Littlebalup's Dual Boot firmwares

PS3 Littlebalup's 4.92 Dual Boot firmwares -

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So if I understand this correctly:

Dual Boot (DB) firmware: OFW that has been patched with a single exploit that allows for reinstall of CFW via a standard firmware update process.

Dual Boot & Hybrid (DBH) firmware: OFW that includes 2 exploits to support both an easy entry point for CFW (above) and / or support for HEN.

Both of these firmwares contain official patches from older OFW that were exploitable that are injected into these firmwares which is why it SHOULD be detected as OFW and will probably not cause your console to be blocked if using PSN?
 
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Chubs said:
So if I understand this correctly:

Dual Boot (DB) firmware: OFW that has been patched with a single exploit that allows for reinstall of CFW via a standard firmware update process.

Dual Boot & Hybrid (DBH) firmware: OFW that includes 2 exploits to support both an easy entry point for CFW (above) and / or support for HEN.

Both of these firmwares contain official patches from older OFW that were exploitable that are injected into these firmwares which is why it SHOULD be detected as OFW and will probably not cause your console to be blocked if using PSN?
Click to expand...

Dualboot Firmware - Is an Official Firmware with small modification to allow the re-installation of CFW. YOU MUST BE ON CFW ALREADY TO USE THIS FIRMWARE (so there is no exploit here, just Official Firmware with a small modification so you can return to CFW at anytime without having to run an exploit like bguerville PS3 Toolset or CFW Flash Writer. )

Hybrid Firmware - Also, is just official firmware with a small modification (so small it can still install on OFW with no modded system), it swaps the exploitable webkit in firmware 4.82 in later firmware's where it has been patched (Sony last attempt to block homebrew) . This was patched in 4.83 firmware but Joonie figured out the trick with HFW to bring back the vulnerably in 4.84+.
---- PS3HEN gives Hybrid Firmware its magic.
---- CFW Flash Writer give Hybrid Firmware its magic (HFW not needed for bguerville's PS3 Toolset as that relies on a separate exploit that bguerville discovered)

DualBoot & Hybrid Firmware is just those two types in one. Useful for some advanced user's and developer's in various scenario's


In theory they are detected as Official Firmware as they are 99.9% identical and operates as OFW when installed and use as is.


There is a huge misunderstanding in the scene of what Hybrid Firmware (HFW) actually is, As HFW by itself is just OFW.
 
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STLcardsWS said:
Dualboot Firmware - Is an Official Firmware with small modification to allow the re-installation of CFW. YOU MUST BE ON CFW ALREADY TO USE THIS FIRMWARE (so there is no exploit here, just Official Firmware with a small modification so you can return to CFW at anytime without having to run an exploit like bguerville PS3 Toolset or CFW Flash Writer. )

Hybrid Firmware - Also, is just official firmware with a small modification (so small it can still install on OFW with no modded system), it swaps the exploitable webkit in firmware 4.82 in later firmware's where it has been patched (Sony last attempt to block homebrew) . This was patched in 4.83 firmware but Joonie figured out the trick with HFW to bring back the vulnerably.
---- PS3HEN gives Hybrid Firmware its magic.
---- CFW Flash Writer give Hybrid Firmware its magic (HFW not needed for bguerville's PS3 Toolset as that relies on a separate exploit that bguerville discovered)

DualBoot & Hybrid Firmware is just those two types in one. Useful for some advanced user's and developer's in various scenario's


In theory they are detected as Official Firmware as they are 99.9% identical and operates as OFW when installed and use as is.


There is a huge misunderstanding in the scene of what Hybrid Firmware (HFW) actually is, As HFW by itself is just OFW.
Click to expand...

Ah, this is a great write up! Very clear.

I think I was confusing HFW exploit implementation with the dual boot implementation. My next question was going to be can anyone install dual boot FW but the explanation makes it clear that only CFW users can install it as it has an exploit baked in outside of OFW patching. I assume this breaks the signatures on the patch.

I think I will use the Dual Boot + Hybrid firmware once it's released so I can mess around with HEN which I've never played around with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Chubs said:
Ah, this is a great write up! Very clear.

I think I was confusing HFW exploit implementation with the dual boot implementation. My next question was going to be can anyone install dual boot FW but the explanation makes it clear that only CFW users can install it as it has an exploit baked in outside of OFW patching. I assume this breaks the signatures on the patch.

I think I will use the Dual Boot + Hybrid firmware once it's released so I can mess around with HEN which I've never played around with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The regular Dual Boot is very useful in case you want to temporarily give up homebrew in order to be safe on PSN. AFAIK it's virtually impossible to tell apart from real OFW and no one has ever been banned for using it by itself. However, you will need to also do a full wipe to get rid of any remaining homebrew related files to avoid being detected if you play one of those few games that actively look for those files (Counter Strike BO2 and later games in the franchise and Destiny).
When you're done with PSN and would like to go back to PSN, the DB firmware will spare you the need of going through bgtoolset all over again.

Dual Boot + Hybrid is mostly used by homebrew developers, because you would usually want to test your app or game on both CFW and HEN before releasing it. Most devs just keep two consoles, one on CFW and one on HEN, but if they don't have access to a 2nd PS3 they'd just have a CFW compatible model and switch it between CFW and HEN (note that HEN can be installed on all models, not only those not compatible with CFW). Using DB+H spares them the need of going through bgtoolset every time they need to switch from HEN to CFW.
 
So I finally had time to look at this today. I have QA flags enabled, but when I try to install the Dual Boot + Hybrid Firmware from my HDD using Settings > System Update > * Update via System Storage (/dev_hdd0/updater/01/DualBoot-Hybrid_4.91.PUP) I get the following error:

Error: 61% Complete - "The data type is not supported. (80029C9C)"​

My question is, can we install this firmware in this fashion? I see the brief instructions call to install from USB drive, but this would be more ideal as this is my setup:

  • Local HDD: /dev_hdd0/updater/01/<Various PUP Installers>
    • Use Case: Once on Custom Firmware, I can migrate to any other CFW's easily (if they support this feature).
    • Various CFW's
    • Dual Boot Firmware's
  • USB Drive: /PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP (EvilNat 4.91.1 [CEX])
    • Use Case: Once on Dual Boot or Dual Boot + Hybrid I can revert back to CFW
Additional Details:
  • Model: CHECHA01
  • HDD: Upgraded to 1TB HDD
  • Current FW: EvilNat 4.91.1 (Updated 03-12-2024 [11.14pm])
    • I had D-PEX variant installed, but I "Convert to CEX" which mean I think I am on PEX now.
  • CEX/DEX: Network > * Custom Firmware Tools > CEX2DEX > Show Information:
    • Firmware: 4.91 CEX
    • IDPS: Original
    • TargetID: CEX
    • VSH: DEX
    • XMB Host: CEX
    • Debug Settings: DEX
  • QA: Network > * Custom Firmware Tools > QA Tools > Check QA Flags
    • QA Flags are enabled
 
Chubs said:
So I finally had time to look at this today. I have QA flags enabled, but when I try to install the Dual Boot + Hybrid Firmware from my HDD using Settings > System Update > * Update via System Storage (/dev_hdd0/updater/01/DualBoot-Hybrid_4.91.PUP) I get the following error:

Error: 61% Complete - "The data type is not supported. (80029C9C)"​

My question is, can we install this firmware in this fashion? I see the brief instructions call to install from USB drive, but this would be more ideal as this is my setup:

  • Local HDD: /dev_hdd0/updater/01/<Various PUP Installers>
    • Use Case: Once on Custom Firmware, I can migrate to any other CFW's easily (if they support this feature).
    • Various CFW's
    • Dual Boot Firmware's
  • USB Drive: /PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP (EvilNat 4.91.1 [CEX])
    • Use Case: Once on Dual Boot or Dual Boot + Hybrid I can revert back to CFW
Additional Details:
  • Model: CHECHA01
  • HDD: Upgraded to 1TB HDD
  • Current FW: EvilNat 4.91.1 (Updated 03-12-2024 [11.14pm])
    • I had D-PEX variant installed, but I "Convert to CEX" which mean I think I am on PEX now.
  • CEX/DEX: Network > * Custom Firmware Tools > CEX2DEX > Show Information:
    • Firmware: 4.91 CEX
    • IDPS: Original
    • TargetID: CEX
    • VSH: DEX
    • XMB Host: CEX
    • Debug Settings: DEX
  • QA: Network > * Custom Firmware Tools > QA Tools > Check QA Flags
    • QA Flags are enabled
Click to expand...
AFAIK installing updates from the HDD is only possible in DEX mode and DB / DB+H, for obvious reasons, are CEX only.
 
NiQ said:
installing updates from the HDD is only possible in DEX mode
Click to expand...
no, it works as long as you have debug settings available. i use it to reinstall hfw before testing hen installers. it is easier because you do not have to press any buttons (to agree to the license or continue).

Chubs said:
Rebug REX (and I believe that is a CEX firmware)
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it is both. the core is cex but many other things are dex. this why "fake save data owner" is not available on other cfw. it is a feature of dex firmare.

Chubs said:
VSH: DEX
Click to expand...
i do not think you completed the dex2cex fully.
 
Yeah, update debug is part of qa flagging, so it's always been possible on cex. You can have up to 20 with firmware 3.50 onward. Before that, you could have up to 10. I think psdevwiki has a graph that shows when specific features were added to the debug menus and which debug menu they were added to.
 
Coro said:
no, it works as long as you have debug settings available. i use it to reinstall hfw before testing hen installers. it is easier because you do not have to press any buttons (to agree to the license or continue).


it is both. the core is cex but many other things are dex. this why "fake save data owner" is not available on other cfw. it is a feature of dex firmare.


i do not think you completed the dex2cex fully.
Click to expand...

I just updated it so all outputs stated CEX but still getting same error (multiple reboots in between as well). I will try to copy the installer over again. Maybe the file is slightly incomplete.

Is there a way to check MD5 over ftp or directly on PS3 (via homebrew) to anyone's knowledge?
 
Chubs said:
I just updated it so all outputs stated CEX but still getting same error (multiple reboots in between as well). I will try to copy the installer over again. Maybe the file is slightly incomplete.

Is there a way to check MD5 over ftp or directly on PS3 (via homebrew) to anyone's knowledge?
Click to expand...
i received that error on a evilnat 4.87 beta when installing a dualboot. i believe he had to add a patch to fix it. i had to turn off update debug and install from recovery. (installing a different cfw and then the dualboot also worked).

FYI @Evilnat erro 80029C9C when installing dualboot with update debug turned on.
 
OK, I'll ask you guys some questions just in case if I do something dumb:
  • What if do i install DB 4.91 from CEX CFW 4.90?
  • Would I lose my jailbreak?
  • Could I go back to CEX CFW 4.90 again then?
 
I have searched online to see if there is any MD5 tools that can be used from PS3 to make sure my PUPs werent corrupted but didn't see anything. I will have to check if any of the file managers have them. I also reinstalled EvilaNat 4.91.1 CEX and still get the same error. Is anyone else seeing this issue?

I wanted to use this to play around with Playstation Home tooling as it requires you log into PSN in order to utilize. I would prefer to not have CFW installed when I do that. I also wanted to play around with HEN since I have never used it before.
 
Irakundo said:
OK, I'll ask you guys some questions just in case if I do something dumb:
  • What if do i install DB 4.91 from CEX CFW 4.90?
  • Would I lose my jailbreak?
  • Could I go back to CEX CFW 4.90 again then?
Click to expand...
There's no issue installing DB 4.91 from CFW 4.90.
Depends on how you define losing your jailbreak. DB is 99.9% identical to OFW, so it will not allow you to run homebrew, backups or anything that real OFW doesn't allow, so in that sense, yes, you lose the jailbreak. However, unlike real OFW, you will be able to reinstall CFW without going through bgtoolset again, so in that sense you don't lose the jailbreak - it's just one PUP install away.
DB, being virtually identical to OFW, will not allow you to set the QA flag, therefore you can't downgrade to 4.90 directly, however you can switch to 4.91 CFW and then set the QA flag and downgrade to 4.90 if you wish. Not that there's any reason to.
 
Coro said:
i received that error on a evilnat 4.87 beta when installing a dualboot. i believe he had to add a patch to fix it. i had to turn off update debug and install from recovery. (installing a different cfw and then the dualboot also worked).

FYI @Evilnat erro 80029C9C when installing dualboot with update debug turned on.
Click to expand...
Does that error appear in the XMB or later when loading the Recovery Menu to install?
 
Evilnat said:
Does that error appear in the XMB or later when loading the Recovery Menu to install?
Click to expand...

For me, this appears in the XMB. I confirmed that Evilnat 4.90 doesn't seem to have the issue.

I also confirmed this issue appears to be present on 4.91.2 [PEX] [BETA 1].

Workflow that appears to be working:

  • Internal HDD: Evilnat 4.91.1+ [PEX or CEX] > Evilnat 4.90.1 [CEX] > littlebalups Dual Boot + Hybrid 4.91
    • This allows to move to OFW type OS.
  • USB Drive: 4.91.2 [PEX] [BETA 1]
    • This allows me to revert back to latest CFW.
 
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