HELP: confusing Pandora & down/up-grading woes....

[andwan0]

All this downgrade/upgrade/pandora business is so confusing. Especially if you've been downgrading PSP before pandora existed using exploits... and remember the days of 2.xx and 3.0x custom firmware. I've followed so many different downgrade/upgrade guides throughout the past 4 years of PSP life... and my magic stick has gone through several variants (noobz pandora, hellcat's, etc.)

Is there a geeky techie PSP custom firmware FAQ? For example:

1. Where are the files stored for the "magic stick"? Is it the msipl.bin file?

2. What's a NAND dump for? The one I did is like 34MB large?

3. Pandora process creates folders
/data
/dic
/font
/kd
/registry
/vsh

What are these folders? Do I need to keep them and not delete them?

4. I still have a file called eeprom.bin - as far as I remember this was a back up of my battery serial? But I've lost my original battery now... Do I still need this file?

[3r14nd]

All this downgrade/upgrade/pandora business is so confusing. Especially if you've been downgrading PSP before pandora existed using exploits... and remember the days of 2.xx and 3.0x custom firmware. I've followed so many different downgrade/upgrade guides throughout the past 4 years of PSP life... and my magic stick has gone through several variants (noobz pandora, hellcat's, etc.)

Is there a geeky techie PSP custom firmware FAQ? For example:

1. Where are the files stored for the "magic stick"? Is it the msipl.bin file?

To answer your question see your #3. The msipl.bin file is the IPL for Pandora

2. What's a NAND dump for? The one I did is like 34MB large?

The NAND dump is a complete backup of your PSP. This way in case your screw up your PSP you can restore it back to when you made the dump. Basically it's a fix for your SPECIFIC PSP in case you brick it.

3. Pandora process creates folders
/data
/dic
/font
/kd
/registry
/vsh

What are these folders? Do I need to keep them and not delete them?

These are the files from question 1. If you no longer need pandora then delete it, if you still use pandora, keep them.

4. I still have a file called eeprom.bin - as far as I remember this was a back up of my battery serial? But I've lost my original battery now... Do I still need this file?

The point of having this backup is because if you changed your battery to Pandora's then all information saved about the battery lever would be gone and you can potentially lose the ability to recharge your battery. The best practice would be to change the battery when the battery is at full charge. Also if you re-flash the eeprom back when the power is at a different charge you can mess up the charge information.

If you don't have the battery, delete it.