Installing a Custom Firmware on your PSP 1000 has never been so easy. In this page I’m describing the easiest possible way for you to install the most reliable Custom Firmware on your PSP: Pro CFW.
As a PSP 1000 owner, you can practically install everything you want on your device, and use other techniques such as the Pandora Battery to install a Custom Firmware. If you are interested in the “advanced” Pandora Battery method, please go check that guide, or the “Power users” section below. If, on the other hand, you want to follow the easy method (which for now I recommend), please keep reading.
Installing Pro CFW on your PSP1000 is simple, free, and is not much risky than installing a Firmware update on your device. It does not require any advanced hack technique or hardware modification. There’s basically 3 easy steps (you were expecting more? Sorry to disappoint):
1. Download the necessary files
2. Update your PSP To firmware 6.60
Skip this step if you already have Firmware 6.60 installed on your PSP.
In order to install Pro CFW on your PSP, you will need to first update your PSP to the 6.60 Sony firmware (which, at the time of this writing, is the latest firmware released by Sony), if that’s not already the case. There are versions of Pro CFW that will run on older firmwares, but updating to 6.60 will guarantee the best compatibility for your official games.
To install the 6.60 Firmware, just unzip the archive on your PSP’s memory stick, in the “PSP” folder (you should end up with an “UPDATE” folder in the PSP folder, if you do things correctly), then run the update from your PSP menu.
Trouble upgrading? Ask for help on our forums
3. Install Pro CFW
The Pro CFW archive provides several subfolders in the “PSP/GAME” folder. Two of them are interesting for us: the FastRecovery and the PROUPDATE folders. Those two need to be extracted to the PSP/GAME folder on your memory stick.
Assuming you extracted the files correctly, you will see a few new applications in your PSP’s Game menu. The one you will want to run in order to install Pro CFW is “Pro Update”. Just run it.
That’s it. You can erase the “ProUpdate” folder from your PSP, but keep the “FastRecovery” one.
4. DAILY USE
That’s it, I said 3 steps :) Welcome to the world of Custom Firmwares. There’s no additional step required to install the Pro CFW. However, every time you reboot your console, you will have to reactivate ProCFW, which is done by running the Fast Recovery tool from your PSP’s Game menu, and takes literally 5 seconds.
5. Power user
In this section you will find additional tricks/steps if you want to improve or customize your experience with a Custom Firmware on your PSP 1000
Some people think that it is a burden to reactivate the CFW every time they reboot their console. It is important to note that this is needed only if you reboot the console, not if you put it into sleep mode. Most people use the sleep mode 90% of the time without ever realizing it. Trust me, I’ve used several PSPs for years now, running the Fast Recovery tool is not a problem in your daily usage. That being said, since you’re running on a PSP 1000, you have a possibility to install the CFW permanently. This is done by running the tool CIPL FLasher from the Pro CFW (included in the archive). I won’t dig into the details for that (just run the tool will do the trick), just know that I personally think this is a feature you won’t need (and there is an additional risk of bricking your PSP) unless you use your PSP for dev purposes.
