After changing to CEX XMB Mode, the "Debug Settings" option on XMB disappears even though I now might be able to update xai_plugin when a new version is out. Does that mean I shouldn't have changed to CEX XMB Mode or will I always have to toggle between CEX and DEX XMB Modes every time a xai_plugin update is installed?
To get to the debug settings in CEX mode make sure the QA flag is enabled, then go to the Settings tab on XMB and scroll down all the way to Network Settings (the last icon), but don't enter it. Then press the following buttons on your controller (all at once): L1+R1+L2+R2+L3+R3+DPAD_DOWN. The debug menu option will show up. You will need to press that key combination every time you reboot the system to regain access to the menu.After changing to CEX XMB Mode, the "Debug Settings" option on XMB disappears even though I now might be able to update xai_plugin when a new version is out. Does that mean I shouldn't have changed to CEX XMB Mode or will I always have to toggle between CEX and DEX XMB Modes every time a xai_plugin update is installed?
idk if im retarded but how do i find the 4,90 version of this
For the debug settings, you can use the QA combo.
To get to the debug settings in CEX mode make sure the QA flag is enabled, then go to the Settings tab on XMB and scroll down all the way to Network Settings (the last icon), but don't enter it. Then press the following buttons on your controller (all at once): L1+R1+L2+R2+L3+R3+DPAD_DOWN. The debug menu option will show up. You will need to press that key combination every time you reboot the system to regain access to the menu.
The QA flag sets the system into a mode used by QA testers in game studios to do QA checks, hence the name. It allows both downgrade option and the debug menu. The debug menu and the button combo exist in OFW too actually, though it's unreachable because it's not possible to set the QA flag.What do you mean? Also, I thought enabling QA was meant for downgrading the FW. After updating to 4.91.2 BETA 1, I was having the previous error when trying to update the xai_plugin instead of the error I should get since there's no new version out.
I thought enabling QA was meant for downgrading the FW. Will the option appear even without webMAN MOD installed? If I have to press that button configuration every time I reboot the system for the setting to appear, then it isn't worth it.
The QA flag sets the system into a mode used by QA testers in game studios to do QA checks, hence the name. It allows both downgrade option and the debug menu. The debug menu and the button combo exist in OFW too actually, though it's unreachable because it's not possible to set the QA flag.
To get to the debug settings in CEX mode make sure the QA flag is enabled, then go to the Settings tab on XMB and scroll down all the way to Network Settings (the last icon), but don't enter it. Then press the following buttons on your controller (all at once): L1+R1+L2+R2+L3+R3+DPAD_DOWN. The debug menu option will show up. You will need to press that key combination every time you reboot the system to regain access to the menu.
The PS2 has a QA flag in the Mechacon chip but it behaves very differently than the QA flag of the PS3 - When the PS2's QA flag is set, all region checks are disabled (your PS2 becomes region free) and it will boot games from burned DVDs if the executable is marked as a debug build. Yes, it does mean you can play backups but you have to patch them. The QA flag can be set using the MechaPwn exploit.Is there a QA setting on other consoles, like the PS2, PSP and PS Vita?
The PS2 has a QA flag in the Mechacon chip but it behaves very differently than the QA flag of the PS3 - When the PS2's QA flag is set, all region checks are disabled (your PS2 becomes region free) and it will boot games from burned DVDs if the executable is marked as a debug build. Yes, it does mean you can play backups but you have to patch them. The QA flag can be set using the MechaPwn exploit.
The QA flag however does not do what the PS3 QA flag does -
EDIT: DO NOT USE MECHAPWN ON A MODCHIPPED PS2. Depending on the specific chip, all sort of fun stuff can happen and it might even result in a brick.
- It will not allow you to downgrade firmware, because the PS2 has no updateable firmware. In case something requires a firmware change the PS2 has the ability to boot from alternate firmware on a memory card (which amusingly is not signed, and that's how FMCB works), but once you pull the memory card out it reverts to the original firmware.
- It will not show any debug menu, because no such menu exists. The PS2 has no real OS. It just has a BIOS providing some basic syscalls and some user utilities (the configuration menu, memory card browser, DVD player etc.), but once a game launches it runs on the bare metal, so OS level debug settings are meaningless.
The retail PSP afaik doesn't have a QA flag, because it's completely different than test kit, which is similar to the devkit in the PSP's case actually. They look like small computers and have a PSP-like handheld connected to them with a pretty cumbersome cable. The handheld looks like an actual PSP but is actually just a dumb controller / monitor combo. All the real logic is in the PC-like box. The actual PSP was never used officially for any kind of QA testing or development.
The PS Vita does have a debug menu, but unless I'm mistaken, there's no QA flag separate from DEX firmware, i.e., there's no CEX-QA mode, at least not officially. There's a CEX2REX tool that enables the debug menu and some other QA options by overwriting some OS files with their DEX counterpart. There's also a true CEX2DEX tool, which converts your Vita to a true test kit, but note that unlike the PS3, a DEX PS Vita cannot connect to retail PSN, so you will lose PSN access if you go that route. Downgrading the PS Vita is usually done using an exploit.
What about the PS1, the PS4, the PS5 and the PSC?
The PS1, afaik, had no concept of firmware updates (not even temporary like the PS2) so there's no such thing as downgrading it. Obviously no debug settings menu either. There's probably a QA flag that allow booting CD-Rs with debug executables. I don't think an exploit was ever found to toggle it, mostly because nobody bothered - even if such an exploit were to be found, to run the exploit you'd need a homebrew app, which, in the PS1's case, required a modchip (until 2023 when a softmod was found), which makes QA toggling pointless because the modchip does it all already, and as in the case of the PS2, attempting to QA flag a modchipped system is dangerous and could brick it.What about the PS1, the PS4, the PS5 and the PSC?
Does anyone know when CFW Evilnat 4.91 Cobra 8.4 [PEX] [CEX] [noBD] will come out?
The PS1, afaik, had no concept of firmware updates (not even temporary like the PS2) so there's no such thing as downgrading it. Obviously no debug settings menu either. There's probably a QA flag that allow booting CD-Rs with debug executables. I don't think an exploit was ever found to toggle it, mostly because nobody bothered - even if such an exploit were to be found, to run the exploit you'd need a homebrew app, which, in the PS1's case, required a modchip (until 2023 when a softmod was found), which makes QA toggling pointless because the modchip does it all already, and as in the case of the PS2, attempting to QA flag a modchipped system is dangerous and could brick it.
Generally a PS1 test kit at this point is just a collector's item. From a practical standpoint, a retail system with a modchip is way superior.
The PS4 and PS5 both have QA flags, which behave similar to the PS3, but there's no known way of enabling them on retail systems. The only reason we can do this on the PS3 is because Sony blundered its root signing keys, which gives CFW complete control over the system, including the hypervisor. This is unlikely to happen again.
There is a syscon exploit for the PS4 that allows you to revert to a previous version you took a backup of, but no way to truly toggle the QA flag to be able to install PUP downgrades. Maybe it will come due time in the future, but mind that it does require a hardware flasher and soldering either way. No syscon exploit is known for the PS5 at this point.
Regarding the debug settings menu, it can be enabled by HEN (on PS3), GoldHEN (on PS4) and etaHEN (on PS5) even without actually setting the QA flag.
The PSC is just a Raspberry Pi like board in a PS1 like case running a customized version of an open source emulator (PCSX ReArmed). It's basically the same concept as those cheap retro-consoles you find on AliExpress, except that the games are properly licensed and that Sony verified that the hardware is sufficient to run the included games at full FPS.
It has no QA flag, downgrader or debug menu and there are no non-retail models (i.e., devkits and test kits) because no games have ever been developed specifically for it.
For the debug settings, you can use the QA combo.
It's a memory card based mod called FreePSXBoot. You need a PS2 or a memory card adapter to create the exploit memory card though.What PS1 2023 softmod is that?
Should be, mind mind that the CEX-QA debug menu doesn't really have anything interesting, only the DEX menu does.Will the changes I made in "Debug Settings" work even when "Debug Settings" doesn't appear on XMB or only if it appears there?
It's a memory card based mod called FreePSXBoot. You need a PS2 or a memory card adapter to create the exploit memory card though.
Should be, mind mind that the CEX-QA debug menu doesn't really have anything interesting, only the DEX menu does.
It's a memory card based mod called FreePSXBoot. You need a PS2 or a memory card adapter to create the exploit memory card though.
Should be, mind mind that the CEX-QA debug menu doesn't really have anything interesting, only the DEX menu does.