PSP Slim's firmware (3.60) dumped

[Cid Highwind]

source

In this particular news bit we'll be reporting details two topics you guys may be very familiar with: The PSP Slim, and developer Dark AleX.

The first news bit goes that coder Mathieulh (aka Math) has successfully dumped the Slim's 3.60 firmware. To prove this point, Math posted a screenshot taken of the Slim's kd folder in the flash0 directory. That would be the screenie displayed to your right. At the moment, Mathieulh won't divulge any details on how this procedure was pulled off - this exercise simply proves that hacking the Slim is possible.

What makes this news all the more exciting is that Mathieulh reports the dude who helped with the dump is none other than Dark AleX. Yes, dear readers - the famed CFW creator seems to have gone out of retirement (or is it now a sabbatical?) to take a crack at Sony's latest handheld offering. Then again, maybe that's just our wishful thinking.

Drop back again in case we pick up any details. Or, you can also opt to drop by Skyline34's thread over at the QJ.NET Forums, where we picked up this news snippet.

It's probably just a matter of time before they'll be playing homebrew as well. Let's wait and see

[hushypushy]

ha, everyone knew that Dark Alex would be coming back to the scene, that whole retirement thing was so lame

[runawayprisoner]

And next time, you will be needing a souped up battery, a random game, some beer, and a good TV show to downgrade your firmware.

[BigIg]

PSP Slim? How come I never heard of it until now?


And from looking at the pictures, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me, its barely smaller.

[JJXB]

Originally Posted by hushypushy

ha, everyone knew that Dark Alex would be coming back to the scene, that whole retirement thing was so lame

he only did it to help satisfy a curiosity. if you look on maxconsole forums, you'll find math said it wasn't meant to be announced to the public:

Originally Posted by Mathieulh on Maxconsole

BTW Alex and I have been toying with the slim but Alex is still retired to the psp scene, hence we do not plan any public release of this work, it was done for private purposes just to see if we could do it, it was not planned to be disclosed or released in any ways. Although now people know that messing arround with the psp slim is possible.
I hope that hacking groups will realise how we did it ( it wasn't that hard ) and will release their own software or hacks for the psp slim.
So far no public release either from me or Alex is planned. Alex is retired of the scene and does not plan on making any of his work public.

Full Thread here (apologies if i wasn't allowed to post the full thread here but i thought it would be wise to let people read up on it properly)

[Hard core Rikki]

The slim one is indeed faster than the older, something like 10-15% faster in average apparently. Couple that with smaller size and a few other additions

[Cid Highwind]

All are meh to me... The shorter loading times are nice, though nothing using an ISO can't fix. TV out is a nice feature, if you'd ever use it that is. And the smaller size is only frustrating since it's already flat enough. FFS when do they understand that a handheld needs to be comfortable rather than fit in your back pocket.

Does it have a better battery life? Or has it remained the same? From what I read some time ago it would be shipped with a 1400mA battery and it should have the same battery life as the original with a 2100mA one. Or something like that. In the end you should've gotten a less powerful battery so that you could keep the same time without hooking it up to the wall.

[runawayprisoner]

It's true what Cid said. Actually 10 to 15% is not that fast. How about 50% faster with an ISO compared to an original UMD? That's not just for the initial transition from the XMB into the game, that's for every single part of the game.

And I'm wondering why anyone would need a TV Out for a handheld... hmm... so you can read those things you could never see before on the PSP screen?

And yes... slightly smaller won't justify it as a slimmer version... it's insignificantly slimmer and the dimensions don't even change at all...
If I have to say anything about slimming down, the Gameboy Micro and the DS Lite would be the best candidates. PSP Slim is more like a PSP+ IMO... If for all that trouble just so I can have something that is almost identical to my old PSP... on which I cannot emulate SNES/NES games, listen to ShoutCAST radio stations, run most PS1 titles I own, and watch movies in the full resolution of the device with a better compression ratio, I wouldn't spend my money on that device. Too much hassle.

[The Magic Hobo]

This news has made me consider getting one,(I was planning on anyway, just so I could say I had one ) and actually using it, I'd rather retire my fat PSP and let it sit and never break cus I wont use it But I'll definitly get one soon,(when they're relased this way anyway) so I'll be able to use homebrew and stuff, I was lucky with my fat PSP, I got it really early on.

[Shadow_Cast]

Originally Posted by Hard core Rikki

The slim one is indeed faster than the older, something like 10-15% faster in average apparently. Couple that with smaller size and a few other additions

333Mhz clockspeed as opposed to the original's stock 233Mhz. Also has a bit more RAM.

I'm forgoing a PSP for a GP2X F200. It's geekery in handheld form -- a linux-powered emulation handheld with a touch screen, lol. People do say that it's like a poor man's PSP, but at least with the GP2X you don't need to jump through all kindsa firmware up/down/re/side grading.

[hushypushy]

^ but can you play PSP games?

[Hard core Rikki]

Originally Posted by hushypushy

^ but can you play PSP games?

No clear answer on that, but Sony claims it's feasible

[blueshogun96]

Originally Posted by hushypushy

^ but can you play PSP games?

And that's all I care about, Wi-Fi support aside

[Cid Highwind]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Cast

333Mhz clockspeed as opposed to the original's stock 233Mhz. Also has a bit more RAM.

There's nothing different about the processor at all. It's just a recent thing that Sony officially allows developers to make full use of the 333mHz, while before they had to force the PSP to underclock itself.

There's plenty of games though which already needed the full 333mHz if you want a good experience, like Outrun 2k6.

[cyclonmaster]

Hopefully there will 3.60 M33 released soon

[runawayprisoner]

Originally Posted by Cid Highwind

There's nothing different about the processor at all. It's just a recent thing that Sony officially allows developers to make full use of the 333mHz, while before they had to force the PSP to underclock itself.

Actually, it's been there ever since update 3.5, I think. Any game in singleplayer mode can be run at 333MHz... but in multiplayer through WiFi, they are downclocked to 222MHz indefinitely. The new UMD Cache option is just something that allows you to boost into the game faster... but it's still not comparable to the ISO method.

There's plenty of games though which already needed the full 333mHz if you want a good experience, like Outrun 2k6.

I think it's in 300MHz instead. 333MHz hogs the battery...

I'm forgoing a PSP for a GP2X F200. It's geekery in handheld form -- a linux-powered emulation handheld with a touch screen, lol. People do say that it's like a poor man's PSP, but at least with the GP2X you don't need to jump through all kindsa firmware up/down/re/side grading.

On the PSP, you don't need to jump through all kind of firmware up/down-grading. You just have to do so if you are one of those people who don't understand the simple truth about waiting... instead of blindly updating your firmware while wanting to use homebrews and stuffs at the same time. It's one or another. Not both.

[mr.saraiva]

Originally Posted by runawayprisoner

Actually, it's been there ever since update 3.5, I think. Any game in singleplayer mode can be run at 333MHz... but in multiplayer through WiFi, they are downclocked to 222MHz indefinitely. The new UMD Cache option is just something that allows you to boost into the game faster... but it's still not comparable to the ISO method.



I think it's in 300MHz instead. 333MHz hogs the battery...



On the PSP, you don't need to jump through all kind of firmware up/down-grading. You just have to do so if you are one of those people who don't understand the simple truth about waiting... instead of blindly updating your firmware while wanting to use homebrews and stuffs at the same time. It's one or another. Not both.

Doesn't change the fact that the manufacter of the device itself doesn't condone homebrew on it's device, unlike GP2X's. And yes, you have to literaly "jump through all kind of firmware up/down-grading" if you want a brand new psp to run any kind of homebrew code.

[Cid Highwind]

Originally Posted by runawayprisoner

Actually, it's been there ever since update 3.5, I think. Any game in singleplayer mode can be run at 333MHz... but in multiplayer through WiFi, they are downclocked to 222MHz indefinitely. The new UMD Cache option is just something that allows you to boost into the game faster... but it's still not comparable to the ISO method.

It's been there ever since Dark Alex has allowed us to decide which speed we want our processor to work, even if running in Wifi mode. I wonder if any homebrew users have seen problems with their Wifi because of this.

Indeed the cache option is new, but I'd rather play games from my data stick indeed. You gotta use those 2GB for something useful, not?

I think it's in 300MHz instead. 333MHz hogs the battery...

Would it really make such a difference with just 33mHz? I doubt it.

On the PSP, you don't need to jump through all kind of firmware up/down-grading. You just have to do so if you are one of those people who don't understand the simple truth about waiting... instead of blindly updating your firmware while wanting to use homebrews and stuffs at the same time. It's one or another. Not both.

I've been using 3.40 OE for ages now, there's never been a reason to upgrade to a higher FW so far, I'll only do so by the time the official games demand so. I prefer to let others do the beta testing and confirm a firmware is working. There's absolutely no need to install every FW release. It will only increase the risk of screwing up somewhere.

Originally Posted by Mr Saraiva

Doesn't change the fact that the manufacter of the device itself doesn't condone homebrew on it's device, unlike GP2X's. And yes, you have to literaly "jump through all kind of firmware up/down-grading" if you want a brand new psp to run any kind of homebrew code.

Meh... I bought this system so I can do with it whatever I want. Sony is free to limit their services to someone who does how they say, but they aren't allowed to prevent me from running homebrew. I didn't have to sign a contract that stated I wasn't allowed to downgrade my firmware and run homebrew when I bought it. They should be happy, easy homebrew and running games for free which Nintendo charges people for has definitely helped ship a couple of systems and games. And we all know how market share is a big thing in the business world.

But indeed, for those who aren't familiar with emulators and advanced applications such as these downgraders, it might all sound like magic getting homebrew to run. It's not surprising there's many people charging money for it.

[hushypushy]