GUIDE: How to use Hellcats Recovery Flasher

Ok I know most people know how to use this program, but it seems people are using the wrong versions or people say "Use hellcats recovery flasher" and they don't know what it is, so rather people keep repeating themselves, I thought i'd do a quick guide that you can refer people to.



How to use Hellcats Recovery Flasher

First of all, you'll want to download the latest version of the program. Currently version 1.60, get it here. The download will be a RAR folder. Save it to your hard drive somewhere (preferably in it's own folder, called Recovery Flasher or something similar), then extract all of the contents using WinRAR or similar extraction program. You should then have, somewhere on your PC, the following folders and files:

How to downgrade PSP 1000 with firmware 3.50 and lower (For installing CFW)

Ultimate Downgrader Thread

The following guides are for downgrading the firmware of PSP 1000 models running 3.50 firmware and lower only. If you have a PSP 2000, PSP 3000 or your firmware is above 3.50, look at other options for hacking your PSP. These will not work and could damage your PSP.

All of these guides have the aim of getting your PSP to version 1.50 using purely software hacks as an alternative to hardware methods (Pandora Battery), from which you can then install Custom Firmware. Click the link at the end of each guide for details on how to do that.

Disclaimers:
1. Any downgrader has potential to brick your psp, so proceed with caution and at your own risk. If you brick your PSP it CAN now be recovered, but you will need additional hardware for that (Pandora Battery).
2. ALWAYS downgrade with a fully charged battery pack and the psp plugged into the ac adapter.
3. Only download the software from well known sites linked in the guides.
4. Follow the directions carefully to avoid possible damage of your psp.
5. For safety reasons, please use a reformated empty memory card when attempting to downgrade. Backup any data before reformatting.
6. throughly read the README files that come with all software. most questions can be answered there instead of asking in this thread

The Xbox 360 GPU

The Xbox 360 GPU

While Microsoft's focus on the CPU was efficiency, with the Xbox 360's GPU, it pulled out all the stops. Designed by ATI, Microsoft controls the IP of the GPU; meaning, Microsoft can manufacture and do what it wishes with Xenos (although we're assuming that they can't stick it on graphics cards and start selling it to the public).
The GPU also acts as a North Bridge in the system, but we'll get to that role a little later. Like the Xbox 360 CPU, we've talked about the GPU in great detail in the past, but we'll briefly go over the highlights here.

Xenon vs. Cell

Xenon vs. Cell

The first public game demo on the PlayStation 3 was Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 at Sony’s PS3 press conference.  Tim Sweeney, the founder and UE3 father of Epic, performed the demo and helped shed some light on how multi-threading can work on the PlayStation 3.
According to Tim, a lot of things aren’t appropriate for SPE acceleration in UE3, mainly high-level game logic, artificial intelligence and scripting.  But he adds that “Fortunately these comprise a small percentage of total CPU time on a traditional single-threaded architecture, so dedicating the CPU to those tasks is appropriate, while the SPE's and GPU do their thing."
So what does Tim Sweeney see the SPEs being used for in UE3?  "With UE3, our focus on SPE acceleration is on physics, animation updates, particle systems, sound; a few other areas are possible but require more experimentation."
Tim’s view on the PPE/SPE split in Cell is far more balanced than most we’ve encountered.  There are many who see the SPEs as utterly useless for executing anything (we’ll get to why in a moment), while there are others who have been talking about doing far too much on SPEs where the general purpose PPE would do much better. 

The Xbox 360 CPU

The Xbox 360 CPU

The original Xbox used a hybrid mobile Pentium III/Celeron processor, but for the 360 Microsoft went to IBM and got the rights to a PowerPC core.  The move to the PowerPC instruction set meant that there would be no direct binary compatibility with older Xbox titles, but the sacrifice was obviously deemed necessary by Microsoft. 
The CPU itself features three of these PowerPC cores and is currently manufactured on a 90nm process, however Microsoft will most likely be transitioning to 65nm as soon as possible in order to reduce the die size and thus manufacturing costs.  Remember that a die shrink from 90nm down to 65nm will cut the size of the CPU in half, and should be possible for Microsoft sometime before the end of next year.

Introducing the Xbox 360's Xenon CPU

Introducing the Xbox 360's Xenon CPU

The Xenon processor was designed from the ground up to be a 3-core CPU, so unlike Cell, there are no disabled cores on the Xenon chip itself in order to improve yield.  The reason for choosing 3 cores is because it provides a good balance between thread execution power and die size.  According to Microsoft's partners, the sweet spot for this generation of consoles will be between 4 and 6 execution threads, which is where the 3-core CPU came from. 
The chip is built on a 90nm process, much like Cell, and will run at 3.2GHz - also like Cell.  All of the cores are identical to one another, and they are very similar to the PPE used in the Cell microprocessor, with a few modifications. 

Removing the Heatsinks from the Motherboard

Removing the Heatsinks from the Motherboard

Removing the heatsinks from the GPU and the CPU will require a great deal of patience as to avoid damaging the motherboard. Flip over the Xbox 360's motherboard. You will see two X clamps grasping the ends of the screws that hold the heatsinks into place. Without removing the X clamps, you cannot remove the heatsinks. Microsoft has done a clever job in terms of securing the unit from prying eyes and removing the heatsinks from the Xbox 360 can be a trick for a lot of people.

Take a pair of small pliers and gently pry off each corner of the clamps. After two corners have been lifted, the rest of the clamp springs loose and can easily be removed by hand. Once both X plates have been removed, you can turn the motherboard over and simply pull the heatsinks off to reveal the GPUs (two dice on the chip) and CPUs (single die, 3 cores on the chip).

Disassembling the Xbox 360 HDD unit

Disassembling the Xbox 360 HDD unit

The Xbox 360's HDD unit only currently comes if you purchase the $399 Xbox 360 system. For those who purchase the core system, no hard drive is included. However, if you are interested in finding out just exactly what Microsoft has offered in terms of storage, the following are instructions on how to disassemble the Xbox 360's HDD module.
Start off by first removing the HDD unit from the Xbox 360 main console and lay it flat with the connector side facing upwards. You will see 3 screws. The 4th screw is located underneath the silver "Microsoft" sticker -- removing this sticker instantly voids your HDD unit's warranty.

 Once you have removed all 4 screws, lift up the plastic cover while being careful that it is latched onto the button-release end of the unit. You'll want to be careful as not to pop the spring loaded

Disassembling the Internals of the Xbox 360

Disassembling the Internals of the Xbox 360

To continue further, you will need to first remove the DVD drive. Simply hold the drive and lift up. You will notice that the Xbox 360's DVD drive uses a Serial ATA interface which keeps things very tidy compared to the original Xbox. At this point, remove both the power supply cable and Serial ATA cable from the DVD drive and then from the motherboard.

Inside Microsoft's Xbox 360

What's in the Box, in the Box? (Taking it Apart)

Microsoft has shown the world that it's very swift when it comes to recovering from errors that it has made. With the original Xbox design, Microsoft was definitely testing new ground and thus had little experience when it came to protecting its intellectual property and hardware. The original Xbox was largely easy to open by most people with the most common of tools and was quickly adopted by the modding community as the ultimate "utility" console.
In an attempt to circumvent those with modified Xboxes, Microsoft added security and authentication features to its Xbox Live service that would detect whether an Xbox was in its original form or not. But the mod community did not sit idle and not long after, mod chips were introduced that were able to switch on and off between original BIOS mode and "modified" BIOS mode.
Microsoft has clearly announced to the public that it has designed the Xbox 360 from the ground up to thwart those who want to crack open the case -- even simply for a look inside. They have stated that the unit will be screwless (partially true) and be extremely difficult to disassemble -- unfortunately only partially true.
With a few simple tools we were able to disassemble the entire unit, removing every component from the system without any damage. If you plan to take apart your Xbox 360 -- and we must warn that doing so will void your warranty immediately -- the following tools are needed:

• Three torx screw drivers in the following sizes: T6, T7 and T12
• One small flat head screw driver or small and thin wedge
• A 2 inch long and thin (roughly 1.5mm thick) metal stick
• A 2 inch long and flat (less than 1mm thick) plastic or metal stick
• A pair of thin pliers

XBOX

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast, and the Nintendo GameCube. The integrated Xbox Live service allowed players to compete online.
The Xbox was discontinued in late 2006, although the final Xbox game, Madden NFL 09 was released in August 2008. Support for out-of-warranty Xbox consoles was discontinued on March 2, 2009; any in-warranty repair now needed will not be undertaken and faulty consoles will replaced with an Xbox 360 instead. Xbox Live support was discontinued on April 15, 2010.

About PSP-3000

The PSP-3000 is the redesigned version of Sony's popular PlayStation Portable. The first PSP-1000 was followed by the PSP Slim&Lite (PSP-2000) announced during E3 2007. The PSP-3000 is an even slicker version of the PSP Slim&Lite, it was announced during Sony's Leipzig Games Convention press conference.

The PSP-3000 looks almost exactly the same like the PSP-2000 Slim&Lite, but this new version of the PlayStation Portable has a built-in microphone and a better screen. The screen of the PSP-3000 is able to resist glare, so it will work better outdoors. The built-in microphone can be used for applications like Skype for PSP or for online gaming via Infrastructure.