How to update your PSP firmware

Posted on January 5, 2009 at 5:52 am

I always have and always will believe that it’s worth installing an upgrade to firmware for any device, whether it be a computer, wireless router, or game console. In this article I am going to walk you through the steps required to upgrade the firmware on a PSP device.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as double-clicking an EXE file and watching the magic happen. With a PSP, in order to update the firmware, you have to follow a couple of steps. However, they are fairly simple steps that don’t require much technical know-how.

Note that there are three ways to update the firmware on a PSP: using a computer, network update, and update using a UMD. I am going to talk about the first method.

Step 1: First, download the latest PSP firmware from the PSP System Software site.

Step 2: Once you download the update to your computer, you need to copy it to Memory Stick Duo media. You can either plug the Memory Stick Duo card into your PSP and then connect the PSP to your computer, or if you can copy it to the memory stick some other way, that’s fine also.

Step 3: Before you copy the file to the Memory Stick Duo, you first need to create a few folders. On the stick, create a folder called PSP, then create a folder inside that called GAME, and finally create a folder inside GAME called UPDATE.

Note that all of the folder names need to be capitalized or else it will not work.

upgrade psp firmware

Step 4: Make sure to copy the firmware update file into the UPDATE folder on the memory stick.

Step 5: Now make sure to fully charge your PSP and plug it into a wall outlet. If you do not fully charge it, the update could fail due to a glitch.

Step 6: Insert the memory stick into the PSP if it’s not already there and then click on Game from the home menu and choose Memory Stick by pressing X. You’ll now see the version of the PSP update about to be installed.

psp update version

Step 7: Choose PSP Update Version and you’ll get a screen that has a Start button on it. Press Start to begin the firmware upgrade. DO NOT press a single button on the PSP or even touch it while it is updating.

Step 8: To make sure the update worked, go to Settings from the Home menu, then System Settings, then System Information. You should see the new version number for System Software.

software version psp

Upgrading your PSP is a good idea because there are a lot more games and software applications that run on the new versions. You can also update your PSP using a wireless Internet connection, but I find this method much easier and safer. Enjoy!

» Filed Under Computer Tips

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Comments

23 Responses to “How to update your PSP firmware”

  1. Daniel said on :

    Thank you Thank you! Just what I was looking for, I knew I was missing a critical step somewhere!


  2. ***NIGHTMARE-REX*** said on :

    updating a computer is usually good but all’s Sony’s OFW updates do is lock you’re PSP harder. why would you want to update it?


  3. michael t said on :

    i have tried using this and when i try and get to step 6 it said that it couldn’t complete and (dadadadad)shows up on the screen what do i do?


  4. shagrath said on :

    My psp doesnt detect the game in the memory stick..does it have to do with the firmware or the psp hardware? what should i do?


  5. oskarooonia said on :

    thanz man got to wait 4 my PSP battery to charge now!


  6. irtiza said on :

    thank you for releasing this on the net. Im dying to see the new version of my PSP.


  7. meirin said on :

    my psp version is 3.90 m33-3..can i update it for 5.50 gen-d from 3.90…?


  8. robert said on :

    I have a question…after i updated my PSP, my games won’t appear on the memory stick on the games column.. please help.. thanks


  9. Jim Burns said on :

    i have tried using this and when i try and get to step 6 it said that it couldn’t complete and (dadadadad)shows up on the screen what do i do?


  10. wew said on :

    When you tried to update your psp, it can be brick when interrupted, “brick” is when you turn on your psp you can only see black screen,you cant do anything unless you unbrick it so you can use your psp again, that is why its too risky when the psp was interrupted while updating.


  11. nhan said on :

    How do you unbrick it? I got the same problem as Jim Burns wrote on the site. When I’m trying to update it said that it couldn’t complete and (dadadadad) shows up on the screen. But when I turn on the psp i see the intro, but no black screen. maybe in beginning, but it last for 2-3 seconds only.


  12. HACHI9992JRN said on :

    I just did all those steps, but when I go to the memory stick and press on it , it just says this game could not be started (dadada) can someone please help?!?!?!


  13. Max said on :

    Thank you so much! this helped a lot, I was able to update my PSP.


  14. Max said on :

    HACHI9992JRN you may need to unzip the new sytem software using winrar or winzip, i had this problem too but then i unzipped and it worked


  15. sammy said on :

    I just did all those steps, but when I go to the memory stick and press on it , it just says this game could not be started (dadada) can someone please help?!?!?!


  16. charlene said on :

    After i have updated my PSP, i cant view the games on the memory stick. pls help me.


  17. Oz said on :

    I wonder if someone can point me to a place where I can watch a video on how to update a PSP. I cannot follow text instructions properly.


  18. Charles William said on :

    can i update my psp v3.95 to v5.50 directly without going to other version example = 3.95 – 4.00 – 5.50 pls reply thakz


  19. Kern said on :

    i did what you said but when I go on my memory stick, it shows that this data is corrupted. Please help!


  20. Henry said on :

    i hade the same problem that after i upgraded my psp, it cant show the game that i put in…… Any1 know how to solve this problem??


  21. Pascal said on :

    I’m not sure how the program is installed on my PSP, please help me!


  22. may said on :

    please help! after updating my psp my games can’t be detected!! please help me!


  23. Dondon Viernes said on :

    after undating my psp my games can’t be detected.. please help.


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