There is a hot-of-the-grill homebrew application in our forums right now. Homebrew developer Kando informed us that Team FWI (composed of himself, LordSturm, Birdman and JamesBDX) just came up with the first version of Gameboot Path Modifier. This release probably trace it roots from the 2.71 EBOOT. It does exactly what the eboot does. Almost exactly and yet, much better.

In case you are not quite familiar with this, here's a little bit of an explanation: Our PSP unit's firmware is programmed to load gameboot.pmf at start up from the directory (flash0:/vsh/resource/gameboot.pmf). So in short, we have to flash our handhelds whenever we want to change this. With the hassle aside, flashing still is dangerous and takes up valuable flash0 space.The Gameboot Path Modifier edits the firmware, allowing the gameboot to load from the memory stick.

The next question now is, "Do I still need to flash every single time?" The answer is no. A good follow-up question is "Will this brick my PSP?" Team FWI answers, "1 out of 9,999,999,999 psp's may brick." Despite that low, low chance of bricking your PSP, it is still nonetheless a chance. Before proceeding and loading this to your handhelds, kindly read the Read me file first.

Download: [Gameboot Path Modifier v1.0]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

Everybody seems to be in a giving mood this holiday season! Why did we say that? Because kando stopped by our forums to tell us about his and weltall's nifty creation which is the Flash0 Free Space Calculator v1. The app is based on some codes by LordSturm and what it does is it tries to determine just how much space is free on your Flash0.

This app is pretty nifty for those people who wish to code a program that uses flash0 space. Also, in case you may want to modify firmware parts that require more flash0 room, this app right here could come in pretty handy.

However, it is not free of any bugs as kando shares that for now, free space could only be calculated up to 1.50MB. With regards to this app bricking your flash0, he says that:

Not likely. there is ALWAYS a 0.00001% chance of bricking, however, as long as you dont take out your battery or run it w/ 1% battery left, you will be fine. Just let the program finish running. Also if you run this program about 100,000 times your flash0 might give out. But then again, even w/ all my playing around w/ flash0, i've only written a couple hundred times

But it never hurts to take some pre-cautionary measures by reading the forum release thread or the readme file that comes with the download. Indeed, it is the season of giving! Kudos to kando and weltall!

Download: [Flash0 Free Space Calculator v1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

If you guys have been following the goings on in the homebrew community, then you've probably heard the news that LordSturm and kando are currently working on having fw 3.00's Visualizer in 2.71SE-C.

When Dark_Alex released his 2.71 SE-C Custom Firmware, you didn't really expect that other coders wouldn't get to work on improving it and adding more features right? A perfect example for this is LordSturm and kando, who are hard at work in devising a method to use 3.00 visualizer features safely from 2.71 SE-C.

And to update us on what's been going on so far and how much progress they've achieved on their work, kando (or kandowontu on YouTube) has posted this video on YouTube which shows the visualizer at work...via Kanye West. Again, they remind us that this is a work in progress so if you don't like what you see, don't complain just yet, alright? LordSturm has also informed us that we can expect a release or hack soon, probably early December. Great work you guys!

Apparently, there have been some reported difficulties with using the Vice City Stories CheatDevice among PSP owners who use Dark_AleX's 2.71SE-B'', so LordSturm stitched some code together to solve this and to allow the CheatDevice to be used without the need to go through DevHook.

With this flasher, LordSturm noted the following points:

• All flash operations are checked, so missing files will be reported and not dummy flashed.
• X now INSTALLS, O now UPDATES, [] now UNINSTALLS.
• You may simply update vcscheatdevice.prx via msroot, just press O.
• If you have cwcheat/oc/etc. flashed, please edit the text file before installing, as any previous updates to the file will be lost, same goes with uninstallation, which will remove all related mods.

The creator of this CheatDevice also notes that what he made makes use of Edison Carter's vcscheatdevice.prx file which can be found in the earlier cheat device that Carter has made.

As with any other application of this type, caution must be exercised in installing this as it has the potential to brick your PSP if installed incorrectly.

Download: [VCS CheatDevice iFlasher for SE-B'' Users]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

QJ Admin: This post has been removed due to increasing reports of the information being inaccurate. The general consensus is that PSX-P does not write to flash memory or perform any other "hidden actions". Our sincerest apologies to Yoshihiro and any other people/projects that were related to the information that was in the article.

Please note that this post was made at MyQJ - a section of QJ.NET that is open for anyone to write their own articles. When these articles reach a certain number of Jumps, they are automatically transferred here to PSP Updates. This article was not written by QJ.NET staff and did not reflect the opinions of this site.

Please be patient as we try to fine tune our system to allow MyQJ'ers freedom to discuss topics of their choice, but at the same time retain the integrity and accuracy that you expect from PSP Updates and QJ.NET

DISCLAIMER: Like ALL FLASHING APPLICATIONS/MODIFICATIONS CASUAL v3 Flasher has the potential to render your PSP inoperative, although thoroughly tested and approved safe, there are always unforeseen events that can occur, causing issues. By using this application, you agree that you are FLASHING this Custom Firmware at your own risk. Also there might be warranty issues with installing foreign software into the main sector of your PSP's FlashRom, in the case this "void's" your warranty, we are not liable for any replacements of the warranty or any material affected by the installation of this app. Do not use the X-Flash Custom Firmware Configurator with Casual, as they are currently incompatible.

Quick Notice!: It is highly recommended you UNINSTALL Casual v2 with its included remover. In order to achieve this, you shouldn't replace any files before removing it absolutely! This is due to the fact the name_plate.png is no longer flashed/removed in v3.

Sincerely, LordSturm

Whew! There you go. Now, that we have purged the whole of QJ of any liabilities linking to some PSPs getting bricked, you can peacefully go on reading this article.

Casual is LordSturm's take on Dark Alex's Custom Firmware Proof of Concept. This custom firmware modification is packed with many new features not previously found in the original; this will make "clean" firmware 1.5 owners (are there still any?) to go over to the dark side. We seriously advise you not to take the warnings with a grain of salt for it may lead you to a big disaster.

Now, that we've done with the formalities, let's get right to it. As a teaser for this release, here's part of the enhancements made for version three. The rest you can read in the very detailed ReadMe file included in the download.

Changelog:

Holding down buttons when booting effect the "BOOT" outcome. NOTE: Buttons need not be held for the whole period, but wait for the light.

• BOOT COMBOS: ( Standard, then modified. )
• Holding "R", enters Recovery Mode. ( More Info Later. )
• Holding "L", performs various actions, see STYLES for more...
• Holding "Dpad DOWN" activates SAFE BOOT, which removes all the mod's features.
• |_ This is valid JUST FOR THAT BOOT if you continue using your psp, the mods will return.
• Holding "X", allows you to load the eboot.pbp in ms0:/CASUAL/HOMEBREW .
• Holding "O", allows you to load your defined "AutoHook" ( DevHook by default. )

LordStrum would like to thank the people who has helped him in this endeavor: ORIGINAL CUSTOMFIRMWARE PROOF OF CONCEPT BY Dark_AleX; this MODIFICATION of Dark_AleX's work, is by LordSturm. ( Along with all the new features. ); my buddy DANZEL for helping me start up with C again!; included "DEVBOOT.PBP" is a modified DevHook module.; |_ DEVHOOK is by Booster, Devhook is NOT included; included MODIFIED UNDO Flasher, by Slasher. ( Modified to remove CASUAL v3 ); lovely customized Flasher eboot by "innercy" used without permission, sorry. :P; thanks to 'Sakyr' , 'michael chancellor' and 'The Ex' for testing.

Download: [Casual v3]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

LordSturm from our forums has released version 2 of his custom firmware modification for the PSP titled "Casual". Of course, this custom firmware modification is a modification of Dark_Alex's original Custom Firmware Proof Of Concept, and adds many new features which are sure to encourage those still on a 'clean' firmware 1.5 to bite the bullet and install a custom firmware. The original version of Casual v2 was released yesterday, but bugs were found and therefore LordSturm has released Casual v2 bug fix today. Here's the changelog:

• BUG FIXED! - Shell Style and ModChip Style now function correctly!
• X-Flash is now loaded using simply "X" and now loads from "ms0:/CASUAL/XFLASH/eboot.pbp"
• In Normal or Shell mode, you can opt to load DevBoot.pbp instead by holding O during that boot.
• "D-Pad DOWN" is now set to totally disable the mod, it acts like theres no config.txt file.
• Uninstaller fixed, now actually removes nameplate, so install again then uninstall if problems occur.

Those were the bug fixes and changes for this release, but here's why you should use this over Dark_Alex's original Custom firmware:

• Recovery mode is now accessed via L+R.
• L is required to perform recovery options.
• 1.00 index.dat now supplied, in PSP/SYSTEM. ( custom, not from sony. )
• Do not move the index.dat, as it no longer looks at root.
• L will bypass all autoboot functions, and will deter plugins, this is SAFE MODE.
• vshmain.prx is now backed as well as copied once, press L+Triangle to switch to the backup.
• Note the backup is automatically accessed if the vshmain_real.prx is missing.
• Recovery mode has a new look, and borders are drawn. ( Too sexy for recovery, too... forget it. )
• You can now assign up to 100 prx's to load!!!
• As a note, this doesn't mean 100 prx's can be handled by the PSP, it just removes the limit.

Lordsturm would like to thank Danzel for helping him compile everything and of course Dark_Alex for his original Custom Firmware Proof Of Concept. Th download is the full version with the bugfix update.

Warning: Pranav, one of our bloggers, would like to point out that even though the functionality is provided, don't use it to re-flash the 1.5 update, in regards to the 1.00 index.dat or it will brick your PSP - as he found out personally. It is only for research purposes and if you simply want to remove the custom firmware, consider upgrading to 2.0 and downgrading back or using Slasher's unflasher.

Download: [Casual Custom Firmware v2 Bugfix]
View: [Forum release thread]