2009/06/18 (YYYY/MM/DD) ~ I'm writing this in a rush, since I don't have a lot of time on my hands at the moment. There are probably a lot of grammar mistakes, inconsistent numbers, or information that is still out dated. This update is a critical Beta update, seeing how a lot of things have changed in the past 2 months & 12 days.
I will update again as soon as I have both free time & internet access.
First thing's first, know your PSP.
There are three types of PSPs:
1- 1000 Series (Also known as Phat/Fat)
2- 2000 Series (Also known as Slim or Lite & Slim)
3- 3000 Series (Also known as Brite)
Now, what do I mean by "
Hackable"?
With all the new updates in the PSP world lately,
Hackable is a more complicated word than it used to be.
I will split it up to smaller words (Not Fragments) that are more accurate for the time being.
Completely
Hackable (CHA): This means you can Install Custom Firmware (CFW) on your PSP, uninstall it, install Official Firmware (OFW), uninstall it, play with the Flash of the PSP, All with no worries of bricking the system, because if you do, there’s always a way to fix it. And compared to the Partially
Hackable PSPs, the most important thing is that if you install CFW, it will remain in the PSP until you remove it yourself by installing OFW.
Partially
Hackable (PHA): This means that you can temporarily run CFW on it, but you cannot install it on the system indefinitely. If you force shut down, or remove the battery from the PSP, it will revert to OFW. If you try playing with the Flash of the device, you might brick your PSP for good. There’s no telling if Sony will fix it at a later time, on warranty or not.
Unhackable, Not
Hackable, or Non-Hackable (NHA): These PSPs are ones that you could not install or run CFW on them in any method that is publicly available. You can’t play Backed up games, run homebrew, or do anything Sony doesn’t want you to.
I will not spit out the Hackability of the PSP myself. It’s your PSP, I tell you what the rules are & how to understand the variables, & it’s your job to understand them & figure out whether the PSP is CHA, PHA, or UHA.
On an unrelated matter, there are PSPs which are able to Soft Mod a battery into a Pandora Battery. A Pandora is used with a Magic Memory Stick (MMS) to hack or fix CHA PSPs.
Why Hack a PSP?
A Hacked PSP could run Homebrew, which are programs that have been developed by people that don’t have a contract with Sony. A PSP with Custom Firmware could also backup your games from a UMD to your computer; it also allows you to play those backups from your Memory Stick (MS). You could also do some serious customizations to your theme. Basically, you free your PSP from the hands of Sony.
Why are some PSPs CHA, PHA, and NHA?
To put it simple, Sony keeps updating & increasing the security on PSPs as they release newer ones. It’s extremely easy to hack old unites, & a lot of them have more than just one way of hacking. The new unites however are harder to hack or fix if bricked.
Let’s start now.
All 1000 Series PSPs are CHA.
There are several methods to hack them.
On the other hand, 2000 Series are a little complicated. There are old units, new units, & really new units. The old ones contain Motherboards released before the TA-088v3, and are all CHA. The new ones have TA-088v3 Motherboards, and are either PHA or NHA. Finally, the really new ones; those have TA-090v1 Motherboards, which are CHA.
Finally, the 3000 series PSPs, all of those have the TA-090v2 Motherboard, which are either PHA or NHA.
For a PSP to be PHA & not NHA, it needs to have a specific Firmware (At the moment, 5.03 OFW is the one needed most).
Here’s a list of all the Motherboards made & released by Sony:
[img width=600 height=323]http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd136/OverLord_Draik/HackablePSPs-2.png[/img]
You’ll need to use that list to compare with the information below.
Of course, new updates might come to change everything one day, & that's why there's a date at the start of the topic (To indicate when this topic was last updated).
I want to note that most of the information I know I learned through research.
[size=17pt] 1- What's the PSP's Motherboard?! [/size]
This is the simplest method out there, but you most likely won’t be able to use it unless if you own the system.
Use
PSPIdent.
[size=17pt] 2- What is the Firmware the PSP came with? [/size]
(PSP 200x ONLY, Does NOT Apply on 100x or 300x)
The original firmware that came with the PSP right out of the box is an indication of its Motherboard, & here’s the list:
[size=11pt]
3.60 Official Firmware: TA-085v1.
3.71 Official Firmware: TA-088v1.
3.72 Official Firmware: TA-085v2.
3.80 Official Firmware: TA-085v2 or TA-088v1.
3.90 Official Firmware: TA-088v1 or TA-088v2.
3.95 Official Firmware: TA-088v1 or TA-088v2.
4.01 Official Firmware: TA-088v2 or TA-088v3.
4.05 Official Firmware: TA-088v3[/size][size=3pt]
[/size] If you updated to any Firmware, that doesn’t matter. This only applies on the PSP’s Original Firmware that it was shipped with (The PSP’s Firmware right out of the box).
[size=17pt] 3- What is the PSP's Serial Number? [/size]
(PSP 2001 ONLY, Does NOT Apply on 100x or 300x)
The Serial Number is found on a label where the battery is supposed to go (As shown in the picture "SERIAL No.")
[img width=533 height=400]http://en.netlogstatic.com/p/oo/019/776/19776902.jpg[/img]
This isn’t something serious or very helpful, but with more research, it could be.
At the moment, it focuses mostly on American Piano Black PSPs (2001 Series).
If that serial number is anything less than HU2160000, then the PSP has a
TA-088v1 Motherboard.
If that serial number is anything more than HU2249999, then the PSP has a
TA-088v3 Motherboard.
As for PSPs with serial numbers between
HU2160000 and
HU2249999, They’re in a gray zone (to me). The closer to
HU2160000, the safer it is.
Any other serial (Say starting with HB, HC, HE or HJ) doesn’t matter at the moment.
Serial Numbers for ANY other PSP don’t matter at the moment.
The American Piano Black Serial Numbers relate to the PSP’s Registration Serial (from Method 5).
[size=17pt] 4- What's the unit's Identification letter (A letter on a label on the box that indicates what version it has)? [/size]
(PSP 200x ONLY, Does NOT Apply on 100x or 300x)
Here's a picture of a label found on the PSP box that has the letter on it:
[img width=533 height=400]http://en.netlogstatic.com/p/oo/019/990/19990035.jpg[/img]
Note that this label is only present on an original style box (The small, normal box. Not like those large "Limited Edition" Boxes).
Anyway, See the G there?
PSP-2000 CW
100v
G
That G is the letter in question. Here's a list of all the letters that the 2000 series ship with and their Motherboards:
[b]
(No Letter) = TA-085v1
A = TA-088v1
C = TA-085v2
E = TA-085v2 or TA-088v1
F = TA-088v1 or TA-088v2
G =
TA-088v1 or TA-088v2 or TA-088v3
J = TA-088v3
Some Labels have an extra code written on it, usually “ss259”. That doesn’t matter, just look for the Capital Letter next to it (to the right).
Note that the G PSP in the picture is my personal PSP. It came with a 3.95 Official Firmware (OFW) & I hacked it.
[size=17pt] 5- What's the
Box's Serial Number? [/size]
(PSP 2001 ONLY, Does NOT Apply on 100x or 300x)
If your box doesn't have a label with a letter in it, like the G in the third method, then it should have a label with serial number.
Here's a picture given to me by one of
our members:
[img width=533 height=400]http://en.netlogstatic.com/p/oo/020/240/20240905.jpg[/img]
If the serial number is less than AB021600000, then it has a
TA-088v1 Motherboard.
If the serial number is more than AB022499999, then it has a
TA-088v3 Motherboard.
This is related to the HU~ Serial Number (Method 4) & only applies on American Piano Black PSPs.
This does not apply to ANY other PSP; only the 2001 Piano Black edition. I currently do not have any similar information on other PSPs, especially Limit Edition PSPs.
[size=17pt] 6- What's the PSP's Date Code? [/size]
(PSP 200x ONLY, Does NOT Apply on 100x or 300x)
This is where you would find the date code:
[img width=533 height=400]http://en.netlogstatic.com/p/oo/020/349/20349608.jpg[/img]
Note that American 2000 series (2001 PSPs) & Japanese PSPs (Both 1000 series & 2000 series) Don’t have those date codes on them, just like the 2001 Piano Black PSP pictured above.
The Motherboard list for the date codes isn’t ready yet, so I’ll just mention the hackability.
The 2000 Series Date Codes go as follows:
7C: CHA.
7D: CHA.
7(Any later Letter): CHA.
8A: CHA.
8B: CHA.
8C: Has Very High Chance that it is PHA or NHA.
8D: PHA or NHA.
This information isn’t 100% valid. I’m still doing some research on it, & I will be updating it whenever I know anything new.
[size=17pt] 7- If it's a Limited Edition PSP, here's the list of the ones I know of so far: [/size]
Star Wars Limited Edition, comes with
3.60 OFW & a TA-085v1 Motherboard.
Simpsons Limited Edition, comes with
3.60 OFW & a TA-085v1 Motherboard.
Daxter Limited Edition Pack, comes with
3.80 OFW & a TA-085v2 Motherboard.
God of War Limited Edition Pack, comes with
3.95 OFW & a TA-088v2 Motherboard.
Madden 09 Limited Edition Pack, comes with either
3.95 OFW & a TA-088v2 Motherboard ~~OR~~ 4.01 OFW & a TA-088v3 Motherboard.
If anyone would like to discuss any of these methods with me, either to contradict them or help me improve my theories on them, a PM, IM, E-Mail or any other form of message would do to get us started.
There is one method I'd like to say has nothing to do with whether the PSP is
hackable or not:
The PSP series full number (2000/2001/2002/etc) just as seen in both pictures (2001 black PSP Slim, & 2000 White PSP Slim) Those have nothing to do with whether the PSP is
hackable or not, it's just an indication of the region of the PSP.
& Here's the list:
2000- Japan
2001- United States (American)
2002- Australia/New Zealand
2003- United Kingdom
2004- Europe
2005- Korea
2006- Hong Kong/Singapore
2007- Taiwan
2008- Russia
2009- China
2010- Mexico
Also, if a PSP is CHA, the Firmware on it has nothing to do with its Hackability. The Firmware only matters if the PSP is NOT CHA. The Firmware will be what decides whether a PSP is PHA or NHA.
Requests:
| Dear Reader,
| If you still aren't satisfied with this & would like to discuss whether your PSP is
hackable or not, please write your post here instead of starting a new topic. I'll do my best to help out as much as I can! But if it’s crystal clear that your PSP has a high chance of being unhackable, I’ll just end up telling you to test it with a Pandora & MMS.
If your PSP is CHA or PHA, & you want to hack it, follow the following link for all your needs:
http://pspslimhacks.com/psp-tutorials/
Attempting to hack a PSP is becoming dangerous lately. You HAVE TO KNOW whether it’s CHA or not. If you attempt hacking a PSP that is PHA using a method only for a CHA PSP, you might brick your PSP & not be able to use it ever again.
Also, hacking it will not void your Warranty, though you will have to reinstall an Official Firmware back on it to use its Sony Warranty.
Final Note:
Please don’t copy or rewrite this research to any other website.
If you would like me to post it on your website, ask me to. I’ll work on it & post it there as soon as I can.
If this post was copied or rewritten (again) to any other site, My faith in the PSP society will decrease, taking away my support & future guides & tutorials.
(Sites that have members who copied the tutorial without informing me or asking me:
1 2 3 4)
Thanks Go to:
Jonatan10 for the Motherboard List and information concerning them.
PSPWAD for the Identification letter List & The Special Edition List.
Rith for the region list, & general support in other fields.
& Naturally, to Dark_AleX & the M33 Team for their CFW.
Draik
Is This PSP Hackable?! Allow me to Answer That!!
Linear Mode
