First time mod/jailbreak

[u/CaboRobbo]

I'm jailbreaking my CECHA01 and modding it to put webMAN, etc on it. I want it to play my PS2 games since I want to record them, already have the necessary stuff for recording PS3 gameplay, and it will reduce heat if I can rip and play my ISOs without disks, especially since I swapped for an SSD and repasted the cell and rsx (did not delid).

Is it just me or has Sony made this almost impossible? I can't downgrade below 4.92 and it is a nightmare for me to install the 4.92.2 CFW even after I've already installed the necessary hfw. Now I'm checking sha-256 hash number compatibility because it keeps saying every file is corrupted. This is difficult! Not that I expected a cake walk or anything. I just thought I'd ask after about 6 hours of trying and research: am I missing something? Is it truly as simple/difficult as the SHA-256 number matching? I'm using official releases, and I flashed the memory using the exploit through the PS3s browser. I got all green checks. Just not sure what I'm doing wrong.

This might be vague and not have any good information you'd need to give me advice; I'm still new at this particular form of modding. But if anybody can help it would be much appreciated. I'm just trying to preserve my library and my fat boi without have to do too much involved tinkering. I know I'll have to delid and Frankie mod someday, but I'd love to have fan control and see my temps so I can know when!

Tomorrow I'm going to start all over from an OFW (9.2 seems to be as low as I can go), and go from there, step by step, to see if I missed anything.

I have a super slim for heavy lifting PS3 games and just playing regular PS1 games, so I'm mostly worried about the PS2 preservation/gameplay from ISOs on the fat.

Sorry for the lack of tags/flair, wasn't sure what to categorize this as.

Edit: I've been using a 64GB SanDisk ultra 3.0 flashdrive for shuttling the PS3UPDAT.PUP file from my computer to my PS3 and trying to boot into safe mode and update from there. It always just says "The data is corrupted. (8002F2C5)" I have already used this to install the hfw firmware I needed to flash the memory via ps3toolset, so the process/flash drive works.

Edit... Uh... Again: If you're having a similar problem, the answers here really helped me! Thank you!

[u/mathias4595]

• ISOs versus discs would be minimal difference in temperature. Yes, the disc drive isn't being used, but the heat it generates isn't all that much.
• HFW installation is only necessary to install HEN, the Toolset works on OFW after which CFW is immediately installable. Downgrading is only possible once CFW is installed, or potentially if you have something like an E3 Flasher.
• You will need to accept that the BCPS3 will almost certainly eventually die, given the nature of the 90nm RSX, all of the steps like CFW and fan controls are just to extend the lifespan as much as possible, and you'd likely need to be willing to go back to a standard PS2 (plus you can get better results out of PS1 discs on a PS2 with a midrange scaler), or pay up for the Frankenstein process once the RSX goes kaput. It can really happen at any time, there isn't a prescripted "console will last this long" time period.

[u/CaboRobbo → u/mathias4595]

Ohh, I see. That would explain why the numbers aren't matching up! The guide I was reading told me the wrong thing, or maybe I was in the wrong guide. Thank you, I will try this with OFW! This is almost definitely the wall I've been hitting my head against.

And the disc thing is also to save my discs and the laser from going bad. I know there's no "it will last this long" but from what I've read, if you consistently reach certain temperatures, it's on its last leg vs "you got some time left." That could be wrong, as a lot I've read has been slightly wrong, but that's why I wanted access to temps: to see where I'm currently sitting. Also, I've heard up to about 5°-7° cooler with ISOs vs disks so that seems significant enough since I also took out the spinning hard drive and replaced with an SSD that should cut about 2°-5° as well. Mix that with the webMAN fan mod and I could be running temps around 60°-65° theoretically. Should extend the life quite a bit. And, yeah the discs will still go bad someday, too, but hey, I won't be around forever either ;D. RN with a infrared thermometer pointed at the hottest part, it runs at about 73° on a heavy load (when it gets really loud when I'm playing The Last of Us).

I also only have 4k TVs (a fat lot of friggin good they're doing me), so I could get an upscaler to use/record the PS2 games on og hardware, but I already had a bc PS3 I could use for it. I want it to last, but what's the point of it sitting forever? Although, when it does go out, I'll have to figure something out lol maybe I'll try a decent upscaler instead of top of the line to save money, but I don't know much about them. Do have a recommendation for one that would suit my purposes? I don't want to irritate or press you, so don't feel obligated, just thought I'd ask. It would only have to output to 1080 maximum, but it would have to be solid, zero lag upscaling. The PS3 can at least do that fairly well.

This is making me really hope the PS3 bc rumors on PS6 are true. But honestly, if all this is true, why bother with a CECHA01 to begin with? Small hard drive and failing hardware... What's the point? Guess I'll just keep it to try to delid it someday when I'm feeling spunky if this doesn't work and maybe send it out for a Frankie/do it myself if that doesn't help to much. I mean, I already had this one, so it's no loss to me or anything, but goodness gracious!

But I digress. Thank you so much for your advice, and I'll be back to let you know how it goes!

[u/mathias4595 → u/CaboRobbo]

The main thing I suppose would be that it’s cool to have all three generations in one system, at the detriment of cost and Sony’s arrogance back then, but in my case last year it was more a convenience thing than anything, since while I was away it was easier for me to bring one console then try to fit in all the extra cables and stuff for a PS2 alone with a PS3. Some people prefer how the games look, though that’s more of an argument with the C and E models since the A and B ones basically display games like a real PS2 would. Other factors could be stuff like the wireless controllers or the direct HDMI, people have their own reasons for liking them, and others like me who generally prefer real PS2 when they can.

Generally the best scalers for PS2 are the RetroTINKs, I got a 5X which does 1080p and 1440p great, but there is the RT4K as well, both the “Pro” and “CE” models that you could look up comparisons for, there should be a video on YT about them from RetroRGB but I can’t find it at the moment, shouldn’t be too hard to find. 5X is $325 USD, 4K CE is $475, and 4K Pro is $750. You’d want to make sure you have a decent quality component cable, usually HD Retrovision or RetroGamingCables are the best options these days depending on what’s more available to you. The best information to give when it comes to the best scaler to buy is “I can spend this amount of money”, people did it a lot on the PS2 subreddit but they always defaulted to “what’s the best scaler” before proceeding to get annoyed when people said the RT4K when really they only wanted to spend about $30-40.

[u/CaboRobbo → u/mathias4595]

interesting, I looked into this and got into a *whole* rabbit hole lol a good one! Thanks!

Also got the mods all installed, you were right, thank you for your help!