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How To Play Final Fantasy VII On PSP Using Popsloader!
Published on: July 4th, 2008 by Josh | 5,757 views 
(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
It’s a well known fact that the PSP can play PlayStation games downloaded from the PlayStation Network, however it’s not a well known fact that the PSP can play any EBOOT PlayStation title as long as your system is set up correctly. If you’ve ever tried playing an unofficial EBOOT with Custom Firmware then you’ll know that you’re often greeted by “the black screen of infinite”, this method will show you how to bypass that screen and play absolutely any PlayStation title.
Alright, before you do anything there are several things that you are going to need to play PlayStation games on a PSP running custom firmware version 3.80 M33 all the way up until the most recent release, 4.00 M33. Before you do anything, check that you have what is required to complete this tutorial from the list below.
- PSP Running Custom Firmware Version 3.80 M33-4.00 M33
- Some form of connecting the PSP to a computer, whether it be by USB cable or Memory Stick Duo Pro Card Reader
- Popsloader 3.80 M33
- PSARDumper
- 3.72 Firmware EBOOT
- A PlayStation game EBOOT, our example in this game is going to be a Final Fantasy VII Multi-Disk EBOOT
Note: The following method is a proven, tried and tested method. There is absolutely no chance that doing this will brick your PSP as long as you are running CFW 3.72 M33+, preferably 3.90 M33 as this is the CFW I used whilst creating this tutorial.
- First things first, connect your PSP to the computer by either using a USB cable or a Memory Stick Duo Pro Card Reader.
- Once you’re connected, download Popsloader 3.80 M33 and extract the RAR Archive into the PSP/Memory Stick Duo Pro root folder. For example, extract the RAR Archive to ‘X:\’ meaning that the contents of the Zip Archive will be found in ‘X:\SEPLUGINS’ (X:\ stands for the USB slot that your device is connected to).
- Alright, now you’ve got to download PSARDumper and extract the contents to ‘X:\PSP\GAME’, meaning that the contents of the Zip Archive will be found at ‘X:\PSP\GAME\newspsardumper’. PSARDumper will extract the official PlayStation emulator files from the official 3.72 firmware update that you will put onto your PSP in the next step.
- Now download the 3.72 firmware EBOOT and copy it to the root folder, in doing so it’s location will be ‘X:\EBOOT.PBP’.
- Turn on your PSP and navigate to ‘GAME > Memory Stick > NEW PSAR DUMPER’ and press X.
- This will run the PSARDumper, a series of options will become available once the program is launched – just press Square and PSARDumper will begin decrypting the required files from the official 3.72 firmware update.
- After a few minutes the process will be completed and you will return to the PSP’s XMB. Turn off your PSP and reconnect it to your computer.
- The root folder of the PSP’s Memory Stick Duo Pro will contain a new folder containing the decrypted files called ‘F0’, from this folder you need to copy the following files:
‘X:\F0\kd\popsman.prx’, ‘X:\F0\kd\pops.prx’, ‘X:\F0\vsh\module\pafmini.prx’ and ‘X:\F0\vsh\module\libpspvmc.prx’
- Once you’ve copied these files paste them into the ‘X:\SEPLUGINS\popsloader’ folder, renaming each file so that it has 372 just before the extension. For example, popsman372.prx.
- If you so wish, you can now delete the F0 folder from the PSP.
- Disconnect the PSP from the computer, and boot it up in Recovery Mode. For those of you who don’t know how to do this, hold down the R Button and flick up the power switch.
- From this menu select ‘Plugins ->’ and click popsloader.prx [POPS] to enable the plugin.
- Congratulations, you now have your PSP set up to emulate PlayStation titles such as Final Fantasy VII – if this is the first time you have ever ran Popsloader you’ll be given a list of firmware’s to chose from; just select the ‘3.72’ option. Make sure you chose 3.72 otherwise you’ll have to start the entire process again.
- One last thing, Popsloader automatically launches upon selecting a game (you should store games in the ‘X:\PSP\GAME’ folder); if you want to play a PlayStation game make sure you have copied the game into the GAME folder - for example in Final Fantasy VII’s case it would be in the folder ‘X:\PSP\GAME\Final Fantasy VII\EBOOT.PBP’.
That concludes the tutorial on how to set up a PSP for emulating PlayStation games, however due to the nature of PlayStation games and the fact that they are not designed for playing on PSP (unless they’ve been released on the PlayStation Network), you will suffer from the occasional glitch. For example, sometimes when you are exiting a battle in Final Fantasy VII the screen becomes engulfed in weird little glitches; however there’s often a common fix such as exiting and re-entering the appropriate area.
By pressing the HOME button on your PSP you can change the emulation settings, for example choosing ‘Other Settings’ allows you to make the game widescreen; whilst changing the ‘Controller Settings’ can allow you to use the PSP’s Analog Stick rather than the default D-Pad. There is also an option to switch discs; however this only works with Multi-Disk EBOOT’s such as the one I used in the example.
July 10th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Thanx this really helped me loads.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:05 am
I have followed the instructions precisely and the psardumper runs
but does nothing but take me back to my main screen. Your link to
the psardumper does not work so i downloaded it from darkalex. I am
totally new to this so if there is a step i might be missing pls
let me know. I am running 3.90 m33 btw
July 17th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Ok, I managed to get the psardumper to work, I have the FO folder,
now I cannot get it to find my plugin in the Plugins menu. In the
seplugins folder the only files in there are popsman372.prx and
pops372.txt and a folder called popsloader with a file called
idcanager_olc.prx that i also renamed to idcanager_old372.prx
July 17th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I still get that damned Black screen, i have a 3.90 m33-2 and the
English pal version of FF7 which i personally made into an eboot.
But i am not completely sure on the creating an eboot part, so that
might be the problem, would you mind posting a guide on that or
maybe just try to help me out? And i just found 3 minor errors in
your guide by the way: First: at point 7 you told us to turn off
and connect our psp, but you can not connect a psp while turned
off. Second: at point 11, you did not mention that you had to hold
the power switch up for about 3 seconds first, or it will just go
into sleep mode. Third: At point 13, your bold note is wrong, you
can just hold the R button while starting the game and you can
reselect the popsloader version.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
@Sulkar: You should have copied all of these files
‘X:\F0\kd\popsman.prx’, ‘X:\F0\kd\pops.prx’,
‘X:\F0\vsh\module\pafmini.prx’ and ‘X:\F0\vsh\module\libpspvmc.prx’
as mentioned in the guide, not only pops.prx and popsman.prx . Also
you should not have renamed idcanager.old.prx to
idcanager_old372.prx, it is supposed to stay the same. Hope this
helps.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Oh, and it should also be under x:\seplugins\popsloader, and you
seem to be missing some important files, try to reload it using the
link in the guide.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Thanks for helping Graylord. The guide worked perfectly for me though, I just didn’t know you could reselect Popsloader version.
@Sulkar: I’ll reupload the PSARDUMPER.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Yeah, that step I did miss, but the problem with the psardumper was
that the files needed to be placed directly in the game folder and
not just extracted as is. Doing it by just extracting them made it
show as corrupted. Its all working now with FFIX. I used PyPops to
combine the 4 discs into 1. Thank you very much for this guide
July 19th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
i follow the instructions but when i try to decrypting after i
started psardumper it said cannot find eboot but i’m cher that is
at the right place together with that SEPLUGINS at MP_root can
anyone help me?
July 19th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
i have it thanks it’s a really good tutorial:D
July 20th, 2008 at 1:20 am
I’m glad you got it working, what was your problem in the end?
July 20th, 2008 at 8:12 am
i thought root was the mp_root map but when i asked what mean that
word(i’m dutch). and then i thought maybe i must put it in a other
place, and then it worked. but i have one question in have 3 disk
of final fantasy VII on my pc named as EBOOT.PBP but what must i do
to play them? must i copy the hole map tot psp/game?
July 20th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Hello all. Can someone please help me? This is the 1st time i’m
running poploader. I follow all the instructions here. Then when I
select to play game FF7, it takes me to POP version selection
screen and doesn’t respond after I select and press 3.72. What did
I do wrong?
July 20th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Hi again, I managed to make it run. After the screen freezes when I
selected 3.72. I went back to recovery menu and have the plugins as
DISABLED. And it did work. Btw, I’m running 3.90 M33-2 CFW. So I
really don’t understand how come my plugins have to be DISABLED
instead of ENABLED. Any idea?
July 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am
The FF7 eboot only runs for a while. When I selected NEW GAME, then
nothing happens (no movie, nothing). It doesn’t freeze because it
can still respond to my home button, then I just exit. Is it
because of the eboot? FF8 works just fine though.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
maybe some extra information will help to help me because i don’t
know what to do after i download FF VII en put de popsloader and
everything on mine psp. i have CFW 3.90 M33-3 so my question is
what must i do to play FFVII on mine psp. my download are 3 disks
and contains after i extract it a file EBOOT.PBP and a file KEYS. i
hope someone can help me
July 20th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
ok i have it already fixt.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
@Karoline: It is the Eboot.pbp you are using, i had the same
problem with mine, had to download an other version from *cough*
piratebay *cough* Look for the one labeled “Heretic”
July 21st, 2008 at 9:08 am
@Graylord, thanks for the tip. I downloaded the eboot.pbp from this
website. I’ll look up another version of eboot.pbp since you said
it’s not right. This eboot is the one in the X:\eboot.pbp isn’t it?
Not the eboot from the FF7 game folder? I was lucky my psp wasn’t
bricked.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Actually, i mean the game ones.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
The eboot on this website is tested, and it works fine on all PSP’s above firmware versions 3.72 M33.
This guide was written to counter the problem of an endless black screen, however it looks like it isn’t working for some of you. If you’ve followed the guide step by step, the only solution to the problem is to get a new game eboot.
I don’t recommend ripping your own eboots, it’s easier to just download a multi-disk eboot as these pretty much always work. I don’t even know how to work eboots that come as seperate disks.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 am
Hi Josh, Thank you for your guides. Yeah I did try it step by step
and tried them 4x already. Doesn’t seem to work. So I’ll be trying
another eboot tonight. I post the outcome when it’s done or in case
if I need more help. But thanks for all the advice/tips guys.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:54 am
HI. i followed the guide, but when i try to copy the files i am
missing the libpspvmc.prx file. what should i do? anyone else have
this problem
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 am
when i reload the dumper i was looking at it when it was flashing.
and when it gets to vd/module section one of the line says decode
error. im pretty sure thats the file im missing. anyway just to
simply get the file from an external source. like just downloading
the file from a site?
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 am
Well, im closing in on the second disk now and i am just wondering:
Can i change disc without exiting and start the next disc? And how
do i make sure it reads the saves at the same place and in the same
way?
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 am
could someone send me the ibpspvmc.prx file please? its not that
big. if u could id really appreciate it. like i said before when i
looked in my FO older it wasnt there. my email is
behindthewall@hotmail.com THX
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Hi all.. I managed to get the FF7 runs on the 3.72 POPs. Basically
all your steps are correct, just the eboot file wasn’t running in
my fat psp with 3.90 m33-4. So I download eboot 3.72 from somewhere
else. Thank you for this great guide and advice though. Thx
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hi Mark, I can provide you with all the files you need. Is the
libpspvmc.prx is the only one you need?
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
thx karoline it is. i was looking at ure post. i also have a fat.
but im running the latest 4.01 m33-2 thats with the update u think
it would still work?
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
btw. what happens if i am running other plugins? i have CWcheat on
there.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
o. and could u tell me where u got ure eboot? i might have the same
issue
July 24th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Hi. I’m at the end of the first disc FF7 and it says to load the 2
disc. You said that there is an option that says “switch discs” but
I don’t have it. Can you tell me why or how can I get it? I named
the second discs folder “FFVII2″ on the game folder. so I’,
wondering if I’m doing that part wrong..thax
July 24th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Mr.dark. u could send me the libpspvmc.prx file please. since im
telling u that u could combine ure 3 eboots into 1. i did it. it
works. but i need ure file run it. im using img burn. google that.
my email is behindthewall@hotmail.com thx!
July 24th, 2008 at 2:04 am
nvm guys. i found the plugins on another site. some guy youtube
site had it. my ff7 works now.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9LYPRF5Y here is the link for all
popsloaders. u can have all of em running if u want. just in case
ure games dont work thx for all ure guys help!
July 24th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
thank you very much man your tutorial was very helpful. straight to
the point with no over-complication. just the way i like it.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Mr. dark, it won’t work unless you are using a multi-disk eboot like I recommended.
I’m not sure how you get the transition from disk 1 to disk 2 to work with a single-disk eboot.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
hey y i cant use the psardumper?it writes error when i decrypt
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:43 am
Mark said: “4.01 m33-2 thats with the update u think it would still
work?” I also Want to know that
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Never mind it works, on mine at least hehehehee
August 10th, 2008 at 1:11 am
my multi boot version that i got off a torrent Freezes right after
cloud flashbacks to nibelheim with sephiroth, and he says “youre
welcome to see your family and friends ” and a guy walks out the
other house
August 28th, 2008 at 6:14 am
after i selcted 3.72 pops it just freezez and im runing 4.01m33-2
August 28th, 2008 at 6:16 am
wut do i do plz give a very good explanation to me
September 4th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I followed every single step. Its stated that the popsloader list
will appear if i select the Final fantasy game while holding on to
the “R” trigger. However mine doesnt appear at all. Secondly, the
game runs properly. But it turns black screen after I select NEW
GAME. Any ideas how to solve it? Im using 3.90m33 btw.