EBOOT loader v0.8.5 by Fanjita
===============================
Official Homepage:
http://www.fanjita.org/psp.html
Official Forum:
http://forums.qj.net/forumdisplay.php?f=187
(based on excellent groundwork by Saotome)
NOTE : THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS YOU TO RUN HOMEBREW EBOOTs ON YOUR v2.0 PSP.
IT CANNOT LOAD EBOOT.PBPs THAT CONTAIN FIRMWARE UPDATES.
This program builds on the work done by Saotome to load homebrew EBOOT.PBPs
into PSPs with v2.0 firmware, using the TIFF exploit. It will not work
on any other firmware version - including v2.01.
It currently cannot run all known homebrew, but it uses a number of tricks
to get substantially further than ever before. Known limitations are:
- Can't run kernel-mode applications.
- That means anything that uses wi-fi or USB access, or emulates ISOs/UMDs.
- Some minor system calls are still unsupported.
It's also still very much in development, so you should expect a few bugs,
and for not every EBOOT to run perfectly. A common problem is a load buzzing
noise when starting up some emulators, so you may want to play with your PSP
volume turned down.
To use:
-------
- Extract all the files into the root folder (e.g. "F:\") of your memory
stick. You need these files to be in the right place:
\PSP\PHOTO\EBOOT Loader 085\RUN_L081.TIF
\PSP\PHOTO\EBOOT Loader 085\AAA.GIF
\UTILS\EBOOT_SIGNATURE.EXE
\PSP\GAME\LOADER085.CFG
\PSP\GAME\LOADMENU085.PBP
\PSP\GAME\LOADMENU.TGA
\L_085.BIN
- Copy the homebrew you want to run to your memory stick. Usually, this
means unzipping a directory that contains an EBOOT.PBP file to somewhere
under \PSP\GAME\. The exact location and folder name usually doesn't matter,
but for best compatibility you should try to use the same names as
originally shown in the homebrew ZIP file.
If the instructions with the homebrew contain separate steps for v1.0 and
v1.5 firmwares, then usually you'll get best results by following the
v1.0 instructions.
NOTE: If the homebrew is written in LUA, you need to copy it to a subdirectory
under the \PSP\GAME\USER_LUA\APPLICATIONS folder.
- Make sure you have a custom wallpaper set. Any image will do.
- Use the PSP's built-in photo viewer to open the "EBOOT loader 085" folder,
this will cause the loader to start. If your PSP hangs at this point,
then try the following:
- check your firmware version. This loader is for v2.0 ONLY.
- check that you have the loader files in the correct place (see above)
- turn your PSP completely off, then back on again. The loader works
best on a freshly-rebooted PSP.
- try setting a custom background - some people have reported that it
works better if you use a custom wallpaper (any image).
- try 'touching' the TIF image file : see 'fixing up the file times'
below.
- The loader displays a list of files in \PSP\GAME. Use the up and down
buttons to change the current selection (highlighted in red), and X to
open an EBOOT.PBP file or browse into a folder.
NOTE: To load LUA applications, you need to run the EBOOT.PBP that is in
the \PSP\GAME\USER_LUA folder, which will launch Lowser and let you
browse to open the application.
- Once you select an EBOOT.PBP to load, after a few moments, the loader
will either display an error message, or give you the option to run
the application.
- To exit the application, you need to reboot your PSP.
The loader contains in-built support for rebooting, by holding the
Left Trigger, Right Trigger and START buttons together for 1 second.
If this doesn't work, then you can also reboot by removing the battery,
or holding the power switch for at least 10 seconds.
Note that sometimes after a software reboot, the loader will hang if you
try to run it again. This seems to be much rarer if you enter USB mode
briefly, before running the loader again.
Using multiple versions of EBOOT loader
---------------------------------------
Occasionally, some EBOOTs work better with older versions of the loader.
In v0.8.5, it looks like TerraIncognita is broken, but this works fine on 0.7.
Also, LUA can be very unpredictable, working in some loader versions for some
people, and other versions for others.
From 0.8 onwards, the loader uses version numbers in the filenames, so that
you can run multiple versions side-by-side.
After installing v0.8.5, you can continue to use any previously-installed
versions of the loader, if you have problems with your favourite EBOOTs.
Troubleshooting
---------------
If you have problems with an individual EBOOT getting to the "Press X to
launch the program" screen, but crashing immediately after, here are a
few things to try:
- Check whether it is already on the list of non-working EBOOTs below.
- Make sure you are trying to run it as the first thing you do after a
clean reboot of your PSP
- Use v1.0 EBOOTs in preference to v1.5.
- Make sure that you read any README supplied with the homebrew, and followed
the installation instructions (for v1.0, preferably) carefully.
- Make sure that any support files (e.g. WAV files, graphics files)
contained in the ZIP file are copied into the same place on the memory stick,
relative to the EBOOT file.
- Experiment with the launcher options in the configuration file. (see below)
- Check the forums at pspupdates.com - someone might already have found a
way to make this EBOOT work.
- When starting the EBOOT loader, try pressing the "down" button very quickly
immediately after pressing "X" to open the 'EBOOT loader' photo folder.
This can help the stability of some apps.
- If you see a message during the loading process, saying
"Found suspicious hard path", then this means the loader detected that
the application depends upon being in a specific location on the
memory stick. Usually the path will mention a specific file - try moving the
application folder so that the file is in the place shown.
If you find that one of these steps helps, then please send me details
on what you did to make the EBOOT work - I can build the workarounds
automatically into the next version of the loader.
NOTE: If the EBOOT loader aborted the process before reaching the "press X"
screen, then don't bother trying these steps - there's no way that EBOOT
will currently work, but please remember to send the details of the error
message to me, so that I can attempt to change the code to make it work.
Fixing up the file times:
-------------------------
If you have problems with the PSP freezing as soon as you open the PHOTO
folder, or even if it just starts the EBOOT loader as soon as you open the
PHOTO folder, and you want to be able to view photos normally, then you can
use the enclosed TOUCH.EXE file to help out:
- Copy touch.exe to the \psp\photo\ folder on your memory stick.
- Open a windows command prompt (click "Start", "Run...", and enter "cmd"
in the box that comes up).
- In the command prompt, enter these commands:
> F: (replace 'F' with the drive letter of your memory stick)
> cd "\psp\photo\eboot loader"
> ..\touch run_l.tif
> cd "\psp\photo\eboot loader 03"
> ..\touch run_lalt.tif
Configuration File:
-------------------
v0.8.5 and beyond of the loader support configuration via a file, LOADER085.CFG.
See inside the file for basic details on what the various options do. For most
purposes, the defaults should be sufficient.
If you want to try to tweak the options for a specific EBOOT, here are some
pointers:
- Each EBOOT has a special signature that identifies it to the EBOOT loader.
To find out the signature, use the bundled Windows program
"EBOOT_SIGNATURE.EXE". This will tell you the name you need to use for the
config file section header for the EBOOT.
- The following options are the most common ones to change to make a specific
EBOOT work. Often, changing one of these (more-or-less at random) will fix
the more sensitive EBOOTs such as USER_LUA. Try changing these one at a time,
in this order, for best results.
- passparameters : this is the same as the old 'press Square for
alternate parameters' option.
- confirm
- callinit : this is the same as the old 'press L-Trigger' option
- clearscreen
- initbssfull
- initbsspartial
- If you want to suppress screen-spam during loading of a known-good EBOOT,
you can try changing these options. You may find that the EBOOT stops
working after changing an option - if so, just change it back.
- confirm : displays the 'press X to start' menu
- unknownNIDwarning : warns you if some system calls requested by the
EBOOT couldn't be identified.
- patchkernelwarning : warns you if the EBOOT is kernel-mode. For some
EBOOTs, this doesn't matter.
- ignorefixedpath : warns you if the EBOOT contains a suspicious-
looking filename, that implies it might need to be
run from a fixed location on the memory stick.
If you find some new configuration parameters that work well for a specific
EBOOT, please email me at
fanjita@fanjita.org, or make a post on the EBOOT
loader forums at pspupdates.com.
Future plans:
-------------
- Improve compatibility
- Add wi-fi support - this seems to be possible without kernel-mode.
- Allow loading of EBOOTs from ZIPs
Compatibility Status:
---------------------
The list of known working applications is now kept up-to-date online, at
http://www.fanjita.org/psp_working.html.
New Working applications in this release:
- SNES9xTYL 0.2c
- TCGS Car
- ASTC (Another Silly Tetris Clone)
- Moppi's Flower Demo
- Tail Tale
- Scrabble Assistant - loads but hangs?
- PSP Revolution
- Heretic PSP
- SMS plus 1.2
- Crystallise 1.0
- Binary Clock
- A-Blit demo