PS3HEN Which came first, the chicken or the HAN?

Perpetual_Noobness

Perpetual_Noobness

Forum Noob
Here is a good one for you. You can probably guess what I did by the title, but here goes. I reformatted a hard drive to upgrade my super slim, using the playstation as the format tool. Ok, no problem there. I wanted to start with a lower firmware, so I had preloaded a flash drive with 4.84, but found out psn was having none of that, so i went ahead with their demands and loaded 4.88. I wanted HEN back on it, so being the genius that I am, I had 3.0.3 already saved on my laptop. Once 4.88 was done, I popped hen into the usb slot, but nothing. It wasn't recognized. So I used the tried and true method and ran the online loader. First time, failed, but when I tried again it said success. Restarted, but no hen. Then I realized my blunder. I did not install HAN first. I thought i could correct my mistake, since HEN was not showing, it didn't install. So I tried to install HAN, nope. Tried installing HFW, nope. Now, I'm stuck with nothing because I don't have a SATA cable to format the drive, and the PS3 won't format it, because it thinks it already has. How can I correct this?
 
Go into recovery menu and install 4.88 HFW with it named exactly like this

PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP

Once this is installed go to ps3xploit site to install HEN. Han is not needed at any point. Think of it as HEN lite and has been superceded by HEN. So much so the devs no longer port or support it.
 
To refer to the title, it is neither!
HAN & HEN are totally different things & you don't need one to use the other.

HAN is not a jailbreak.
It's a userland hack that allows to install custom npdrm signed pkg or debug pkg.
However the binary files installed through the pkg must be officially signed otherwise they cannot be executed.

HEN is a jailbreak.
It's a kernel hack that installs a custom kernel payload based on Cobra source.
Once HEN is enabled, custom (npdrm/debug) pkg can be installed & custom binaries using custom signatures can be used.

HAN & HEN tools are both made with the old ps3xploit userland exploits, as a result, they cannot be used on the most recent OFW because one of the browser vulnerabilities leveraged by the exploits has been patched by s#ny.

You must therefore replace silk_webkit.sprx with an older version to be able to run the tools on recent OFW.
The file replacement can be done manually with a newer hack or by installing a HFW PUP which is just a OFW PUP repacked with an older silk_webkit.sprx.
 
bguerville said:
To refer to the title, it is neither!
HAN & HEN are totally different things & you don't need one to use the other.

HAN is not a jailbreak.
It's a userland hack that allows to install custom npdrm signed pkg or debug pkg.
However the binary files installed through the pkg must be officially signed otherwise they cannot be executed.

HEN is a jailbreak.
It's a kernel hack that installs a custom kernel payload based on Cobra source.
Once HEN is enabled, custom (npdrm/debug) pkg can be installed & custom binaries using custom signatures can be used.

HAN & HEN tools are both made with the old ps3xploit userland exploits, as a result, they cannot be used on the most recent OFW because one of the browser vulnerabilities leveraged by the exploits has been patched by s#ny.

You must therefore replace silk_webkit.sprx with an older version to be able to run the tools on recent OFW.
The file replacement can be done manually with a newer hack or by installing a HFW PUP which is just a OFW PUP repacked with an older silk_webkit.sprx.
Click to expand...


I meant to say HFW. Which is what is recommended to download twice before installing HEN. I was dropping in to let you all know that I've resolved this issue. It just took a little nap, and a good breakfast to get my noodle working. As for the silk.webkit replacement, I haven't yet encountered a problem. I am running 4.88, and as of right now, I'm using multiman to transfer some game file and convert them to ISO in the hdd. It seems to be working just fine. Better than fine actually. It's rockin' and rollin'. If I do encounter the silk.webkit issue, I will certainly be back in here whining about it. So - to be clear, this is what I did. When I realized where I went wrong, it was simple. I was trying to install rather than update. That's it. When I went in and check the files for the presence of any foreign installations, there were none. So, I reformatted the flash drive and started from scratch. This time, loading the drive with HFW 4.88, and UPDATED, rather than trying to install as a pkg. It worked as it was supposed to. Then after that was complete, I ran the hen installer (alternate version) from the site, bumped remote play on and off, then installed HEN from the icon that appears when the screen refreshes. From there, I started loading the games and homebrew I want for now, and in about 5 minutes, I'm gonna put a toe in the water and see what happens. I will either be back, or I will be good to go. Thanks for the help.
 
Perpetual_Noobness said:
I meant to say HFW. Which is what is recommended to download twice before installing HEN.
....
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Like I said HFW is only a mean to an end.
It's not a requirement per se, just a way to replace silk_webkit.sprx (the browser webkit core) on OFW 4.83+ with a OFW 4.81 or 4.82 silk_webkit.sprx so that some of the ps3xploit tools can work.
When the PS3 Toolset file manager tool gets released, you will no longer need HFW, you will be able to swap the sprx file on OFW & from then on launch HEN without ever installing HFW.

And btw there is absolutely no need to download/install HFW twice before installing HEN, that is NOT a requirement.
 
Last edited:
bguerville said:
Like I said HFW is only a mean to an end.
It's not a requirement per se, just a way to replace silk_webkit.sprx (the browser webkit core) on OFW 4.83+ with a OFW 4.81 or 4.82 silk_webkit.sprx so that some of the ps3xploit tools can work.
When the PS3 Toolset file manager tool gets released, you will no longer need HFW, you will be able to swap the sprx file on OFW & from then on launch HEN without ever installing HFW.

And btw there is absolutely no need to download/install HFW twice before installing HEN, that is NOT a requirement.
Click to expand...
 
If the double download is not true, it was passed along to me by a youtuber who regularly endorses the firmware on his channel. Just repeating what he is teaching.
 
Perpetual_Noobness said:
If the double download is not true, it was passed along to me by a youtuber who regularly endorses the firmware on his channel. Just repeating what he is teaching.
Click to expand...
A YouTuber is rarely an authority on anything, even if the person is serious & reliable, he/she can get things wrong, we all do.
That's what can happen when relaying information about things you don't quite master & fully understand yourself.

And you just need to look at the number of videos telling you to clean cache & cookies before using HAN/HEN tools to realise how some myths keep being propagated despite having no basis in truth.
The basis for that myth goes back years ago when we were testing the first ps3xploit proof of concept tool, an idps dumper iirc.
Back then we had our first problems with the exploit initialization success rates, we couldn't understand why, success was somewhat random but it worked better for some than others so we asked people to test a few things among which clearing cache & cookies. It turned out it had no effect whatsoever but our suggestions went viral & all of a sudden, they were branded as prerequisites.
Later on, I realised that the exploit initialization failures are caused by a bug in the memory search js code & as expected, it was not something that clearing cache or cookies could ever help with.
The only reason why it worked better for some people was that they used a blank homepage & didn't browse at all before loading the exploit, that made specific exploit data memory alignments more likely, making them detectable by the bugged memory search function & leading to overall exploit success.
It also explains why the local/offline versions of the tools (XMB items through XMBML commands) have the best success rates..
I have been working on an improved HEN installer update these past weeks, the js memory search bug is fixed, much of the js has been rewritten, HEN initializes successfully 100% of the time.
The official HEN tools will all be updated in coming weeks, other devs will need to update their 3rd party tools if they wish to benefit from the bug fixes.

Regarding the double firmware installation, it was only a requirement for the 1st gen ps3xploit tools.
They used to patch the Flash memory for CFW installation with specific 3Mb patch files that could leave the inactive ros (there are 2 ros regions in Flash memory where CoreOS files are stored, only one is used at any given time, in other words one is active & the other is inactive) in a corrupted state if you did not do a double firmware installation first.
The inactive ros corruption could lead to certain minor issues so we recommended to always perform a double firmware installation before using the tools.
Those tools have been retired for some time now, they were superseded by the PS3 Toolset which uses standard no-fsm patch files (7Mb). The standard patch files ensure that neither ros region is left in a corrupted state, making the double firmware installation requirement obsolete.
As to PS3HEN specifically, it doesn't modify CoreOS at all (it does not write any data to the Flash memory) so there should be no risk of corruption & no need to bother with double firmware installations to prevent corruption.

Note that clearing cache/cookies or doing a double firmware installation is harmless, there is no point going into a crusade against it even if fundamentally the advice is flawed.
 
Last edited:
bguerville said:
A YouTuber is rarely an authority on anything, even if the person is serious & reliable, he/she can get things wrong, we all do.
That's what can happen when relaying information about things you don't quite master & fully understand yourself.

And you just need to look at the number of videos telling you to clean cache & cookies before using HAN/HEN tools to realise how some myths keep being propagated despite having no basis in truth.
The basis for that myth goes back years ago when we were testing the first ps3xploit proof of concept tool, an idps dumper iirc.
Back then we had our first problems with the exploit initialization success rates, we couldn't understand why, success was somewhat random but it worked better for some than others so we asked people to test a few things among which clearing cache & cookies. It turned out it had no effect whatsoever but our suggestions went viral & all of a sudden, they were branded as prerequisites.
Later on, I realised that the exploit initialization failures are caused by a bug in the memory search js code & as expected, it was not something that clearing cache or cookies could ever help with.
The only reason why it worked better for some people was that they used a blank homepage & didn't browse at all before loading the exploit, that made specific exploit data memory alignments more likely, making them detectable by the bugged memory search function & leading to overall exploit success.
It also explains why the local/offline versions of the tools (XMB items through XMBML commands) have the best success rates..
I have been working on an improved HEN installer update these past weeks, the js memory search bug is fixed, much of the js has been rewritten, HEN initializes successfully 100% of the time.
The official HEN tools will all be updated in coming weeks, other devs will need to update their 3rd party tools if they wish to benefit from the bug fixes.

Regarding the double firmware installation, it was only a requirement for the 1st gen ps3xploit tools.
They used to patch the Flash memory for CFW installation with specific 3Mb patch files that could leave the inactive ros (there are 2 ros regions in Flash memory where CoreOS files are stored, only one is used at any given time, in other words one is active & the other is inactive) in a corrupted state if you did not do a double firmware installation first.
The inactive ros corruption could lead to certain minor issues so we recommended to always perform a double firmware installation before using the tools.
Those tools have been retired for some time now, they were superseded by the PS3 Toolset which uses standard no-fsm patch files (7Mb). The standard patch files ensure that neither ros region is left in a corrupted state, making the double firmware installation requirement obsolete.
As to PS3HEN specifically, it doesn't modify CoreOS at all (it does not write any data to the Flash memory) so there should be no risk of corruption & no need to bother with double firmware installations to prevent corruption.

Note that clearing cache/cookies or doing a double firmware installation is harmless, there is no point going into a crusade against it even if fundamentally the advice is flawed.
Click to expand...

Point taken, Wise One. Are you running out of things to do? I never see you doing this part of the work. Dealing with the hoi palloy. Thanks for taking time to go over this stuff with me. I really do appreciate it. I've learned a truckload from all you guys since I started doing this. That is saying a lot for me at my age. Always the late bloomer. Maybe I should've stuck with the guitar. Anyway, I think we can officially call this thread done. I've sailed that ship, and although I am still having some issues here and there, the game and console itself IS WORKING. But, I am having some other issues that I think possibly do not relate directly to the download/install part of the task. So, I will start a new thread for that. Again, I thank you for your assistance, and valued input on what surely could easily end up a disaster in my hands. That I succeeded without causing any fires, explosions, or major east coast blackouts is definitely attributable to the guidance I've received here. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Back
Top