PSP Battery Recovery (Wont Charge, Very low Battery Life Fix)
As many others do sometimes I Had a PSP 2000 coming in the post from eBay but alas it did not include a battery as it was a faulty unit (Another post about that) so I went on eBay to get the cheapest slim battery I could because there was no real point splashing more cash on a battery for a potentially unrecoverable PSP. and well when it came it worked ok for a cheap Chinese battery that it was but after a few days the PSP Battery stopped working correctly and wouldn’t take charge properly, So I was thinking the cell inside it must have gone bad or the EEPROM Chip bugged up, For those that don’t know all PSP batteries actually have a controller chip inside this is to prevent over charging or the battery running too low and Blowing up or damaging itself.
Please Note: You are about to mess with a Lithium Ion Battery which can in very rare cases let out a toxic gas or explode when exposed to heat. While I think it’s nearly impossible for this to happen with this fix here, Please. Wear eye protection and if you hear anything odd coming from the battery during the fix leave the room right away and wait it out for an hour or so. This is just for your own safety that you know this stuff.
So I took the time with a craft knife and cut open the casing and revealed the controller board in it.
Please Note: You are about to mess with a Lithium Ion Battery which can in very rare cases let out a toxic gas or explode when exposed to heat. While I think it’s nearly impossible for this to happen with this fix here, Please. Wear eye protection and if you hear anything odd coming from the battery during the fix leave the room right away and wait it out for an hour or so. This is just for your own safety that you know this stuff.
So I took the time with a craft knife and cut open the casing and revealed the controller board in it.
Now what you need to do is heat up a soldiering iron and melt the solder to free one of the 2 marked tabs (You Could break it off and tape it down again but I don't recommend it) then let it be for a few minutes to ensure the controller has fully reset then resolder it back on, The battery should now work. That is if it was a bugged controller board. If it still doesn't work than it must be the Cell itself and there is not much you can do but dispose of the battery (if you can in the correct manor but it’s up to you) and get another.
I would then recommend you run the battery fully down and then do this again, just to maintain as much sync with the real battery level and the controller chip to maximise running time! This fix should also work with official Sony Batteries too!
I would then recommend you run the battery fully down and then do this again, just to maintain as much sync with the real battery level and the controller chip to maximise running time! This fix should also work with official Sony Batteries too!
Fixing a Sold as Faulty eBay PSP 2000
This is kind of more a story but ill try to detail the repairs side of things.
I was looking into getting a second PSP but maybe a bit cheaper than the normal because well who wants to spend more than they have too right? I'd been waiting for a new project to come up too so it was perfect I'd fix up and mod a new PSP for myself!
So I went on eBay and won myself a White PSP 2000 with the clear issue of a Broken LCD and Missing analog nub, Also the Battery was not included but that was fine.
Here is the PSP I bought:
I was looking into getting a second PSP but maybe a bit cheaper than the normal because well who wants to spend more than they have too right? I'd been waiting for a new project to come up too so it was perfect I'd fix up and mod a new PSP for myself!
So I went on eBay and won myself a White PSP 2000 with the clear issue of a Broken LCD and Missing analog nub, Also the Battery was not included but that was fine.
Here is the PSP I bought:
So once I got that paid for at the same time I purchased a LCD for the PSP as I knew that was a clear fault of the unit and a cheap Chinese battery as I didn’t want to spend any more than needed if the motherboard of the PSP turned out to be dead or something. A Precaution of buying something that is faulty sold is seen, Minimise costs early could save you money later ;)
So The LCD Screen, Battery, A Battery Cover and the Unit arrived safe and no more damaged than it was, examining the unit it was clear it would need a new face plate as there were some major scratches to the faceplate and viewing the screen would be of some annoyance. Not a big issue PSP Faceplates are not that expensive but I would wait till the PSP itself was up and running first.
So I Proceeded to take apart the PSP like in this guide [HERE]
The motherboard seemed good, the analog stick seemed a little odd however but I proceeded to power up the unit using the charge that was left in the new battery I bought for testing the unit, The PSP powered up! But the light would go out again after a few seconds but being that I’ve been messing with PSP’s for quite some time I was not worried. This usually meant it’s bricked!Being the PSP Lover that I am I have a what is known as a “Pandora” battery and pre-prepared “Magic Memory Stick” Which when paired together can un-brick PSP’s with compatible motherboards. (Good tutorial on how to create your own “Magic Memory Stick" here.)
When I was looking over the motherboard I already noted it was capable of being flashed with the magic memory stick! (Sony Released 3 Versions of the PSP 2000 Motherboard in an effort to prevent users from flashing Custom Firmware to there PSP’s) From here I proceeded to replace the screen anyway as I had my Hunch what the issue was and again I attempted to power it nothing appeared on the screen so I removed the normal battery, Inserted the “Magic Memory Stick” and then connected a AC Adapter and popped the Pandora Battery in and it fired up!
I was greeted with the standard Dos looking text asking me if I would like to flash 5.00 M33 to the PSP! So as you can imagine I said yes and after a small period of time, it stated it was ready to be used, So I removed the AC Adapter, “Pandora” Battery and “Magic Memory Stick” and Put in the Normal Battery and powered it up… Bingo! Fired right up and I was greeted by the “Sony Computer Entertainment” Splash Screen then being asked to set the clock!
From there I powered down once again and then reassembled the PSP and powered it up! Worked like a charm!
However the motherboard did have a fault which was the UMD Drive was dead, but it wasn’t the UMD Drive itself at fault the PSP’s motherboard wasn’t communicating with the drive at all. Not a huge issue really as it now had custom firmware.
So in the end I passed on the PSP to my girlfriend with a temporary analog nub until a replacement one could arrive and here it is running “Taiko No Tatsujin Portable DX” (A Japanese Drum Game)
So The LCD Screen, Battery, A Battery Cover and the Unit arrived safe and no more damaged than it was, examining the unit it was clear it would need a new face plate as there were some major scratches to the faceplate and viewing the screen would be of some annoyance. Not a big issue PSP Faceplates are not that expensive but I would wait till the PSP itself was up and running first.
So I Proceeded to take apart the PSP like in this guide [HERE]
The motherboard seemed good, the analog stick seemed a little odd however but I proceeded to power up the unit using the charge that was left in the new battery I bought for testing the unit, The PSP powered up! But the light would go out again after a few seconds but being that I’ve been messing with PSP’s for quite some time I was not worried. This usually meant it’s bricked!Being the PSP Lover that I am I have a what is known as a “Pandora” battery and pre-prepared “Magic Memory Stick” Which when paired together can un-brick PSP’s with compatible motherboards. (Good tutorial on how to create your own “Magic Memory Stick" here.)
When I was looking over the motherboard I already noted it was capable of being flashed with the magic memory stick! (Sony Released 3 Versions of the PSP 2000 Motherboard in an effort to prevent users from flashing Custom Firmware to there PSP’s) From here I proceeded to replace the screen anyway as I had my Hunch what the issue was and again I attempted to power it nothing appeared on the screen so I removed the normal battery, Inserted the “Magic Memory Stick” and then connected a AC Adapter and popped the Pandora Battery in and it fired up!
I was greeted with the standard Dos looking text asking me if I would like to flash 5.00 M33 to the PSP! So as you can imagine I said yes and after a small period of time, it stated it was ready to be used, So I removed the AC Adapter, “Pandora” Battery and “Magic Memory Stick” and Put in the Normal Battery and powered it up… Bingo! Fired right up and I was greeted by the “Sony Computer Entertainment” Splash Screen then being asked to set the clock!
From there I powered down once again and then reassembled the PSP and powered it up! Worked like a charm!
However the motherboard did have a fault which was the UMD Drive was dead, but it wasn’t the UMD Drive itself at fault the PSP’s motherboard wasn’t communicating with the drive at all. Not a huge issue really as it now had custom firmware.
So in the end I passed on the PSP to my girlfriend with a temporary analog nub until a replacement one could arrive and here it is running “Taiko No Tatsujin Portable DX” (A Japanese Drum Game)
At the same time as you can imagine I ordered a new face plate for the unit too and my girlfriend has been happy with the unit ever since.
Cheaper Large Memory Stick Duo's
While this isn’t so much a Hack, Exploit, Mod or Repair it is very handy.This little baby here lets you turn any 2 sized MicroSD Cards into 1 large Memory stick duo. It’s capable of taking 2x 8GB MicroSD HC's for a 16GB Memory Stick Duo. Rather handy for someone on the go who wants large storage on the cheap as we all know Memory Stick Duo's can get very expensive. The Adapter can be used to convert 1 MicroSD as well but I have not personally tested it.
Cheapest place to get your hands on one that I have found is here at Deal Extreme. But note while its dirt cheap and free shipping, It is sent from China if your looking for one of these in a hurry look some place else. Deal Extreme has always been good with me but you have to be prepared to wait up to 2 weeks. But all orders over $10 is traceable free of charge so it’s of no worry.
Custom Clear Faceplate PSP 1000
Here's an image of my custom faceplate for my PSP 1000, along with clear analog nub, I had considered clear buttons too but it would have made it harder to see and the ones I did try I didn't like the feel of it.
Some more images of my PSP
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How To Put PSOne Games On To Your Custom Firmware PSP
This question has been asked of me a few times and I thought id make a Guide on it with images to help!
What you will need is
All the images are click-able for a larger version
OK! Lets Begin!
First connect your PSP by USB to your computer and if the System does not do this by itself put it in USB Mode yourself.
Open your PSP inside windows like so and double click to open the Rar you downloaded (In this example I'm Using Alien Trilogy). If you do not see the same icons as in my screenshot install WinRAR and check again:
What you will need is
- Your PSP (With Custom Firmware)
- A USB Data Cable
- WinRAR Available Here (If your unsure of what OS you are running pick the 32 Bit version)
- The Game you want to play
All the images are click-able for a larger version
OK! Lets Begin!
First connect your PSP by USB to your computer and if the System does not do this by itself put it in USB Mode yourself.
Open your PSP inside windows like so and double click to open the Rar you downloaded (In this example I'm Using Alien Trilogy). If you do not see the same icons as in my screenshot install WinRAR and check again:
Once you have opened the RAR File you should see something like this, Now on your PSP go into the PSP Folder:
And now into the Game Folder:
Now We want to Click and hold and Drag the folder from the WinRAR Window into the Game folder as shown in the image
You will see a "Decompressing Window" then a Windows Will Show its moving files, This is Normal
When it completes you should see this now to make sure the game is in there correctly enter the folder
You should see this (sometimes there will be an extra “keys.bin” this is normal for some releases)
If you see the above you have put the game correctly onto your PSP. Disconnect your PSP from your computer go to the "Game" Section in your PSP and Select "Memory Stick" In the list of games should be your PlayStation 1
game you wanted to play!
Please note: I'm not condoning Piracy this is just a way for you to put your PlayStation one games onto your PSP. If you download an ISO of a game I Hope you bought the original!
game you wanted to play!
Please note: I'm not condoning Piracy this is just a way for you to put your PlayStation one games onto your PSP. If you download an ISO of a game I Hope you bought the original!
PlayStation Portable 1000 Speaker Crackling Fix
Well Recently My PSP 1000's speakers have been getting rather Crackly especially with Higher pitched noises, especially for instance the default game start noise.
What sometimes happens is the speaker pops outta position at higher volumes and there is a simple fix. Press your lips at the speaker hole in question and suck hard till you hear a pop.
Now try your PSP! This could possibly save you buying new speakers for it or a whole new machine!
What sometimes happens is the speaker pops outta position at higher volumes and there is a simple fix. Press your lips at the speaker hole in question and suck hard till you hear a pop.
Now try your PSP! This could possibly save you buying new speakers for it or a whole new machine!
A Small Guide to PSP Video 9
A good friend of mine recently asked "How do I put video's on my PSP?" and I thought it a good time to write up a small guide on how to do it the easy no fuss way with the freeware application "PSP Video 9"
ALL the options you will need to press are in the screenshots highlighted with red! Clicking on the pictures will show a larger version of them.
OK! all you will need is:
OK! Lets get started!
Plug your PSP into the AC Adapter and connect it to your computer in USB Mode, Conversions can take some time depending on how fast or slow your computer is, and then open PSP Video 9 and click "Convert"
ALL the options you will need to press are in the screenshots highlighted with red! Clicking on the pictures will show a larger version of them.
OK! all you will need is:
- The video you wish to convert to your PSP
- Your PSP System
- A USB Cable
- Your AC Power Adapter
- PSP Video 9 Installed (See above for a link!)
OK! Lets get started!
Plug your PSP into the AC Adapter and connect it to your computer in USB Mode, Conversions can take some time depending on how fast or slow your computer is, and then open PSP Video 9 and click "Convert"
Now click on "Video File"
Select "Normal Mode"
Click "Select File"
Find your video file and click it once to select it then click on "Open"
Click on "Browse"
Locate your PSP and Click on "Video" then click "OK"
Click "Next" twice
Here you can play with the options if you wish, but really all you would want to change is "Video Size" if its a Widescreen Video.
But if you don't wish to mess with that, Just press "Next" or Press "Next" after changing any options you want to adjust
But if you don't wish to mess with that, Just press "Next" or Press "Next" after changing any options you want to adjust
Click on "Start Converting"
Click on "View Conversion Progress"
Now sit back and wait, Please remember depending on how long the video is and the speed of your computer can make this take a while to complete. but when its done it should look like this image and as I have highlighted it will say "Conversion Complete"
Disconnect your PSP from the PSP and go to the Video section and then select your Memory Stick and the Video should be there! Press X to start Playback! (Controls for the video player are rather like the PS2 but if you wish to see options press "Triangle"
And there we have it! You have converted a Video from your PC Directly to your PSP! You can watch movies and videos on the go!
