell a hell of a lot more units if they'd just embrace the hacker community instead of trying to thwart them at every turn.
I don't regret upgrading to 2.0. The homebrews were OK but I lost interest quickly. I'm more of a browser guy anyway.... and I'm fully addicted to Burnout Legends now. It should be in the same drug category as crack.
Play Burnout Legends and you won't give a flying f about homebrew (although I'm sure that will be re-hack for later versions anyway).
If you want a device for homebrew, get a gizmondo. £129 for a 400Mhz Arm9 Processor equipped machine, and an nvidia goforce 4500 if you want any openGL 3d homebrew. The thing's been cracked, but the crack has yet to be made available to the public (the guy who cracked it is developing an SDK for it at the moment)
yeah...the link seems to be down.
Jeff #4: wheres the money in that? besides it doesnt give you the sense of accomplishment that you "beat the man" when you get your first mod working and are able to improve on what sony wanted to do but were to retarded to figure it out...
i myself have been looking into getting a PSP just for the reason to modify it (like the xbox in the past), but i dont think i have the time that i used to have in undergrad to mess w/ this stuff... med school def puts a downer on my tech hobbies... that and the PSP + 1gig mem are just a little out of the price range
Jeff-- Sony makes more money on software than on the PSP systems itself, so it would not behoove them to leave the platform open to hacks that would ultimately decrease sales of their games.
I downgraded (my mirror: http://www.alden0186.freeserve.co.uk/MPHDowngrader.zip) and STILL have a webbrowser... I'm on 1.0 with all the added warmness of 2.0
I got a White PSP, so I didn't have a choice.. now I have Sonic!
This is good news! Finally, my friends can play some SNES / GEN games and won't be borrowing my PSP anymore!!!
#8 C Ryd - The PSP is 100 times easier to mod then the XBOX (not that the xbox was hard) it will take you 10 minutes.
Anyone got a mirror for 1.5 ROM?
But aren't most newer games requiring AT LEAST an upgrade to 1.52 before you can play them? I'm considering waiting for the full 2.0 hack before I do this...
Wait a sec Callum - are you saying that somehow downgrading your firmware didn't remove the 2.0 extras? Or are you just using that 3rd party one?
Kam - you're right, but I think ultimately the more PSPs that are out there, the more Sony would ultimately benefit. After all, they left the vid playing open and they still manage to sell a ton of UMD movies. I think people would love to be able to play some emu games, and still be able to play the licensed new games. Of course, the ISO loader is the one piece of software that absolutely undermines the PSP platform (don't do it kids!) and if Sony made it super easy to use 3rd party applications they'd be making it much easier for people to steal the games, but I still wonder how widely spread that is going to be given the limits of the memorysticks.
Maybe the solution is that Sony could be more open about authorizing third-party software that's not distributed on UMD, and still put up a weak fight on the firmware.
Well Sony can do whatever they want. It's not like they promised an open platform. They've never hidden their distaste for homebrew and you can't really blame them for protecting a device their taking a loss on. If they don't make enough money on games or movies, it could spell the end for the PSP.
If you want homebrew on a portable, the king has returned. The GP2X is comming next month, and if the GP32 was anything to go by, then it'll definitely be worth the US$190.
Check out GP32Z for preorders. And GBAX for info.
n8, sorry - i was So wrong. All I did was run the hack that told my PSP was 1.0 (which allowed me to Then run the 1.5 update). I'm sorry I confused what was going on. Over-excitement - it's Midnight here I should be sleeping- rather than looking into ways of running "Indiana Jones' Quest for Atlantis" on my PSP :D
Right - I think the purpose of that hack is to trick the unit into saying that it has firmware 2.0 so that you can use your 1.5 unit to play UMD games that require 2.0 firmware, but of course you have to have 1.5 to get that to work in the first place AFAIK.
"Play Burnout Legends and you won't give a flying f about homebrew (although I'm sure that will be re-hack for later versions anyway)."
i'm missing something, because i have all my homebrew and i still play burnout legends.
yup. you can play burnout legends on 1.5 or any game that requires an updated ROM by using a launcher program. That's how I avoided upgrading to 1.52 or whatever it is that comes with Burnout Legends.
So, somebody clear this up for me because I didn't get the chance to run homebrew before I upgraded:
1. The hack will 'trick' the program into thinking that you have 1.0 firmware in order to 'upgrade' to 1.5
2. You will need to run a launcher program for games that require the 1.52 firmware in order to play them
3. You will need 3rd party application to run a web browser. (if this is the case, what else is out there besides the Wipeout Pure mod?)
I could be wrong Casey (since I have a 1.5 and have no reason to try the latest hack) but I think there are two different things here:
1) this thread is discussing the downgrade hack, which involves using an exploit in 2.0 that allows some code to be run when a background image is loaded that is too large - that exploit code is used to launch the 1.5 upgrade file, which I believe is just the 1.5 ROM.
2) for those who have 1.5, there's a hack that fools one's PSP into thinking it has any kind of firmware you like - from 1.0 to 2.0. This is important because for those who had 1.5 or those who downgraded to it, some commercial games require a higher ROM version to play. I think that thaibruin is referring to yet another way of doing this.
Correct me if I'm wrong (anyone) though - I haven't used either of these hacks, though I do run homebrew.
22. That is correct, there is a file for 1.5 and 1.0 that can tell your system it is running 1.52+ so that you can play any game you want.
Anyone think this will work with a 1.0 Eboot?
it worked fine for me, so im happy again.....I didnt have a router anyway, so the psp browser was really a drag for me.
hacking this system is pretty much the only use you will get with a PSP until more fun games come out. Right now there is about the same amount of fun games for the PSP than there is for the xbox if not less which is very sad. Though fun games like GTA coming soon :D
That's soooo true GZ, and such a remarkably original observation! Y'know what else I was thinking:
1) the DS is so much better because, y'know, it has simulated dogs
2) every PSP game is a port of a PS2 game, and that's soooo unoriginal
3) if I wanted to play console games like SNES, I'd play them on an SNES
4) emulators suck anyway, since they're not really playable at full speed right now, and I want to play right now
5) if I wanted to use a device for web browsing, I'd get a laptop
6) Sony only makes crap anyway - just look at the dead pixels
7) Halo is the best game ever made, and it won't be on the PSP
can someone link to these launcher programs?
can someone link to these launcher programs?
just to clear a few things up mateys..
a.) this is not a 'hack' that 'tricks' the psp into 'thinking' anything.. it's a full blown, downgrader that sets you right up to 'pre-2.0' status.. which is still far superior to having some silly web browser.. unless you happen to LIKE spending hard earned money on gimpy games.. i mean seriously, someone needs to tell sony that not all gamers are CAR & Driver gamers. how many damnedable car games do we NEED.. one or two to show off the capabilities of the hardware is fine.. but when half your current game library involves 'driving around beautifully rendered, yet uninspired in variety tracks' in 'beautifully rendered, but quickly gets old' cars, you're slittin yer own throat.. it's time to put down the ridge racer/burnout/midnightclub/gt4/twisted metal racing games and start comin out with some interesting and inventive titles.. given the popularity of RPG's, i'm astounded that systems (this includes EVERYONE from nintendo to Micro$oft) NEVER seem to have a decent RPG (if ANY) in their release line-up, nor for about 9 months to a year AFTER their next-gen console has been released.. youre telling me that they can make a Metal Gear game (albiet a craptastically terrible card game one) and a never ending gamut of car racing games, but a simple single rpg title was out of yer class? my gods, rerelease something from the PS1.. brave fencer musashi should have been an easy port at LEAST, or one of the shallower games that had great acclaim, like Grandia or Grandia II, both of which i'm POSITIVE the psp is capable of handling..
b.) you dont NEED 2.0 (for the time being) to play newer games.. all you need is a simple 'version changer' program.. there are no less than 5 different versions from 5 different dev teams, all of which are quite efficient, solid, and most of all safe.. the only real difference between any of them comes down to personal preference.. some have more user-friendly menus and some are geared towards a more 'expert' flavor, but i'm sure you can find ONE to suit yer needs..
c.) waiting for 2.o to be cracked is like sitting on the curb waiting for Jesus to fall out of the sky and wave away all of your worldly problems.. it's much easier for dev teams to develope a program that allows you to fool a umd into thinking you have an upgraded psp than it is to keep trying to crack each successive firmware update that sony releases. if yer concerned with 'being able to play gta' lad, it's going to be a matter of DAYS before someone releases some sort of launcher to get by whatever protection it's going to be sportin, whereas you'll be waitin till the moon falls into the sea for a 'crack' for 2.0. get with the program: either admit you just dont WANT to downgrade, you dont know HOW to downgrade, your too yellowbellied to downgrade, or too 'honest' to downgrade, and leave it at that. the excuse 'i'm happy with the browser' toss up nose at 'homebrewers' and 'downgraders' just makes you look all the more silly, and besides, the only people who really copped that attitude were foolish enough to upgrade to 2.0 in the first place, gaining a virtually useless new 'browser', complications with media files, and a serious case of PSP "cock-envy".
by the by, ye know ye CAN play yer umd's straight from the memory stick if you own it right, and therefore 1.50 users have been enjoying burnout legends just as much as 2.0, as well as coded arms.. it's just that when i get tired of those, i have an entire library of awesome titles to fall back on, where as you must wait for something new to blow yer 39.99 on..
anyways, guess i'll get back to playing FFXI on my PSP: but i guess that game sucks compared to Untold Legends right me boyos?
riiiight :)
hoist the mainsails lads, and make yer heading 1.50.. The sony fleet will surely be firin their cannons on this one, but we'll give a merry chase indeed!
yo ho ho ho!
Why DS is even more stupid than a PSP!
1) Why would I want to simulate a dog when I have a LIVE dog.
2)PSP games may be just like PS2 games but not exactly like all the Link and Wario games
3)I had a DS and noticed that the touch screen does not respond that well and is getting worn out.
4)If I wanted to surf the net,yes I do have a laptop but it doesnt fit in my pocket and is a bitch to carry.
5)There may not be any good games now but at least most of them are still better than any DS game. Since I have a GameGube then why the hell would I want a system that play the exact copy of other systems.
Buy a PSP, unless you want to get the feeling of being ripped off knowing another Gameboy console will be out tomorrow. I still love my SP b/c the best things in life end in SP = PSP and GBSP
correction.. FFVI.. egads my latin is bad.. :)
(final fantasy III on the SNES for those who dont know but always wondered..)
by the by, someone mentioned the 'slowness' of emulated games on the psp.. obviously it's a person who doesnt know how to adjust their settings.. i've been playing Secret of mana, Tales of Phantasia, and FFIII with NO problems once i tweaked the system settings just a tad.. no slowdown, no lag, and runs splendidly..
see you on the briny blue gentlemens :)
But at the end of the story is possible or not to Downgrade the PSP v2.0?
It is possible to downgrade from 2.0 to 1.5
Go to http://pspupdates.qj.net/
The first article on the site shows you how to put the files on your PSP and how to run it. It is an exploit that has been found in the PSP system 1 or 2 days ago. That can now run homebrew on a v2. But the fact is that it is difficult to run it. This downgrader may even brick your system, so be careful.
- The Magic Man
It is possible to downgrade from 2.0 to 1.5
Go to http://pspupdates.qj.net/
The first article on the site shows you how to put the files on your PSP and how to run it. It is an exploit that has been found in the PSP system 1 or 2 days ago. That can now run homebrew on a v2. But the fact is that it is difficult to run it. This downgrader may even brick your system, so be careful.
- The Magic Man
Yes it is possible.
I have the Australian Version of PSP which came loaded with 1.52 - I upgraded to 2.0 out of the box.
Following the instructions I was able to downgrade to version 1.50. And it is also possible to upgrade back to version 2.0 if need be.
Link is back up now.
Sweet, just what we need.
I'd hate to miss out on the newer games because I didn't want to upgrade, now that isn't a problem.
DIJ
http://www.titangames.co.uk
More sceptical fuel for the fire.
Isnt this the exact same version of the downgrader made available some time ago - and no-one would touch it because of system lockups?
This is the same file, right?
So why all the fuss now? Is it just that the downgrader has been better tested? More happy customers? Whats the deal?
Sure I'm yellow belly about trying it - I live in the UK and I only just got my hands on a PSP 4 days ago (we always get the shitty end of the stick in the UK). I dont want to feck up £180 worth of kit that I have barely used yet.
Badhad
Yes, the only reason to run 2.0 is wallpaper and the browser. The browser is ok, but I am ready to try this to see what the fuss is about homebrew.
Once I see a lot of people going through this without screwing up their psps I will take the plunge.
Can someone provide a link to instructions for running Burnout on a 1.5 psp?
What is a launcher program?
More sceptical fuel for the fire.
Isnt this the exact same version of the downgrader made available some time ago - and no-one would touch it because of system lockups?
This is the same file, right?
So why all the fuss now? Is it just that the downgrader has been better tested? More happy customers? Whats the deal?
Sure I'm yellow belly about trying it - I live in the UK and I only just got my hands on a PSP 4 days ago (we always get the shitty end of the stick in the UK). I dont want to feck up £180 worth of kit that I have barely used yet.
Badhad
I was being sarcastic, jamesology and hyena_the_pirate. I was trying to point out how inane Google Nazi's comment was. It didn't come off right I guess, and it wasn't helped that I referred to Google Nazi as "GZ" for some reason. Anyway, point is I was trying to head-off the DS fannies from coming in and blasting the PSP for no good reason.
i have a question: i have a japanese PSP (1000k) and updted to 2.0 (yes i know, im stupid).
will this downgrader work on jp. PSP's or only on the US ones?
thanks in advance
I've tried this on my jap 2.0 psp and it works just fine. It's great having homebrew again.
I still haven't done the downgrade because I have been unsuccessful in finding these 'launcher' programs that will run games that require 1.52. WAB and pspupdates supposedly have it; however, the download area is not working.
Any one know the "BEST" homebrew apps to run? Also, whats the best MAME titles out there that can run currently on the PSP? Anyone know when CPSCPS2 MAME ROMS are going to be playable?
Hi guys,
This may seem like a stupid question but how does this 'homebrew' stuff work. I'm dying to buy a PSP as its the coolest piece of thing I've seen in a while. However, the lack of decent games is making me hold off. I've read on this post that you can play early FF games and other RPG's on it which sound great. How does it work and where do you get the games from? Is it complicated/ time consuming to do? Help is appreciated.
Cheers,
@ #37 try "fast loader .7" or "umd emu .8c"
Eric, where do we get these files?
33%
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aye, i have no problem helpin a fellow mate out and i cant let ya flounder out in the sea #41..
you can get the 'wab version changer' from Pspupdates.com or try PSPhacks.net..
if all else fails, google it..
no offense meant spanky #37.. i think we're gettin our anchors crossed, heave to, and i apologize if you percieved me as having singled you out for cannon fodder.. I meant no ill will and i wasnt responding directly to you, but to those in general.
#36, this is NOT the same file, or at least, it has been modified.. the earlier 'downgrader' was a cheap pass at a 'trial by fire' shot in the dark, that surprisingly DID work occassionally.. problem was, it was too hit or miss.. you either downgraded, or had a shiny new paperweight.. this downgrader is near perfect as long as you follow the instructions.. however, it MUST be said that you can do damage to your psp or render it useless if you have NO idea what you are doing.. best thing is to find someone in your area who DOES.. remember me buckos, never take risks you arent willing to accept if yer luck runs out..
on another note.. here's something i've noticed from my Crow's nest..
Anyone else noticing that the majority of 'psp-hack/update/mod' sites all seem to be 'down' right now? 3:38 pm central standard, gmt, U.s. Time.. just thought i'd document. i like to keep tabs on stuff like this and when 5 of the best mod sites on the net, that gain the most traffic, suddenly go as calm as the eye of a hurricane, ye can bet yer sweet bloomers, SOMETHIN is up..
keep yer eyes on the horizon, and your feet on the deck mateys.. me thinks a fowl wind is blowin from the 'far east' and SOny may be makin their move to counter this sudden 'breakthrough'..
Trim the sail, lad, get yer soundings in deep, and run the garters half quarter, guns at the ready..
shiver me timbers, somethin is brewin or i'm a lubber fer sure..
Cheers #45 - I was innitially put off by the fact I had seen this puppy before. Thanks for clearing this up.
As far as the possibility of creating a paperweight goes - is there a backup to this. Like you do when you apply new firmware to other devices - you know, if the update fails just re-apply the previous firmware to go back to where you started. No update but no loss. Or is this an all or nothing deal?
I'm seriously digging the idea of homebrew, just not digging the idea of making a paperweight - I dont use paper that much.
Thanks again