It seemed that some people were a little confused about how the whole process works, and what it does, and if any of the changes can be reversed, so I've made an FAQ that will be updated.

FAQ
Q: What is the Pandora Battery and Magic Memory Stick?
A: They are a combination of items that, when inserted into a PSP, allow unbricking and downgrading regardless of firmware (except if the IDStorage is corrupt or broken, more on that later).

Q: How do I obtain these?
A: You make them yourself, using a normal MS Pro Duo (256 MB or higher) and a PSP battery (any will do, except external ones). Both of these can be turned back.

Q: OK... and how do I make them?
A: A tutorial for this is coming soon, but it involves a PSP with 1.50 or custom firmware (to make them), an MS Pro Duo (256MB or higher) and a battery (obviously). In the meantime, you can follow this tutorial.

Q: And how do I reset them back to normal?
A: I'll do them one at a time. For the battery, you'll have needed to make a backup of the battery EEPROM before converting it to a Pandora; if you didn't, it's stuck as a Pandora. (That's what the tutorial I linked to above says, but I have tested otherwise. I'll do more testing once I get my hands on a battery that isn't being used for one of my PSPs.)

Insert the power lead to a PSP with 1.50 or a custom firmware installed and take out any battery from it that might be inserted. Start it up, and insert the Pandora battery. Start the app 'Pandora's Battery Creator' from Game - Memory Stick; if this doesn't exist, connect your PSP to your PC, download the Pandora zip file, and copy the two folders from the folder 'battery' inside the archive to PSP/GAME on your PSP, then start it. Now, once it's loaded, press [] to reset it to normal.

Resetting the MS to normal is much easier - just format it from the PSP's menu (Settings - System Settings - Format Memory Stick).

Q: I heard that only Sony memory sticks work. Is this true?
A: I tested it with a Sandisk, and it worked fine. I have also read that Lexars are OK too, and if they work, there's no reason why other brands shouldn't work as well.

Q: What Memory Sticks can you use?
A: 128 MB Pro Duos are disputed, some say they work, some say they don't. Anything above 4 GB isn't supported by the 1.50 kernel, which is what powers the downgrader, so they won't work. Anything between those should be fine. (So 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB are OK.) However, fake Pro Duos might not work.

Q: Why can't you restore the idstorage?
A: It can be restored to an extent, but part of it is unique to each PSP and cannot be figured out. (For the less informed, the idstorage is the part of the PSP's flash that stores things like region data, the MAC address that shows up in the XMB (Cross Media Bar, aka the PSP's main menu), and the PSP's serial. If you want to know more about the PSP's idstorage, and can cope with technical mumbo-jumbo, click here.)

Q: I followed the tutorial, but cannot get past the mspformat stage. It gives the error "Open error (read)". I'm on Vista.
A: Vista isn't supported - use XP. If you don't have a computer with XP, go to a friend's house or something.

Q: Will it work on the new slim PSP?
A: Sony has said that the slim PSP will use thinner batteries, but the old ones will still fit if you use a special battery cover. As the slim PSP has not been released yet, but is scheduled for release in a few weeks, it is unknown. I say wait for someone to test it first.

UPDATE: It works, but you cannot use it to downgrade to 1.50. It can be used to install the custom firmware 3.60 M33.

Q: Does this work on non-bricked PSPs?
A: Yes, it works on all PSPs with all firmwares, so you can downgrade any PSP including those with firmwares above 3.50 using this method. However, you still need (or need access to) a PSP running 1.50 or a custom firmware to make the Pandora's Battery and Magic Memory Stick.

Q: Does it work on fake MSs and batteries?
A: Some yes, some no. You can try, but if it doesn't work and you're sure you did everything else by the book, then this'll be the cause.

Readme Confusions
Q: The readme says that you need a PSP with a Custom Firmware such as OE, M33 or WC, or a PSP with the 1.5 original kernel. Does this mean that only PSPs with the 1.5 kernel can be unbricked/downgraded?
A: No. This PSP is only required to make the Pandora battery and Magic Memory Stick.

Q: The readme says that The firmware in the Memory Stick is not a full 1.50, but a minimal subset. Therefore, not all applications (such as flashers, or recovery apps) will load. Does this mean that once I've unbricked/downgraded I can't upgrade my PSP to a custom firmware?
A: No. The firmware on the MS is just for launching the app that does the actual unbricking or downgrading. Once you've unbricked or downgraded, you will be on a full 1.50.


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