2.80 (Improved) Downgrader Guide / Instructions

Improved 2.80 Downgrader by the Noobz Team
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*****************************************DISCLAIMER ***************************************
WARNING, ANY DOWNGRADER HAS A CHANCE OF BRICKING A PSP. WHEN A PSP IS BRICKED YOU WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO USE IT ANYMORE. WE HAVE DONE A LOT TO TRY AND MINIMISE THE RISK, BUT THERE
IS ALWAYS SOME LEVEL OF RISK WHICH YOU MUST ACCEPT IF YOU WANT TO DOWNGRADE.
*******************************************************************************************

Here is a guide for downgrading any PSP-100* hardware version (TA-079 - TA-086) from firmware 2.80 to 1.50.

IMPORTANT: The Noobz team is strongly against piracy, and we're not just saying that to cover our butts. When you pirate games, you're removing the incentive for game and console makers to continue making fun things for us to play with. We are releasing this downgrader because we believe that using your PSP to its full potential and being able to customize it and run homebrew code is a fair use right that should be available to everyone.

Please purchase games that you intend to play. Thanks!

Requirements
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In order to downgrade a 2.80 firmware to 1.50 you will need the following:

PSP-100* console [ Any current hardware version: TA-079, TA-081, TA-082 or TA-086 ]
[It's very important to check if yours it´s a TA-082 or TA-086: CLICK HERE You must find out whether yours is a TA-082 / TA-086 beforehand. Just check the previous link where you will find how to idenfity yours by a siple visual check into the UMD unit.]
Improved 2.80 Downgrader by the Noobz Team
HEN 280 ported by the Noobz Team
Official SONY v1.50 Firmware Update EBOOT:
Download it from QJ-Net [ZIP Format]
Download it from PSP-Hacks.Com [ZIP Format]
Official SONY v2.80 Firmware Update EBOOT. Only necessary if you are on firmware 2.71 or lower:
Download it from QJ-Net [ZIP Format]
Download it from PSP-Hacks.Com [ZIP Format]

Precautions/Suggestions before you start
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Ensure the memory stick used for the upgrade/downgrade process is in good shape. This means it's got no bad sectors that may result in failed CRC checksums for the files contained in it.
Normally if your Memory Stick is legitimate you should not have any problems. Many people have experienced semibricks / bricks due to cheap fake memory sticks sold on eBay. As a suggestion I recommend you use the original 32MB / 1GB memory card bundled originally with your PSP.
A good practice would be formatting the Memory Stick prior to the downgrade (Remember to back your important files up before you do that) and use any error-checking utility to scan the Memory Stick for failures.
Alternatively you can use a CRC checksum utility (SFV, MD5SUM...) to verify that the data copied onto your memory stick is consistent with the original.
Charge your battery to its maximum capacity in advance and leave the PSP plugged to the mains during the upgrade/downgrade process.
During the upgrade/downgrade process, once the files have started being copied to the flash memory you MUST not be reboot your PSP manually, or turn it off, or the remove the Memory Stick until the flashing process has finished, or otherwise your PSP will end up bricked.

Downgrading Instructions for 2.80 PSPs
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A) Updating to 2.80 Sony Official Firmware: This downgrader will only work on 2.80 Firmware, therefore you will have to upgrade your PSP to 2.80 first unless of course it is already installed in your PSP in which case you should skip to the section B) below.

Download the 2.80 Official SONY Update File from either of the download links above. Make sure you select a handy location in your Hard Disk where you can find easily it later on, i.e. Your Windows Desktop. The downloaded file will be packed in ZIP Format and you might need some additional software to uncompress the file (for instance WinRAR). Uncompress the ZIP file and you should end up with a uncompressed file named EBOOT.PBP. This is the uncompressed Firmware Update file.
Connect your PSP to your PC via USB cable and activate the USB Mode on your PSP.
From your Operative System, go to the directory :/PSP/GAME located in your memory stick.
Create a folder named UPDATE in case it does not exist yet (MUST be capitals).
Copy the downloaded EBOOT.PBP file into the recently created folder :/PSP/GAME/UPDATE/.
Disconnect the PSP from the PC.
In the PSP's XMB Menu, goto "Game" -> "Memory Stick"
Browse to the Update file and start it. (The PSP´s AC adapter must be plugged into the mains and the battery charge over 50% in order to perform the upgrade. Otherwise you will get a warning message and you will not be allowed to carry on)
After a couple of minutes you will have the firmware of your PSP upgraded to the one you downloaded. (Once the upgrade started You MUST not be reboot your PSP manually, or turn it off, or the remove the Memory Stick until the process has finished, or otherwise your PSP will end up bricked)
Check that you have now the proper firmware version installed (2.80) from your PSP Settigs Menu (Settings -> System Settings -> System Information).
Delete the :/PSP/GAME/UPDATE folder and its contents. You can now proceed to the downgrade process.

B) Downgrade process for a 2.80 PSP to 1.50:

Connect the PSP to your PC through the USB Cable and enable the USB Mode in the PSP Settings.
Download the Improved 2.80 Downgrader from the link above. Unzip and copy the contents of MS_ROOT folder from the "ta82downgrader.zip" file to the root of your memory stick. This is the PSP Unit Letter that appears when you connect it to your computer. For example, mine would be F:/. This letter will vary depending in many factors such as number of HD, HD Partitions, External drives installed, etc.
Download the HEN 280 ported by the Noobz Team from the link above. Unzip and copy the contents of MS_ROOT folder from the "hen280.zip" file to the root of your memory stick. This is the PSP Unit Letter that appears when you connect it to your computer. For example, mine would be F:/. This letter will vary depending in many factors such as number of HD, HD Partitions, External drives installed, etc.
From your Operative System, go to the directory :/PSP/GAME located in your memory stick.
Create a folder named UPDATE in case it does not exist (MUST be capitals).
Download the 1.50 Official SONY Update File from any of the download links above. Unzip the 1.50 update to a temporary folder. Rename the EBOOT.PBP to UPDATE.PBP and copy it to :/PSP/GAME/UPDATE/ . DO NOT OVERWRITE PSP/GAME/UPDATE/EBOOT.PBP!
Disable the USB Mode.
Go to the PHOTO menu of your PSP, press X to enter, and then select the "HEN_280" folder and press X again to enter.
If the psp just freezes, reboot your psp and try again from this point onwards. HEN_280 is based in the TIFF exploit and is VERY unstable, so it will onnly executed sometimes. If you get the program running you should see a screen that can be of either colour:
* Red: The necessary files couldn't be written to the flash (This may happens occasionally). Just keep trying.
* Pale Blue: The files were written succesfully, and HEN is active. After that blue screen, the XMB will be automatically rebooted.
If the PSP hangs up or the HEN_280 do not load properly, read the suggestions in the TROUBLESHOOTING section at the end of this guide.
Only if you saw a blue screen flashing followed by a reboot you should continue.
Check that HEN is running by going to system settings, then to "System Information" and it should show up as system version 280 HEN. Having HEN enabled means that now you can run homebrew, therefore you could run IDStorage Changer and the downgrader.
This is now the very important step, patching the IDStorage to make TA-082/TA-086 PSPs compatible with 1.50 Firmware. It's only meant for TA-082/TA-086 PSPs, so if your PSP is not one of these, you can skip this step. Check the link in the Requirements section above on how to check for TA-082/TA-086 PSP if you are still unsure. If it happens that yours is one of these, then go to the Game Menu of the PSP's XMB and into memory stick. Select and run the 2.80 idstorage changer. It will then change some keys of your IDStorage needed to downgrade. Once finished it will exit back to the XMB.
Important Note: The IDStorage changer and the Downgrader both have safety checks, so that if you attempt to run them on an incorrect PSP type (trying to patch a non-TA082/086, or trying to downgrade an unpatched TA082/086) then you will get an appropriate warning. But it's always better to know what you're doing in the first place - so follow the instructions!.
From the Game Menu of the PSP, go into memory stick. Now you can run the downgrader, called Update X.YZ
Before the downgrader does anything to your PSP it will ask for you to agree to what it is doing, if you no longer want to continue press the Right Shoulder Button (R-TRIGGER).
Once you have agreed to start the downgrade you MUST not be reboot your PSP manually, or turn it off, or the remove the Memory Stick until the process has finished, or otherwise your PSP will end up bricked.
Once finished (About 2 mins) the PSP will ask you to press X, and reset itself.
The PSP will display a BSOD (blue screen of death) with the message "Settings information is corrupted. Press the O button to repair and restore your settings" in several languages. Don´t worry, this is OK as well. Just follow the on screen instructions.
All done now :-) Hopefully you now have a 1.50 PSP. Enjoy it responsibly.

Troubleshooting
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In case you are having trouble running the HEN_280 via the TIFF exploit (PHOTO Menu), i.e. your PSP hangs at this point, try the following suggestions:

- Set a custom wallpaper/background set. Any image will do. Some users reported faster results this way.
- 32MB stick seems to give better results than huge memory sticks.
- Also if the memory stick is empty, it seems to work better, so format the memory stick before starting the whole dongrade process.
- HEN_280 run best on a freshly-rebooted PSP. Turn your PSP completely off, then back on again. Go straight to the photo folder, wait 20 seconds and try running the HEN_280 again.
- Try loading the TIFF by starting a 'Slideshow' of the folder, using the 'START' button (instead of X).

Basically these are the Original Downgrader Instructions from the Downgrader and eLoader Readme.txt files with a few additions / changes to make it more understandable.

If you have read the instructions but you are still having trouble to get the downgrader working, we suggest that you reply to this topic with the question(s) that you may have rather than starting a new topic/thread instead. We'll try to help

.

Hopefully this guide will stop unnecessary threads from people asking the same questions again and again.