There are many downgraders and downdaters out there to downgrade PSP with firmware 2.0 or above back to 1.50. But all of them warn people not to downgrade a PSP with a TA-082 motherboard....

In this guide, I will teach Sony PSP new user how to distinguish a Sony PSP with a TA-082 motherboard with others that don't have that troublesome motherboard. I will also briefly explain why PSP with a TA-082 motherboard cannot be downgraded back to version 1.50.

First of all, take a look at how a TA-082 motherboard looks like:

Yes, a TA-082 motherboard must have the words " IC1003" on it. So if you see your Sony PSP has the words "IC1003" written on the right hand corner when you open your UMD driver, you know you have a Sony PSP with a TA-082 motherboard.

I will now briefly explain why a PSP with a TA-082 motherboard cannot be downgraded to version 1.50.

Basically firmware of Sony PSP is sort of similar to BIOS in desktop and laptop, it teach the electronic components how to act on commands given by PSP users. You need the firmware to start your Sony PSP. Firmware is also called boot strap. For example, a Sony PSP with firmware 1.50 has a version 1.50 boot strap. The TA-02 motherboard has electronic components on it that support 1.52 boot strap or above. As a result, if you downgrade your Sony PSP to any version lower than 1.52, the Sony PSP simply won't start when you turn on the power. So there will only be a black screen when the power is on. If this happen, we say the Sony PSP is dead or "bricked". You can call it a security feature implanted by Sony Entertainment to prevent people from further hacking the Sony Play Station Portable Platform.

However, technology and techniques has advance so much that now even Hen_C and DevHook 0.44 for 2.71 has become obsolete. And after the release of Pandora batteries, now even a psp with firmware 4.01 can be downgraded. The discussion of whether a TA-082 can be used to play homebrews is now moot. After the release of the custom firmware 4.01 M33-2, all games can be played without the use of Devhook.

However, these discussions are beyond the scope of this guide. Please refer to my other guides about Pandora batteries and how to play games on memory stick in the a PSP with firmware 3.52 or above.