r/ps3hacks

So I am trying to install PS3Hen and I have installed it twice in the past. I got my HFW 4.93.1 pup on the official ps3xploit.me website and put it on my mbr fat32 usb in the write file structure. But when I go to install it, I get the message "You are trying to install an update that is already installed. Would you like to install it anyway" and it says its 4.93 and not 4.93.1. I am so confused

Seems a strange one, but I have been keeping backups of all my consoles' per console data such as EID root keys (if possible) and EEPROM data, and also the NOR flash which contains per console keys (if the NOR chip fails or a fluke damages the data on them, I could go to this backup and restore it via a flasher). I keep them for all my consoles. This has been trivial with my jailbroken systems, but not for OFW ones. My setup is two jailbroken and two legit consoles for online play that I will keep legit until the store goes then jailbreak. One of the group has his own legit console. We often LAN at home, but sometimes do opportunistic online play.

To save me messing around with a flasher, I had wanted to load bgtoolset and just dump the NOR of my non jailbroken super slim and slim. Have no intention of jailbreaking these just yet as I connect to PSN (and all my bought content for PS3/PS4 over the years is on the same account). The jailbroken ones are simply for DRM-Free preservation of content I bought legitimately that my group play a lot (I created custom pkg install disks of all my games and DLCs I have bought over the years. It is a pop in the disc, install the game/DLCs and license fixes and its ready to go). When the store/online goes, the legit consoles will eventually get qCFW.

I was wondering if bgtoolset operates 100% in RAM assuming you clear the browser history until you patch the NAND/NOR? That would mean I can safely dump and check syscon data of my legit machines.

Keeping a NOR and EEPROM backup is a great idea is if the NOR ever corrupts for any reason or due to time, the system is not a brick if the per-console keys are lost. We play them a lot in our group hence the desire for preservation.

I've looked online for some other people to have done this, but I can't quite find someone who has the same issue as me.

I have already seen Multiman work with actual ps3 game discs, and that is largely what I've seen tutorials for.

When I try to put some blu rays in though, multiman will show me a warning/error, "This action is not permitted" and then won't load. I do actually see a disc in the games section of Multiman, but the icon flips through blu ray, DVD and PS1, like it doesn't know what the disc is. Plus I can't just rip the iso from there.

I have an extensive collection of blu rays, but most of them I've already ripped to my PC. I have a couple of USB blu ray drives, but they sometimes won't read a disc for whatever reason. The ps3 works fine though, so I was hoping to get to use that, since I've seen others use it for ripping blu rays.

I'm kind of wondering if this functionality was taken out at some point? All of the posts I've read with people who have done this seem to be several years old (although I also admit this is a very niche use case in the year of our Lord 2026)

For the record, I'm confident that the disc drive fully works, as well as the discs themselves. I've tried rebooting the console with the disc out and then putting it in once Multiman was booted up. I've tried switching from cobra compatible mode to "standard CFW" mode before doing that. I'm just a little lost. I'm also willing to get another homebrew program if I'm missing something :P

TL:DR, the main question is in the title lol

Hello, I would like to ask for information about unlocking a PS3, specifically a 2004 model. I have a console that came with OFW 3.70. I updated it to OFW 4.93 thinking I could then install CFW, but from what I've seen, it doesn't work that way. I installed HFW 4.93 and haven't been able to do anything yet. I've already tried using BGtools and PS3xploit, and it shows "current FW 4.93" but it hasn't changed. I've also tried using xxevilnat.github, but the page is offline. Can someone help me switch from HFW 4.93 or OFW 4.93 to CFW 4.93? Because as far as I know, I can't install CFW without first flash-writing.

is it even an option, and if it is installation method would be kindly apriciated.

Just pulled off the jump from HEN to full CFW on my Slim (CECH-2003A), running 4.93, using the unofficial patcher method. Landed on Evilnat Cobra (8.5). This is my first real dive into PS3 modding—last time I even touched a PS3 was briefly as a kid in 2011, so coming back to this ecosystem completely fresh.

For context, I’ve been on the Xbox side with an RGH 360 for a while. Over there, FatXplorer is a godsend—lets me mount the internal drive directly to Windows File Explorer for local drag-and-drop access.

Quick questions:

1. Direct HDD Mounting: Is there a tool like FatXplorer for PS3 that lets me pull the drive, hook it up via SATA, and browse the encrypted filesystem directly on PC? Or are we strictly limited to USB transfers and FTP over Ethernet?

2. Future Updates: Since I used the unofficial patch to get here, does that mean the BG Toolset step is permanently skipped? In other words, when official 4.93 support eventually lands, I can just update the CFW normally from the XMB without ever touching the browser exploit again?

Appreciate any insight from the veterans here. Good to be back on the console after 15 years away.

Evilnat's done it again!

Flash Writer has been successfully ported by Evilnat to 4.93, making it possible for all of those who accidentally installed 4.93 OFW to install CFW again.

Instructions -

1. Install HFW 4.93.1 - Flash Writer cannot jailbreak OFW directly the same way bgtoolset does. You have to install HFW first. Note - Install HFW only. Do not install HEN.
2. Plug a FAT32 formatted USB disk to the rightmost USB port and make sure it's recognized on XMB.
3. Open the browser on the console and clean it completely - History, Cookies, Cache etc., delete everything.
4. Press the start button on your controller and go to this address - https://xxevilnatxx.github.io/flash-writer/
5. Follow the instructions
6. When asked if your console is NAND or NOR based - If you have a fat console with model CECHA/B/C/E/G, pick NAND. Any other fat model, as well as all slims, pick NOR.
7. Continue following the instructions.
8. After rebooting, install CFW.

A few notes -

• On NAND models, Flash Writer cannot take a complete dump of the entire NAND. This is an inherent issue with the exploit used by Flash Writer, and cannot be fixed. The mostly full dump can still be checked with PyPS3Checker. However, please do mind that if that specific small part of the NAND that can't be dumped gets corrupted (chances are very close to zero, but not zero), that's a hard brick. NOR models don't have that issue - The dump taken by Flash Writer is a full dump.
• As always, do not proceed with flashing before verifying the dump with PyPS3Checker and making sure there are non dangers / warnings.
• If you don't want to use a cloud service, you can self host Flash Writer on your own computer. Download the tool from here -> PS3Xploit Flash Writer (4.93 HFW) | PSX-Place. Note that while you can jailbreak without an Internet connection, you still need a LAN connection to your computer. Therefore, PS3s with both Wi-Fi and Ethernet broken cannot be modded.
• There are no news about bgtoolset and it's unknown when and if 4.93 will be supported, so please don't comment with that question.

My 250go ps3 YLODed a couple month ago. I didn't jailbreak it and made no back ups of it, but I did buy a new 60gb ps3 last week ! Now I know that Sony heavily encrypts every ps3 hard drive so on OFW there's no way I can use my old 250gb hard drive on my new ps3 without formating it. Now I was wondering if I could plug that hard drive with a SATA to USB cable to a jailbroken ps3 and be able to transfer all the data from the 250g hard drive on CFW ?

I just bought a PS3 Slim with the newest FW. When I tried to patch it with ps3toolset to install CFW I saw that 4.93 isn't supported by ps3toolset...

Is there a way I can downgrade or install CFW using this newest OFW?
My PS3 is capable of running CFW. The minimum FW version is 3.40!

Thanks for the help in advance!

Helloooo, my name is Adrián and i have a PS3 fat (well, my Bro have It) with CFW cobra and Now my father found working on a reformation a PS3 super Slim, 500GB version. Since i dont have in my house the fat, i want to try unlocking this superslim and found the qcfw using a rp2040 (which i have one).

Also i found It can be installed Hen. Firmware is on 4.85 OFW, and the bluetooth and disk drive fails sometimes so im gonna teardown for a fully clean and repaste and checking if the wifi bluetooth module is failing or is the Gamepad. And since im gonna teardown the console, is worth and Safe the QCFW jailbreak? Or should i stick to Hen? I just wanna play offline some backups and ps2. Also, still necessary to download the RAP files for backups or there's and alternative or modding to disable the DRM like on the Vita? Thanks

I’ll try to keep this quick. I got into PS3 Modding in December 2021 and in January of 2022 I started hitting up this subreddit everyday for pointers on my old account, probably annoying a lot of you lmao. But a year and a half later I stopped using it because I learned everything I wanted to know and it was smooth sailing for the next 3 years almost. Well… I’ve finally hit a conundrum. My first modded PS3 was almost a unicorn. It was a slim 2500 that I bought for 30 dollars because it had a dead blu ray drive. That makes it almost unusable for normal every day users. But for us, that’s a minor setback at worst. So anyway I got CFW and started playing it. The temps were immaculate. Rarely getting over 57 Celsius even when emulating PS2 games. The crazy thing is I discovered it had 870+ days of runtime according to Webman. I thought surely to goodness someone had to have already de-lidded and repasted it due to it still having great temps in its old age. But wind forward a few years and that’s starting to fade. Last month I jumped into a COD zombies match as I have a million times before. And the temp reached 71 degrees. It didn’t shut down and it didn’t get higher. I finished the game and turned it off. And that’s about where it sits now. I thought de-lidding was a once in a lifetime thing for a PS3. Can it be fixed AGAIN at that point? I’ve killed every PS3 I’ve ever tried to take apart so that’s not an option. Or am I misremembering temps, and is 71 Celsius actually fine for a 2500 slim?

On a less serious note, I do have another option. My mom and dad are finally getting rid of the old family PS3 because even the grand kids don’t play it much anymore. And that thing has been treated like royalty its entire life. It’s got 79 days of runtime, with the only caveat being that it’s a 3000 slim, which is obviously no bueno for CFW. So if all I ever want to do is store and play PS1, PS2, PS3 games and my digital tv and movie library, is it worth going with the super low mileage HEN model? I already know the quirks of PS2 games on HEN. I’ve got the PS2 Classic GUI on standby if I need it. \*\*Before I forget, and most importantly, has the process of installing HEN changed at all? Do we still go to the same PS3 Hacks site we went to several years ago?\*\*

What does everyone think?

THANKS SO MUCH!