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• Can I download games if my PSP is running firmware version 2.5?

• Can I back up to an earlier version of the PSP firmware?

• How do I download games like Pac-Man onto my PSP?

• Where can I find free games / music / videos / movies for my PSP?

• I downloaded MP3 files onto my PSP, but now I can't find them?

• How do I convert normal music to MP3 format for my PSP?

• How can I have my Sony PSP talk with my Windows 98 PC?

• What should i do about screen repair?

Can I download games if my PSP is running firmware version 2.5?

One of the greatest differences behind the scenes with the PSP firmware upgrade from 1.5 to 2.0 was that Sony added various checks in the code that apparently prohibit the unit from playing hacked or downloaded games. So as far as I can ascertain, no, you cannot run games you download onto your PSP if you're running any version of the firmware greater than 1.5.

Can I back up to an earlier version of the PSP firmware?

This is a logical follow-on question and the answer is "maybe". Sony doesn't offer any sort of official place where you can download earlier versions of the firmware or utilities that let you roll back to earlier firmware versions. On the other hand, various fan sites like psp-hacks.com have firmware download utilities like one that lets you back up from 2.0 to 1.5, but be careful: that won't work if you're running firmware 2.01 or 2.5. Further, there's a big risk in running software that modifies your PSP operating system but isn't from Sony: how do you know what it's really doing? What would you do if it broke your system? Or, what if it were a virus in disguise?

There are Web sites that offer illegal, hacked games that you can ostensibly download onto your PSP instead of paying for them, but, um, they're illegal and, as with unauthorized firmware downgrades, you really don't know what you're getting. Further, if you're running firmware 2.0 or higher, you probably won't be able to play the games anyway.

Having said that, if Sony were a really cool company, they'd encourage programmers to write new and interesting games that would run on the PSP, but not be part of the Sony approval and distribution system. There are lots of smaller, simpler games or ports of Open Source games, etc,. that would be cool to have on the PSP, but that'll never happen if every single game has to be formally tested and approved by Sony Corporate. Probably a pipe dream, alas.

My one word answer: Google.

Seriously, I'm not going to point you directly to these illegal download sites, but if you do want to try and find some of this material that you can drop onto your PSP, then I suggest you spend some time digging around on your favorite search engine. Good luck to you!

This is potentially the single most common question I see here at Ask Dave Taylor in the Sony PSP help category, and the answer is that the songs are probably sitting on your PSP, ready to play, but they don't show up in the MUSIC folder! They're in a subfolder: you need to find the entry in your MUSIC folder called "Memory Stick", then move into it by pressing the "X" button. Then all your songs magically appear.

This also holds true with photos you download too, by the way. They don't show up in your PHOTOS folder, they show up in the subfolder "Memory Stick".

There's no simple way, but there are a number of different music format conversion utilities available from archive sites like Download.com. I suggest that you search for "Audio Converter" or "MP3 converter" and you'll see there are quite a few choices. One I'll just highlight here is Smart Audio Converter, but there are quite a few.

The Sony PSP can only play MP3 or AAC format audio files, so if your music or audio is in any other format, you'll need to convert it before the PSP will be able to play them.

It's amazing to me that people are still running Win98, but this is another common question I see, and the sad answer is that there's no built-in support for removable devices like the Sony PSP in Windows 98. Fortunately, there is a shareware alternative that a chap in Poland has written and makes available off his Web site: PSP Win98 Driver.

Caveat: I haven't tested this driver out, so I'm not sure that it works properly. Proceed with caution, and if someone does get it to work for them (or not!) please do let us know about it!

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A: The short answer is that it depends on what you're doing. The longer answer is that Sony has stated that the battery should last around six hours. With simpler-looking games, like Lumines or Mahjong Fight Club, that definitely seems to be the case. But with more graphically intensive games, like Ridge Racers, the battery doesn't last quite as long. Based on our estimates and a few battery-draining tests, Ridge Racers seems to last somewhere between 90 minutes and three hours. Playing with the wireless networking switch flipped on will also further reduce your battery life. The system has an auto-sleep function that stops the wireless drain, but that switch is there for a reason. Turn it off when you're not using it.

Video and audio will likely drain the battery differently, depending on where the content is coming from. It's less power-intensive to read from the memory stick slot than the universal media disc drive, though without any audio discs and only one demo video disc full of short games and movie trailers available now, it's difficult to actually put a number on this. Considering that the screen will black out if left unattended, it seems reasonable that you should get a good amount of battery power out of the system when listening to audio.

A: The PSP's USB port is simply used to access the memory stick from a PC. There's a menu option on the unit labeled "USB Connection," and selecting this puts it into connection mode. Hooking it up to a PC causes the system to be recongnized as a PSP, and the memory stick becomes a drive letter, just like it would with a digital camera or other removable memory device. From here, you can drag and drop files on or off the stick, letting you add audio clips, back up (or easily transfer) your game saves, and so on. Getting your own video running on the PSP, however, is a little more difficult.

A: While formatting a memory stick in the PSP creates folders for audio files, game saves, and actual games themselves, there's no clear path for placing video on the unit. The system supports a specific flavor of mpeg-4 for its video, so you'll need something capable of encoding or transcoding to that format. Sony is supposed to release a downloadable version of its video transcoding software, Image Converter 2, to handle this, but as of yet, we haven't been able to find it. A third party has developed a freely available program called 3GP Converter that will also manage this process. But getting the files into the proper MP4 format is just the beginning.

The PSP reads video files using a directory structure that isn't put on the stick when you initially format it for PSP use. So you'll need to create a root directory called "mp_root" first, then place another directory named "100mnv01" under it. You put your MP4s inside that directory, but they must be named a certain way for the PSP to recognize them. The naming convention is m4vXXXXX.mp4, where "XXXXX" is a series of numbers, such as, say, 00001. Once you've jumped through these hoops--and it's really only a hassle the first time you do it--you'll be watching your own videos on a PSP. Why is it like that, you might ask? We're guessing that it's the same file structure that Sony's video recording memory stick devices use.

A: Here is an indepth Do-it-yourself Tutorial From ConsoleZombie.com

That big shiny screen is one of the PSP's coolest features and its biggest weakness. Many PSP screens have at least a few dead pixels and some have entire lines or groups of them. The PSP screen is also extremely susceptible to cracks and other damage. Even a short fall can ruin it if it's not properly protected. In this tutorial we will show you how to remove the faceplate, screen assembly, and the lcd panel.

Symptoms of a broken PSP screen:

• Dead or stuck pixels (black dots or lines on the screen)
• Parts of the screen are black or garbled
• The screen is cracked or spiderwebbed.

Stuff you will need:

• Broken PSP
• A few small screwdrivers (phillips 00, 000)
• New PSP screen

	This is a psp with a cracked screen.
	The front cover of the PSP is held in place by 5 screws (use your philips screwdriver). To get to two of the screws you have to remove the battery cover and the battery.
	Screw #2 may be covered by a warranty sticker. You can try to peel it back a little to get to the screw or you can just rip it off (and void your warranty).
	Screw #3 is on the side of the PSP.
	The last two screws are on the memory stick side of the PSP. Dont forget to remove the memory stick
	When youre done with the screws you can remove the front cover aka faceplate.
	Now take off the button bar thats on top of the screen. Its connected to the motherboard by a little cable on the right side of the PSP. Use your nail or a flathead screwdriver to lift up the brownish clasp and pull out the cable.
	Here you see the connector for the button bar in the previous picture and two of the clips that hold the lcd assembly.
	The other two clips on the left side.
	Insert your flathead screwdriver between the screen and the metal screen support and turn it a bit to release the clips on left side. Now you should be able to pull out the screen. Watch out for the two cables that connect the screen to the motherboard.
	The screen assembly is out of the PSP and you can see the two cables.
	The cables are held in place by two black clasps. You have to lift the clasps up (gently!!!) to release the cables. (The left clasp in the picture is broken. If one of the clasps in your PSP is broken you better start saving up for a new PSP or a new motherboard.)
	This is the PSP screen assembly. If you purchased a complete screen assembly with a backlight you can skip the next six steps.
	Next were going to remove the backlight.
	Use a screwdriver to open up these four clips (same way as before). You might have to use a little force to get the front cover off because its attached with some adhesive
	This is a picture of the screen assembly with the front cover off.
	Use a small screwdriver to pry one of the corners of the LCD out of the backlight. The LCD panel is attached to the backlight with an adhesive strip so you may have to use some force to get it out.
	This is what your replacement screen should look like. They usually come with a screen protector on each side. Dont forget to remove both of them before you install the screen. Try not to touch the surface after you remove the screen protectors.
	Put the new screen into the backlight and put the front cover back on.
	Plug the cables into the connectors and close the clasps
	Put the screen assembly back into the PSP and make sure all the clips are in place. Now turn on the PSP and make sure the screen is working properly. Turn off the PSP. Put the button bar back on top of the screen and connect it to the motherboard.
	Put the faceplate back on the PSP and screw it back together. Youre done!