Showing posts with label Play Station. Show all posts
For many PS Vita users, limited Vita memory card storage is definitely an issue mainly due to the high cost of memory cards, which are proprietary from Sony and can cost many times what conventional SD cards cost. Because of this, many Vita gamers are forced to continuously delete and download games from the PlayStation Store (PSN) in order to not exceed the storage on their Vitas.
If you have a hacked PS Vita though (learn how to hack yours in this entry, there are some serious benefits to it), things get even more complicated, since you can’t update your firmware to access the PSN. This potentially leaves some Vita owners stuck with the games they had on their systems before the official firmware was updated.
However, there is good news. With qCMA and a bit of work, you can back up the games on your hacked PS Vita and delete them from your device to make room for new ones, which in turn you can transfer to your Vita via your PS3 following the steps on our previous entry on this topic.
Don’t Back Up to Your PS3
With the process that follows, we’ll show you how to back up the games on your hacked PS Vita.
These you can back up and store on a local hard drive, be it in your computer or even on an external drive. This is highly preferable to having these backups on your PS3, since connecting a hacked Vita to a PS3 for transferring games, while doable, requires a bit of extra work.
Information on Games and Saves
Now, before proceeding, let’s take a look at Content Manager on your Vita to know how much space both your games and save data are taking on your device.
Important Note: The games that you have installed on your Vita via the hack (PSP, PS1 or emulator games) will not show listed in Content Manager (but they do take space).
Usually, I tend to leave the save data of my games on my Vita, but since we’re trying to regain as much space as possible, we’ll also show you how to back up save files so you can safely delete them from your device.
With all that behind us, let’s get to the steps to back up the games on your hacked PS Vita.
Games Downloaded from the PSN Store
You might have noticed by looking at Content Manager that native Vita games don’t have separate save files. That means that when it comes to a native Vita game, you will have to back up the whole thing since the saves are located inside the game files themselves.
Native Vita Games
Step 1: Connect your PS Vita to your computer via its USB cable using the qCMA app.
Note: If you are having problems connecting, turn off the Wi-Fi on your PS Vita, then turn your device off. After that turn it back on and re-enable Wi-Fi.
Step 2: Once you are connected, under Copy Content, select PS Vita System > PC and then Applications.
Step 3: Next, under Applications, select PS Vita.
Step 4: Then select the games you want to back up and copy them to your computer.
Once the backup is done, you can safely delete the games from your PS Vita.
Now, in the future, if you want to transfer the game back to your PS Vita, just connect it to your computer via qCMA again and repeat the steps shown above, except that this time, select PC > PS Vita System when prompted.
PSP and PS1 Games
Contrary to native Vita games, PSP and PS1 games handle their save data separately, which means that when you back up a PSP or PS1 game, you have to back up the game itself and its save data as well.
The process is almost exactly the same though. Simply repeat the steps above except for Step 2. Instead, under Applications, select PSP/Other.
Then continue by selecting your game and copying it to your computer as outlined previously.
Now, to back up the Save files of your games, make sure you are connected to your computer via qCMA.
Step 5: Next, under Save Data, select the type relevant to your game. Then select its data from the list and copy it to your computer.
Once done, you can safely delete both the PSP game and its save files from your PS Vita.
To transfer any of these games and their save files back to your PS Vita, just repeat the process above. However, remember to transfer both a game and its save files back to your Vita. Otherwise, you will have to start playing your game from scratch.
PlayStation Games Only Playable on Your Hacked PS Vita
These games include PSP and PS1 games, as well as their save files, which we showed youhow to transfer to your hacked PS Vita in this entry.
These games are not ‘viewable’ through the traditional PS Vita interface. In fact, you can only see them when you run a hack on your PS Vita, like TN-V.
So you don’t need to actually back up these games, since you must have copies of them elsewhere that you can easily transfer to your hacked PS Vita using the FTP transfer methodshown in another entry.
Important Note: To play some PS1 and PSP games on your hacked PS Vita, you need game backups in the form of EBOOT or ISO files. Be warned though, these and any other emulators out there exist for game owners to be able to play backups of games they own and not to foster piracy, which is illegal.
However, you are able to view these games’ save files on the normal Vita interface, so theseyou can back up/restore using the method shown above.
Back Up to an External Drive
One of the best things about backing up your games and saves using the method above, is that you don’t have to keep the games on your computer. You can easily back up everything to an external drive and only connect it to your computer whenever you perform a transfer.
To do this, all you have to do is change the location of the games’ backups on qCMA.
Open the app on your computer, head to its Settings and under Applications / Backups, select the folder on your external drive where you want your game and save backups to go (don’t forget to have your external drive connected for this, of course).
One thing to note though – when storing your backups on an external drive, make sure to use the Refresh Database option on qCMA every time you connect your drive.
And that’s about it. Now you can enjoy every game on your hacked PS Vita without worrying about memory storage. Have fun!
In past entries, we explained how to hack your PS Vita in order to run TN-V, a PSP emulated firmware that allows to play your PSP game backups, install emulators for other consoles, and more. This time, we’ll show you how to install and run a PS1 emulator that provides perfect emulation of most PS1 titles.
Important Note: To use the PS1 emulator on your PS Vita, you need game backups in the form of EBOOT files (which you can search for in Google). Be warned though, these and any other emulators out there exist for game owners to be able to play backups of games they own and not to foster piracy, which is illegal.
If you have a hacked PS Vita, you might be wondering why this emulator is needed in the first place, since the PSP emulator provided in TN-V also lets you run PS1 games.
Well, the reason is quite simple. This PSP emulator is based on the original PSP software, and as such, carries the same limitations as that software did when it comes to PS1 games. As a result, the native PSP emulator doesn’t support several games, and many of the ones that it does support, it does not support fully. Some PS1 games lack proper sound or have no audio at all, you can’t take screenshots of your PS1 games, along with other issues.
That is where TN-X comes into play.
What is TN-X
This 3rd party PS1 emulator provides perfect emulation of games of the original Playstation, including perfect sound, the ability to take screenshots of your PS1 games, as well as supporting several games that are not available via the Playstation Network Store (PSN).
What was your favorite PS1 game? Photo Credits: Deviantart
Let’s take a look at how you can install TN-X on your hacked PS Vita.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A hacked PS Vita able to run TN-V, that’s on OFW (official firmware) 3.18 or lower
- qCMA – an app for transferring data between your computer and your PS Vita without requiring an internet connection (available for both Mac and Windows)
- A PS1 ‘exploitable’ game. There are three of these: Sports Superbike 2, Tekken 2, and XS Moto. For this tutorial we will use XS Moto. You need to have bought this PS1 game on your account and have it installed on your hacked PS Vita
- TN-X exploit save files: Download link
- Backups of your PS1 games
If you fulfill all the requirements above, then head to your computer to get started.
On Your Computer
Important Note: While this tutorial was created on a Mac, the instructions still apply if you have a Windows PC.
Step 1: Make sure you download all the files mentioned above. If you have a hacked PS Vita, then you must already have qCMA. So the only file you should download is TN-X.
Step 2: Let’s start by unzipping the exploit file to access its contents, which should be as shown below: a readme file, a TNV special exploit and the save files for the three PS1 games that can run this emulator.
Since I have the XS Moto game, I will be using the save files for that game (shown below).
Step 3: As with previous hacks, in order to install the TN-X PS1 emulator your PS Vita, you will need to ‘seed’ the XS Moto (or other game you are using) save data file into the game. This is the file you just downloaded.
So on your computer, head to where all the save files for your PS1 games are located. It should look something like the screens shown below. Open that folder and leave it open.
Now in the folder where the TN-X exploit is, look for your PS1 game folder and open it to find its save file. In this example, the save file for XS Moto is the one named ‘SLUS01506′. Click on that file and copy it to the folder you have opened just before, where all the save files are.
After you do that, head back one level on the TN-X folder you downloaded and also copy the TNV folder there to where you copied the previous one.
In the end, the folder with all the save files on your computer should contain these two new folders, as shown below.
Now you have to access your PS Vita via the qCMA app, so head to your PS Vita to transfer the files.
On Your PS Vita
Step 4: Before starting the qCMA app, plug your PS Vita to your computer using its USB cable and then start the app.
Step 5: Then, on your PS Vita open Content Manager, select Copy Content and then choosePC > PS Vita System.
Next, select Applications and on the next screen, under Saved Data select PlayStation.
If you did things right, then you should now see a save file for XS Moto there. Select it and thenCopy it to your device.
Likewise, head back one level and now under Saved Data select PSP/Other.
There you will see a new save file named ‘TN-V Launcher’. Select that file and Copy it to your device as well.
How to Use the PS1 Emulator
Important Note: Before using the TN-X PS1 emulator, you will need to have games for it on your PS Vita. To transfer your PS1 game backups to your Vita, follow this guide and use FTP to do so. Just make sure you transfer your PS1 eBook files to the PSP/GAME/ folder in your Vita.
Step 6: Now that you are done copying the files, exit the Content Manager on your Vita and start your game (XS Moto in this example).
Once it starts, head to Options, select Load Game and then choose either Single or 2 Player Race.
To trigger the exploit on the other two games:
- Tekken 2: Start the game in Survival mode and lose the match.
- Sports Superbike 2: Load the save file via Options and then start a 2 player race.
Once the exploit triggers, you will be running the PS1 emulator on your PS Vita.
And thanks to all the improvements it boasts, you will now enjoy features like screenshots, perfect audio, and more.
Enjoy!
