To Accept, or not to Accept? That is the Question

Newbie

8. March 2008 @ 09:24

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Greetings,

Dear lively members of AfterDawn,

I find myself in a predicament. I want to buy a PSP Slim&Lite tomorrow. I never owned a PSP before and none of my acquaintances have a PSP. Naturally, I therefore don't have a Pandora's battery.

I'm going to buy the following:

1. Screen Shield - 13$
2. (Silicon?) Protector - approx. 13$
3. PSP Slim$Lite - 283$
4. 4GB memory card - 81$

A total of approx. 390$.

The store from which I intend to buy these items is offering a manual installation of the 3.90 M33 (Skype support) for a fee of 41$ in a range of 20-30 minutes required to install it.

My question is: is it worth paying the 41$ to have them install the 3.90 M33 for me? (Is it permanent? I don't want it to break down on me, have them repair it for me again in the future for the same cost) Or is it better if I attempt to convert the Slim's battery into a Pandora's battery, and the 4GB memory stick into a Magic stick, mess around with it, hopefully end up successfully having installed the 3.90 M33 CFW. And then reconvert them to their original state?
I don't mind going through all the hassle, if that's an important factor. I just don't like the idea of paying them 41$ for something I believe I'm capable of doing myself.

My goal is of course, to be able to run games from the memory card.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Agon.

Senior Member

8. March 2008 @ 10:09

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Personally id save the $41, and buy myself a Datel TOOL battery, which is exactly the same as a Pandora Battery (just a retail version). You can then make the Magic Memory Stick yourself using the guide in the stickies, and you will also have the battery there in future so you can repair your PSP yourself if ever needed! You can probably get a TOOL battery for less than $41 (here in the UK they are about £12), and make the MMS for free as long as you have a memory stick pro duo!

Newbie

8. March 2008 @ 10:19

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I noticed that they're unavailable here.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8. March 2008 @ 10:23

Senior Member

8. March 2008 @ 13:26

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where abouts are you? if your in the US you can buy a TOOL battery from HERE or you can buy THIS device that will transform your battery to a pandora, and then back to normal when your done.

I can only vouch for the battery personally, but i have heard positive reports about the SERVICE TOOL aswell.

If you didnt want to buy one, you could try looking at this LINK to see if there is anyone in your area who would help you for free.

Hope that helps.

Newbie

8. March 2008 @ 14:08

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Israel.

Senior Member

8. March 2008 @ 14:32

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hmmm...im not sure then. I had a quick look round, and THIS site do free worldwide delivery, you could give them a try. I've heard at least one person say they bought from them and got a good product. Other than that you may have to just pay the $41 for the shop to do it.

Newbie

8. March 2008 @ 15:54

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I never bought anything online, and don't really want to beget the bad habit.

I'd like to know if after they install the 3.90 M33, will I be able to update it to 3.90 - 2 and higher (using the update WiFi option in the PSP and/or download from the official website), and will it break on me for doing something I shouldn't have (particularly installing and uninstalling programs insanely until I've finally decided which ones to keep)?

Or suppose I want to format my memory card, I copy everything to my hard drive, then format it (either using windows or the PSP) will the CFW still be there? Is it basically installed in the PSP itself and not the memory card?

Generally speaking, what could actually occur that might require me to repeat the process of having them reinstall the relatively expensive 3.90 M33?

I apologize for the annoying questions. And thank you for your collaboration so far.

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8. March 2008 @ 15:55

Senior Member

8. March 2008 @ 19:52

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Originally posted by Agonok:
I never bought anything online, and don't really want to beget the bad habit.

1.I'd like to know if after they install the 3.90 M33, will I be able to update it to 3.90 - 2 and higher (using the update WiFi option in the PSP and/or download from the official website).

2. will it break on me for doing something I shouldn't have (particularly installing and uninstalling programs insanely until I've finally decided which ones to keep)?

3.Or suppose I want to format my memory card, I copy everything to my hard drive, then format it (either using windows or the PSP) will the CFW still be there? Is it basically installed in the PSP itself and not the memory card?

4.Generally speaking, what could actually occur that might require me to repeat the process of having them reinstall the relatively expensive 3.90 M33?

I apologize for the annoying questions. And thank you for your collaboration so far.

Hi, i'll try to go through your q's in order, so i dont miss any, so i have numbered the questions in the quote above.

1. Yes, as far as i am aware you can upgrade the firmware via the "Network Update" feature since 3.80 M33 firmware, and if for some reason you couldn't do this, you can download all the updates are available from dark-alex.org, and they all come with readme files telling you how to update.

2.You shouldnt have any problems caused to the PSP by installing different programs, as long as you get them from reputable sources. All the programs are stored on the memory card and not the PSP itself, so it shouldnt mess things up by installing emulators etc.

3. Formatting Your memory card will have no effect on the CFW at all...All the CFW files are stored on the PSP itself, and therefore will not be wiped if you format your memory stick.

4. The only real things that would mean that you had to reinstall the CFW would be if you corrupted your "Flash" files. The Flash files are the PSP internal operating system, and are the files it runs when it boots up etc. They are stored in folders on the PSP called "Flash0" and "Flash1". When you are on CFW, you can backup your Flash files which would save you having to reinstall the CFW if they became corrupted. That being said, the only way you would normally corrupt them is by installing custom themes, or generally messing around with the flash files, so as long as you steer clear of that you should have no problems.

If you choose to get the CFW installed by the shop, it would be well worth you asking them if they could backup your files for you at the same time. Ask them if they will do you a "NAND DUMP" (which can only be done with the Pandora's Battery). This is a backup of your PSP's NAND's, and could save your PSP if you were to ever mess it up badly. They should also be able to backup your flash files for you, which will save you a job.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you need to, i'm happy to answer them if i can!

Newbie

8. March 2008 @ 21:12

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Well then, hopefully this will be the last questions I'll ask:

According to these two videos,
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKFnuCfTPZo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5D5SgCdJNCI

It is possible to create a Pandora's battery with the PSP Slim's Battery, or so they say. Now, I'm no mechanic, but I have basic knowledge in this field, and yet in spite of my confidence in being sure that I'll succeed in following their guides, logically, this technique seems slightly suspicious. I wonder, people there say it works (the majority, at least), but can I really trust them?

Should I risk the life of the battery? Or even the whole PSP (can it not fry it?)

And hypothetically assuming that I've succeeded in making the battery, after I insert the Magic memory card followed by the battery, the screen will show nothing, they say, for how many minutes will I have to wait after I press X, before I can be sure that the FW overwritten was a success and I can turn off the PSP?

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8. March 2008 @ 21:13

mrmetal55

Newbie

9. March 2008 @ 02:37

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The only advice I can give you is to shop around for a 4 gig memory stick. I don't know if you have a Costco membership (or know someone who does), but I just picked up a SanDisk Ultra II MS PD for $29.99. Just something to consider

Senior Member

9. March 2008 @ 06:08

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Originally posted by Agonok:
Well then, hopefully this will be the last questions I'll ask:

According to these two videos,
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKFnuCfTPZo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5D5SgCdJNCI

It is possible to create a Pandora's battery with the PSP Slim's Battery, or so they say. Now, I'm no mechanic, but I have basic knowledge in this field, and yet in spite of my confidence in being sure that I'll succeed in following their guides, logically, this technique seems slightly suspicious. I wonder, people there say it works (the majority, at least), but can I really trust them?

Should I risk the life of the battery? Or even the whole PSP (can it not fry it?)

And hypothetically assuming that I've succeeded in making the battery, after I insert the Magic memory card followed by the battery, the screen will show nothing, they say, for how many minutes will I have to wait after I press X, before I can be sure that the FW overwritten was a success and I can turn off the PSP?

As far as im aware, you can use the PSP slim battery to make into a Pandora, as shown in the videos above. The process shown in the videos is called "hardmodding", as you are physically altering the battery. It has been proven to work, and many people have taken this method.
There are many tutorials on the internet showing how to do the hardmod if thats the route you want to take.
Personally though, i would NOT recommend hard modding your battery unless you are very skilled with electronics and soldering. The pin that you have to remove from the chip is very small, and if you happen to touch the pin next to it, even slightly, your battery will be fried, and can never be used again.
Also, if you do manage to remove the pin correctly without killing your battery, after you have used the battery as a pandora, you will need to solder the pin you removed back to the circuit bored before it will work again, which is again very difficult, as if you touch the next pin your battery will be toast!

If you did create the battery correctly, you would need to insert your memory card, and then put the battery into the PSP. The PSP should start on its own, and a menu should come up straight away. The top option should be "Press X to install 3.71 M33-2" (assuming that you use THIS guide to create the Magic Memory Stick. When you press X it will begin to install, and this process should take no longer than a few minutes to complete. There will then be a message that says "Install Success. Press X to switch off the PSP." Press X, the PSP will shut down, then replace your original battery and turn the system on.

Hope that has made it a bit clearer for you. Feel free to ask any more questions if you need to.