To create a PSP with custom firmware (CFW), you must use two items: (1) Pandora's Battery/Service Tool Battery/Jigkick Battery and (2) a Magic Memory Stick (MMS). Let's start with the Pandora section.
Here are some ways to obtain a Pandora battery.
Buy Datel's Battery Service Tool, which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/697frgYou can also buy them from other places on the net, but Datel, in my opinion, is a good company to trust for this kind of stuff. I found their products to be reliable enough for recommendation.
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--Hardmod Method--
There's only one way to do this one, really. You can do it with pretty much any battery compatible with the PSP (fake or not), but let's just stick to Sony's official batteries. Here are some pictures of it being done on a 2200 and 1800 MAH battery.
&#nbsp; &#nbsp; &#nbsp; Link: http://tinyurl.com/4f566c
A word of warning for this, once you cut/desolder the pin, you can't use the battery to operate as a normal PSP battery anymore. Once the pin is gone, that's it. You've made a permanent Pandora Battery that can't be turned back to normal unless you modded on a switch to restore the contact pin to its original position. This isn't a modding forum so I won't get into that.
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--Softmod Method--
Comprehensive guide for the Perfect Pandora battery:
&#nbsp; &#nbsp; &#nbsp; Link: http://tinyurl.com/6cygxd
This is quite possibly the best guide ever. It also includes instructions on how to create the MMS by using a homebrew enabled PSP running CFW.
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======= MAGIC MEMORY STICK (MMS) =======
This is for those of you who didn't already have access to a PSP with CFW already on it... be it borrowed from a friend or family member. However you have it, you're in huge luck as long as you've have the awesome brain power to follow instructions. Anyway, if you already have one, then just follow the link from the Perfect Pandora Battery mentioned earlier (http://tinyurl.com/6cygxd).
There are a couple of programs that can run on the PC that allow you to make the MMS without a PSP. Here are a couple of them. Instructions on how to use them are found in the readme.txt's.
TOTALNewbi easyInstaller&#nbsp; &#nbsp; &#nbsp; Link: http://tinyurl.com/37kgf6
At the time of this posting, Catb50's MMS Creator v3.0 will upgrade you to 3.90 M33-2. TOTALNewbi easyInstaller upgrades you to 3.71 M33
Original files and updates for future custom firmwares by M33 can be found at dark-alex.org. Links to firmware updates can be downloaded from qj.net (a quick google for those updates might also work).
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======= MISCELLANEOUS LINKS =======
Here are more complete guides to make a Pandora + MMS without a CFW PSP.
&#nbsp; &#nbsp; &#nbsp; Link: http://tinyurl.com/2rw3ye
&#nbsp; &#nbsp; &#nbsp; Link: http://tinyurl.com/3psms6 (text only)
Visit dark-alex.org for all releases for the M33 CFW.
