The homebrew firmware is the exact same thing as the official firmware - it's just unlocked, and it has even more options. Once you switch, there's no reason to go back to the official firmware.
It's just like doing an update download and do it, why would you want to though. I know huh, sounds like a waste of money to me, I would use that and get the R4DS instead(DS homebrew)
So, if I'm on firmware 3.72 there is no way to downgrade to a custom firmware without the pandora's battery?
That would be correct. Datel offers a special battery for sale, as do several folks on eBay. Alternatively, it is possibly to pop open a battery and clip a specific pin, which ruins the ground on the battery and forces the PSP into Service Mode - though I'm a bit foggy on the specifics for the last alternative.
Just be careful who you buy it from on e-bay, I recently bought an 8-gig flash drive on e-bay that turned out to be a 2-gig that was hacked to look like it was 8-gigs, I had to threaten the guy with reporting him to e-bay to get a rebate.
If you dont have a psp that is already hacked opening the battery is the only way to do it its easy just do a google search on "psp pandora no hack" and you should get some pictured tutorials. I just opened it up looked at the picture to see which connector slid the knife under and it came undone (make sure battery is dead just in case your scared)
Okay, well, I modified my PSP Slim battery to work as a pandora's battery so that I could downgrade the firmware so that I could then, in turn, upgrade to custom firmware. Let me start off by saying that online documentation for this procedure is horrible. Everyone does it differently and nobody has complete instructions. None of them are n00b friendly. So now I have a battery that doesn't work and my firmware is still the official version. Apparently since my battery was made in Japan it is not Pandora-capable. Of course, I didn't know that until after I desoldered one of the eeprom legs. Anyone have any ideas how I can get custom firmware on my PSP?
You could always buy a normal battery, just don't buy a cheap one off eBay - there are fakes out there that won't work for this. How did you end up with a Japanese battery? I take it you don't know anybody with a modded PSP? If you did, they could create the battery for you, without having to cut it at all.
http://www.darkmessiah.byethost13.com/freeservice.html There are plenty of folks willing to load up a custom firmware for free. Heck, I'd even do it, so long as you covered shipping. =/ As for messing up your battery, I'd suggest getting a larger battery and replacement cover for your slim. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2149 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9477 I would've suggested the 2200, but it seems that it doesn't work with the Slim. Still, 1800 is better than the 1200 the Slim comes with. This battery's probably a fake and doesn't seem to want it's serial changed through software means, but if you can find someone else to get the custom firmware running on your Slim, then this would make for an awesome regular battery.
I've also done Pandora (and normal) downgrades for people in the past, but never on a Slim - I'm assuming it's the same process.
Hahah, quite the opposite. Slims can't run the 1.50 kernel, so they're left at a bit of a disadvantage. Still, a lot of the programs are being ported over to the 3.xx kernel, so compatibility isn't as big of an issue as one might think. Originally, the Slim required a different program to install from the original PSP, but Dark_AleX's universal unbricker allows for installation on both models and even uses a modified display driver to allow the screen to work while the Slim is in service mode (The original Slim installer used the display portion of the 1.50 kernel, which meant that installation was blind and you had to hope that what you were doing was correct. I believe part of it's been patched with... 3.52? Either way, problem solved, and the process is much simpler).
I was referring to the blind process I think, but my bad I guess. The new 3.71 m33 firmware works for slims and has the ability to run 1.5 firmware apps right?
As far as the CFW installer goes, the same installer works on a Slim as it does on a Classic, but the 1.50 kernel is never installed on a Slim. The only way to get 1.50 apps running on a Slim is through eLoader, and even then I'm not so sure on the compatability.
Well I run just 3.71 m33 on my phat PSP and I never did the 1.5 patch(unless it is automated or something) and it works fine with everything. So maybe it doesn't need eLoader with the newest firmware on a slim? I want to get one just to try it now. LOL
Slims lack the 1.50 kernal. You can't install one on it because Sony has prevented it from ever working on a Slim as of now. Hence why all the new custom firmware after 3.70 lack the 1.50 kernal and require patches added on. Also for people who are only now doing Pandora, use the battery that came with your PSP for the Pandora Battery and buy a new one to use as the normal. Not only for the extra battery life, but the newer ones are patched against Pandora.
So, wait. Basically my "pandora battery" isn't displaying anything on the screen but that may be normal? I think with the pandora battery in one of the first thing that's supposed to happen is the PSP is supposed to access the MS. I am not seeing any activity here. Does anyone have any step by step instructions for downgrading from the official firmware on the slim to custom firmware? I followed the directions on a couple of web sites that seem like they knew what they were referring to but something would end up not working right and I'd be stuck. TIA.
It sounds like the problem was solved, and you just need to use a newer upgrader. Is the thing powering up, but there's nothing on the screen? If so, I'd guess you did the battery correctly - but this is the first I've heard of the "no screen function on a Slim" problem, but as mentioned, they apparently fixed that.
