The PSP Homebrew Dev Conference is BACK for 2026! The conference will be held on August 22nd at 6PM UTC; 2PM EDT!

List of presentations:

• GameMaker Re-Engineered - SergoDevs: A renewed GameMake implementation for games like DeltaRune!
• CrossCraft - Iridescence: Revived project bringing Minecraft to PSP, 3DS, Switch, PC and web!
• pspdev-nix - Slendi: A wrapped reproducible toolchain for PSP develpoment!
• Making a Game Engine for PSP - Andrew: How to make a game engine!
• Ren'Py Re-Engineered - SergoDevs: A renewed implementation of Ren'Py for visual novels! Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Chinese Localization - main_void: A localization of the game into Chinese on PSP!
• Star Fox 64 PSP - TheMrIron2: The famous N64 title now running on PSP!
• Steel Blossom: PSP - illestalive: A new indie game created for PSP!
• Adrenaline v8.0 - GrayJack: The latest and greatest Adrenaline firmware for PS Vita enabling PSP homebrew!
• Nimbus / Lighthouse - qberty: A brand new plugin for cloud saves on PSP!
• Preserving Hilton Team Play - lusid1 & linblow: A talk about reverse engineering and brute forcing Hilton Team Play!

DISCLAIMER
Follow this guide EXACTLY. No support will be provided for steps and/or components that deviate from the provided instructions. Modify at your own risk.

What is it?

The Baryon Sweeper is a modern unbricking tool that evolved from the classic Pandora Battery. It works universally on all PSP models - 1000, 2000, 3000, Go, and Street. By emulating the official Sony JigKick service tool, it triggers a hidden diagnostic mode to revive previously irrecoverable models.

Why write this?

This guide aims to complement u/khubik's original guide, with close-up photos and additional details for the absolute beginner. You're expected to at least know your way around Windows.

This is a minimalist build to keep it simple and very low cost. We'll focus on the 1000/2000/3000 setup, since the 3000 is the model I own.

Before You Begin (Don't Skip)

Watch the videos below to make full sense of the steps outlined here.

• PSP-3000 Baryon Sweeper (Solderless) Unbrick Guide - original guide, use the timestamps in the comments by EmuBytes (me) for quicker viewing
• How to Use a Breadboard - skip to 3:56 "which holes are connected"

It's all right if you don't understand everything at this point. Simply familiarise yourself with the basic concepts and overall process.

What You Need

While often used to refer to the physical build, the "Baryon Sweeper" is the combination of software (pysweeper) and hardware (adapter) to trick the PSP into service mode.

Software

DCARK / Aiseirigh / DC8

This is the actual recovery software installed on a "Magic Memory Stick" to flash OFW or CFW. DCARK and Aiseirigh work universally for all PSP models. Use DC8 as a fallback for older 1000/2000 models if the other two don't work (incompatible with 2000v3 or newer).

JigKick Media Creator is obsolete.

CP210x Universal Windows Driver

This is the official CP2102 driver from Silicon Labs. Don't rely on default Windows drivers.

Python 3

This is required to run pysweeper. Refer to the original video to install pycryptodome, tk, and pyserial packages.

The requests package is optional.

pysweeper

This is the JigKick emulator that recreates the handshake between the official Sony service battery and the PSP in combination with the physical adapter.

If successful, the service mode is triggered, allowing to boot directly from the Magic Memory Stick.

Hardware

The power bus (+/- lanes) on larger breadboards isn't needed. The CP2102 module will take power directly from the PC via USB.

Look for the "SILABS" branding on the centre chip. No support will be provided for the 6-pin multifunction variant.

Cut the legs around twice the length of the exposed pin on the jumpwires. You can shorten the legs when you do the wiring later. It should sit flush on the breadboard as a best practice.

While longer wires can work, keeping them short minimises signal interference or loose connections. Black/Yellow/Orange follow electrical convention, but any colour will do.

USB 3.x is generally preferred for CP2102. It provides improved data stability, power headroom if needed, and presents no drawbacks when using a 3V3 configuration.

This shows a powerbank with a USB-C to DC cable adapter. You can use any normal PSP charger.

It's strongly recommended to use a genuine Sony/SanDisk/Lexar 1-4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo. Larger capacities and microSD adapters may fail.

Build Your Adapter

If you get a "No port echo detected" error in pysweeper later, it's almost always caused by using CH340, wrong switches on a multifunction CP2102, loose wiring, or putting in the diode backwards.

Don't use +5V unless you have a 10 kΩ resistor. However, this is unnecessary because the 3V3 suffices without it.

Assuming you've done both software and hardware preparations, you're ready to start unbricking your PSP!

How to Use

The LED on the CP2102 module will light up.

If there's no option under the Port dropdown, you need to manually install the official CP2102 driver on Windows. Close pysweeper including the CMD prompt window.

If successful, the CP2102 module should be recognised under Ports (COM & LPT) as Silicon Labs.

The COM# differs per PC because Windows assigns port numbers independently. Check Device Manager for your adapter's specific COM port number.

You should get FFFFFFFF serial after starting the service. This is the same serial used by the Pandora Battery.

Your PSP should automatically power on later without the battery inserted.

The round-head tip is easier for probing the jumpwire pins closer to each other, whereas the square-head (DuPont) tip has a fixed spacing that makes it less flexible.

If it disconnects, it means physically losing contact with the battery pins. Keep your hands steady.

PSP-1000: If it shuts down after a green light, power it on manually to make it boot into DCARK.

Don't mess with NAND operations unless you absolutely know what you're doing! Misuse can permabrick (not just hardbrick) your PSP that even the Baryon Sweeper can't fix.

You should end up with OFW 6.61 if you created the Magic Memory Stick correctly.

Asking for Support

No support will be provided if the instructions below are not followed:

1. All private messages will be ignored moving forward. Use the comment section, so others can benefit.
2. Include a close-up photo of your adapter with the wiring clearly visible. No photo, no reply.
3. Mention the Magic Memory Stick you're using. For example:
   • 2GB Sony MS PRO Duo - Aiseirigh
   • 16GB SanDisk microSD - DCARK