from PSP-Updates

Yesterday we got the breaking news that Kernel mode in 2.5 and 2.6 had been unlocked by hitchhikr of “hitchhikr SoftWorks” and demo scene group Neural. This was a incredible accomplishment that was previously thought impossible. Fanjita and many other members of the PSP homebrew community have come together and been testing the functionality of the proposed exploit.

So far a few interesting things have surfaced. Fanjita has shown his progress with the newly found exploit and today we bring you another. Dark_Alex from our forums has released a “Downgrader Test” for 2.50 / 2.60 PSP’s. We have been watching carefully over this downgrader since its release and have got the entire scoop for you.

Dark_Alex’s Downgrader Test for 2.50 / 2.60 version firmware requires a few very specific steps to be taken in order to get a glimpse at the doorway to success. As listed in the title this is TEST software and by no way 100% functional on all PSP’s. With that said, we have heard a number of test reports on this Downgrader and have the brick count results after the jump.

“Therefore downgrading from 2.6 to 1.5 could in fact become a reality.”

It wasn’t long after the release that a few brave souls stepped up to test this new release. users who claimed to have succeeded in downgrading from 2.6 to 1.5. PSPxNax announced that he had successfully downgraded from 2.6 to 1.5. Soon after 1 more report of a successful upgrade from the IRC room I was idling came in. Then the dreadful news struck. One PSP has succumb to the death brick. Suspense filled the room as we waiting for further confirmation. Not another 5 minutes then another report of another PSP taking the plunge into darkness.

At this point I turned to the forums which was already full of possible outcomes for PSP owners who were brave enough to take the stab at reaching towards that beautiful paradise of homebrew or laying their PSP on a death bed. TheMarioKarters, known hacking enthusiast was all over it. He then reported sadly a few posts later that his attempt had been unsuccessful. Note that owners of the TA-082 version PSP’s, like TMK’s should not attempt the downgrade as it will most likely fail.

One of our moderators Abe Froeman was determined to get to the bottom of this and setup his PSP to face the downgrade roulette. After getting fully setup he attempted the downgrade. He too was unsuccessful. However, something unusual happened while he was trying to downgrade and he was able to get his PSP to reboot again by shorting the battery as previously outlined by PSIX developer Naoneo.

With all of this such an surge of excitement slowly starting to dim I turned back to the dark dungeons of IRC to check on the latest developments. A smile started grew on my face as my assumptions were confirmed, not all hope was lost. The developers discussing this concept design were not totally pessimistic. New ideas on what might be able to solve the problem with the downgrader started filling the channel. Some shot down, other acknowledge and discussed. A collective of independent remarkably intelligent and creative developers apparently having no limits.

While speaking to one of the developers who was involved in the discussion he divulged information on what could be possible solutions to fix bugs in the this first Test Downgrader. “sceloManager and flash0 on 2.01+ dont get along very well…at all”, said Bri3d. “Calls to the Sony PRX upgrade functions format the flash and write the IPL. After that copying the files will fail [since] trying to remount flash0 read/write is a no go.” So at this point theres still more work to be done. However, he said it was very possible in the future. Downgrading from 2.6 to 1.5 could in fact become a reality. My jaw drops at the thought.

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT READY FOR GENERAL USE. DEVELOPERS MAY FIND THIS USEFUL FOR TESTING BUT PLEASE TAKE NOTE AT THE CURRENT STATE THIS WILL BRICK YOUR PSP. Please read the information in the thread provided below. It is there for your sake. If you try out this Downgrader TEST you acknowledge that you are taking a risk and are the only one responsible for your own actions.

Forum Release Thread: [ Downgrader Test 2.50 / 2.60 ]