Posted by 
December 16, 2009 •
True to their word, the GEN Team has now released Custom Firmware 5.03 GEN-C. It’s an update to their existing line of 5.03-based firmwares (5.03 GEN-A and 5.03 GEN-B) that will allow you to play games that require upto 6.10 without running the decrypter to patch the game.
Update: This guide is sorely outdated. If you please refer to this new guide instead : Install Signed 5.03 Hen + 5.03 GEN-C on your PSP.
Important UPDATE: If you are having trouble playing the latest PSP Games, you may want to install the Prometheus-4 module or use the ISO Tool Patching guide. OR you may want to update to 5.50 GEN-D3 
Important Notes:
This guide is for non-hackable PSPs. (PSP-3000 / PSP-2000 TA-088v3). If you’re not sure what PSP you have, please read: Is my PSP hackable?
On this guide, we will help install 5.03 GEN-C on your PSP. There is no danger of bricking your PSP unless you deviate from the instructions listed below. Unlike custom firmware for hackable PSPs, the danger of bricking your PSP-3000 / PSP-2000 TA-088v3 is quite real. If you’re not sure about a step, take the time to post a question.
Do note that if you have official firmware 5.50 or higher installed, stop now. You can’t install the chickHen hack which means you can’t install 5.03 GEN-C.
Requirements:
- A PSP-3000 or PSP-2000 with TA-088v3 motherboard.
- A PSP with ChickHen R2 up and running
- Download: 5.03 GEN-C
- Back up your save files (so that if they get corrupted, you still have backups)
How to Install Custom Firmware 5.03 GEN-C for ChickHEN
Before you proceed to installing custom firmware 5.03 GEN-C, you need to install ChickHen R2 on your PSP first. Just click the picture on the right to install ChickHen R2 and comeback here to finish the installation.
How to Install 5.03 GEN-C
- Make sure your PSP has ChickHen R2 installed. You won’t be able to install 5.03 GEN-C without it.
- Extract the 5.03 GEN-C files to your computer.
- Copy the PSP folder to your PSP’s memory stick. (Yes, just drag the whole folder there)
- Disconnect the PSP from USB
- Run 5.03 GEN-C Updater from under Game on your PSP’s XMB
- After all process is complete, press X. Your PSP will reboot.
- Congratulations, you’ve just installed 5.03 GEN-C.
Important Note: If this is NOT the first time that you’ll be install 5.03 GEN-C (meaning you accidentally turned off your PSP and had to reload 5.03 GEN-C again), hold the L trigger (Left shoulder button) when running the updater.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Compatible with the PSP-3000 and PSP-2000 v3 official firmware 5.03
- Play backups of games that REQUIRE PSP firmware 6.10 and above
- Reading UMD that that REQUIRE PSP firmware 6.10 and above
- Reading UMD / ISO games protected against the custom firmware. Playing UMD / ISO games protected against the custom firmware.
- Play PS1 games
- GEN VSH MENU available (SELECT)
- Recovery in VSH Recovery available in VSH available
- Reading Reading Homebrews
KNOWN BUGS:
- VSH menu is mixed up
Troubleshooting:
If you experience problems like non-working games, or games that give the error “game could not be started” try the following:
Make sure your UMD mode is set to M33 driver
- On your XMB, press select, to access the VSH menu
- Select M33 driver for the UMD mode option as shown below:
Disable options
- Go to the recovery menu
- Go to advance setting > disable all options
- Your games will be playable now
All this is thanks to GENyUS and PSPGen.com.
After installing 5.03 GEN-C, why not treat yourself to some free PSP games? 
@sylv3rblade sir may factor dun un memorycard sa pag loload ng games? balak ko po ksi bumili ng orig memorycard for my psp.. need ko lang po ng advice thnx and more power..
Mmm.. My old post should answer your question
Real or Fake? Debunking the Sony Memory Stick
Si sylv3rblade ay Pinoy! Nice! Thanks for the guide!
Dude may itatanong lang:
Please tell me, what does the “hold L trigger” do?
My PSP-3000 already came in hacked with 5.03 GEN-C (done by the store), but I’m trying to redo the process to learn it. Since there was a previous hack, does that mean I have to do the L trigger thing?
Ung L button dun sa taas ng PSP, press mo un IF you’re upgrading from 5.03 GEN-A or 5.03 GEN-B to 5.03 GEN-C.
If I do a hard reset, nawawala ba yung 5.03 GEN-C?
What I did kasi was hard reset, reset settings to default, and format memory stick para nun parang “out-of-the-box” ulit yung PSP (manufacturer default).
Now when I check yung System Info, 5.03 na lang yung nakasulat (yun na yung OFW di ba? tama?), hindi na 5.03 GEN-C (Full).
Nawala ba yung GEN-C na nilagay nung store nung nag-reset ako and everything?
Yes nawawala ang lahat ng 5.03 firmwares. Kaya bawal talaga patayin ung PSP kapag ChickHen via ChickHen ang CFW mo.
Clarification lang, ang GEN-C ba ay isang klase ng CFWe? Nalilito kasi ako. ^_^;
GEN-C is a CFW (custom firmware) CFWE is Custom Firmware Enabler.. parang kalaban sya ng GEN CFW sa features
Dude, maraming salamat sa support! Malaking tulong sa amin na bago pa lang sa PSP hacking scene. Astig ka pare!
@sylv3rblade sir bkit un link sa gen-a ayaw na gumana? hehe
i Ask lng po may nakasave nmn sa ISo folder game ko na game na tingnan ko n din sa PC ko at meron nmn bakit po pgnsa PSp na ung game eh File Corrupt na nd n me makapaglaro. GAME/CFWEnabler tpos game cannot started the game is corrupted po help nman…
GAME/CFWEnabler -> ?
Paki check po kung anong firmware version ng PSP mo ngayon. Baka walang cfw kaya sinasabi nya na corrupt ung games
yes you can
sir silver may link ka po ba sa psp youtube downloader thnx po
i got 5.03 Gen C Full
some of the later games that requires version 6.10 seems to be working, but when i SAVE the files they are always corrupted after i try to load them. examples of the games i played so far….
Final Fantasy: Dissidia
Warriors Orochi 2
Sounds like a memory card problem. Try swapping mem sticks and see if the problem persists.
sir i have psp 4.01 with ta-088v3 MB, i already upgrade it to 5.03 using your CFW Enabler. Is there any problem if i install 5.03 GEN-C in my psp.
You need to uninstall CFWEnabler (there’s an uninstall option on the VSH menu) before installing 5.03 GEN-C.
sir dapat po ba un cpu clock nka default?
Yep. Although pede mo rin sya iset to 333Mhz pero madaling mauubos ung battery.
thanks for the info sir, more power. i’ll try it later. by the way is psp 3007 taiwan version with 6.00 ofw hackable already.
PSP-3000s are non hackable
.boss ung PSP ko 5.00 na OFW ang firmware pde ko pa ga ung gwing m33 o 5.03 GEN-C na lng reply asap.,
.boss ung psp ko nd TA-088v3 pde ga gmitan ng ChickHEN R2 un.,
If sure ka na TA-088v3 ang PSP mo, 5.03 GEN-C lang ang pede mo iinstall at inde ung M33 (permanent na firmware)
.boss nka 5.03 GEN-C na ung psp ko pde ko ga gwin 5.50 GEN-D3 un ksi hindi nman TA-088v3 ung motheboard nun eh reply nman asap tnx tlga.,
Yep. Basta sure ka na inde TA-088v3 yan or PSP-3000. You can directly install 5.50 GEN-D3.
Umm may i ask a question? i found out that my motherboard of my psp 3003 is TA-090v2 so is this a hackable or not? and also to update my firmware to gen-c or higher do i need to install first the gen-a to gen-b and so on well i already installed the Chickhen R2 on my psp so im confuse what to do next or i dont need to install the gen-a to gen-ba just directly install the gen-c is that it? plz reply asap and also thank u very much for the wonderful site
PSP-3000 = only partially hackable so you’re stuck with 5.03 based firmware.
As for the instructions, you just need to install 5.03 GEN-C after installing ChickHen. No need to install GEN-A and GEN-B.
sylv3rblade thank u very much ur my savior i love u ^_^
you mean ChickHen R2 or ChickHen whats the difference of the 2
For this site’s purposes, ChickHen is always ChickHen R2 because the original ChickHen couldn’t allow you to install any custom firmware over it, just run homebrew stuff. ChickHen R2 made playing ISOs possible
ask lng poh..psp 3000 ng friend koh is 5.03gen-a..mas better poh ba if gen-c?..mine kc is ta-088v3 with 5.03gen-c…tnx in advance
Mas maraming games na malalaro sa 5.03 GEN-C kasi may built-in decrypter na sya
ask koh lng poh ulit..para san poh ung sedna.prx sa plugins?..and ung deemerh.prx ba un?..makakasama poh b is naremove un?..tnx poh ulit..noob pa kc me..
sedna.prx = Sedna is the plugin that allows you to stay in CFW even if you accidentally shutdown your PSP.
deemerh.prx = Savegame Deemer is a plugin that allows you to save and load decrypted savedata from UMD titles.
Both plugins are required by 5.03 GEN-C to function properly.
sir tanong lang po bkit pag nalowbat na ung psp ko or inaalis ang battry nawawala ung mga ganes sa memory?? salamat
Pag namatay ung PSP mo for any reason (nalowbatt,etc) need mo ireinstall ung CFW.
hallo, im already installed my gen-c cfw,but my older gen-A is running,but not the gen-C.WHY??please..i need to play the new game using cen-C cfw..
Hey, I got GEN-C 1 week ago, it works successfully 8D thank you, thank you very much !!
Not a prob
Hello, and good day. I wanted to ask if it’s possible to install Gen-C while I have Gen-B (full) well, I heard they are all the same. But I have my doubts, it will be bad if I got a brick. ._.
I have another question, the reason I want Gen-C is because some games says “error: 80020148″ I tought it was because the game is kinda new. So if it doesn’t work is there a way to go back to Gen-B? or just 5.03 MHU?
Yep, you can install 5.03 GEN-C over 5.03 GEN-B.
There’s very little chance of bricking your PSP via CFW installation if you follow the instructions to the letter.
As for 5.03 MHU, it’s much better for you to simply install 5.03 GEN-C because it’s much more compatible.
sir I have no CFW installed yet. but I have the chickhen exploit working now.
before using the installer Gen-C (updater)
Do I need another CFW already installed?
I have the CFWenabler 3.60, is it necessary to use it?
Do I have to hold down the L trigger every time I run the updater after I’ve restarted my PSP? What are the consequences if I don’t?
I’m currently on GEN-B and never had to do that.
help naman mo..nung ininstall ko ung gen-c gen-a(full ung lumitaw..what i did is inupdate ko sya by holding the L button..na update naman sya pero gen-c(full) sya..dba dpat walang (full)? please reply..thanks
sir ask q lng po, i hav a PSP-2000 TA-088v3, and meron syang cfw enabler which runs 5.00 m33. pero i want to change to 5.03 gen-c, ano pong gagawin ko? thanks…
Select the uninstall option of CFWE, run ChickHen then install 5.03 GEN-C.
sir, tanung ko lang po kung panu makakakuha o makaka install ng sedna.prx. d po ba kaylangan un para hindi plagi na lang nawawala ung games sa memory.tanx…
pls help its very urgent!!!
recently i took a game from my friend whose cmputer was filled with malware and viruses and some of them entered into my PSP!! i deleted them and formatted my memory stick but when i install any of the custom firmware, my PSP becomes very slow and doesn’t respond and mostly hangs.
i dont know what to do now as i have tried everything and nothing seems to work. pls help!!!
On the XMB, Press select and make sure CPU CLOCK XMB and CPU CLOCK GAME are set to default
sir, do we need to format the memory stick before installing/running the ChickHEN R2 & GEN C? My PSP software version is 5.03 & i can play downloaded games before, but then I accidentally drained the battery and not able to charge it prompting me to uninstall & re-install the battery.after that I can no longer play the downloaded games.the supplied 32MB memory stick containing CFWEnabler & GEN C Updater file is not functioning/corrupted.pls help….thnx
No, you don’t need to reformat every single time you need to use the installer. The 32MB stick is probably just dead
Hello, I have installed Gen-C and it worked. ^^ but I’m noticing that my battery is being drained more fast than usual. Does it have to do with the CPU clock XMB or GAME?.. they are set in Default. is there some way to the battery to last longer?.. My battery now only last like 2 to 1 hour.
You could slow down the CPU clock for GAME but it’ll be virtually unplayable. I suspect it’s a problem with your battery more than the CFW.
thank you very much sylv3rblade!!! I couldn’t had figured it out if you wouldn’t had helped. But I have another problem – I have installed 5.03 Gen-C on my PSP 3000 but games like Tekken 6 are not running. How can I run these games on my PSP? thnx
What error is Tekken 6 giving you? It’s supposed to work just fine with 5.03 GEN-C
You can try looking for a FIXED version that works with 5.00 M33-6.
I have fixed it. Thanks for helping. You are the man!!
ask ko lang po kung ang psp ko ay may 5.50 gen-b full pano po ba ito upgrade ito sa 5.50 gen d-3? help naman po . Thanks
also saan version po ba gumagana yung Dantes inferno ang version ko po kasi ay 5.50 gen b full ang error message nya ay ” the game could not be started yet” samantalang nalalaro nya sa 5.50 gen d3 nung kakilala ko.
hey dude ,,, u rock but some games are not working . my psp is getting reboot again when i start game the screen dose not show any thing. but the old games r working . but the new games are not working .. plz hep
and what is GEN – C it will work new games.. help
5.03 GEN-C is the updated version of PSP GEN’s 5.03 CFW. It’s the most compatible of their release so it will work with older games AND newer ones
I did as instructed on my PSP 3000, runned the ‘game’, and the psp rebooted ok. But when I go to system information, my version is still showing GEN-A. Any tips?
Hello! Id like to know if i can delete the files (hen r2 and 5.03 gen-c) after the installation or rather change the memory stick? will it brick my psp if i do it?
please help… im a total noob..
im thinking of buying another memory stick for the installation of hen and 5.03 gen-c, and then change the memory stick with games.. is this possible??
You can delete the files without bricking your PSP. You only need them when (re)installing the 5.03 GEN-C cfw in case you turn off your PSP. Yes, you can also have the installation files on a one memory stick and your games on the other.
my psp is has a system software na 6.20 version papano ako makakapagdownload nang custom firmware?thanks hope you can answer.
so you dont need to install the gen-a and gen-b on this one?
Yep. You can install 5.03 GEN-C right after installing ChickHen.
anu po meron sa 5.03 GEN-C(DT)?
hey, how do you upgrade from 5.03 MHU to 5.03 GEN-C? because im still 5.03 gen-c after upgrading my psp 3006.
i mean, im still 5.03 mhu
Yo Atma please i need help!!!! :’(
I tried to install GEN D3 over GEN C i followed all the steps right and at the end of the installation it said Installation Finished ((welcome to GEN world))
after that my PSP is just showing the green color no scree,and i can’t even use the recovery menu,this is a full brick right?
WHAT SHALL I DO!!! :’(
Remove the battery and try turning your PSP on again.
Actually its not my PSP,its my cousin’s and he is really a pain in the ass xD
anyway,i tried and removed the battery but still it didn’t work ;’(
I forgot to tell you that,first i installed GEN C through ChickHEN R2,then i installed GEN D3 over it
Well that’s the problem
You didn’t read the warning on the installation of 5.50 GEN-D3. If you’re running 5.03, you can’t upgrade to 5.50 GEN-D3.
Right now i am giving him my PSP,i’ll just have to take his bricked PSP,but i can fix it with using a Pandora Battery,right?
Thank you anyway
hey sylv3rblade i need your help….after i installed GEN-C, every game seemed to run fine. but wen i brought FIFA 09 from one of my friend, it didnt run….it showed the error the game cud not be started….plz help me!!
plz reply to my problem…i cannot figure the problem and you are the only one who can help me!!!
That’s odd… have you tried switching UMD modes?
yeah I have tried it but it still won’t work….but the game works fine in GEN-A…I can’t figure out the problem!!
hmmm ms sylv3rblade (am i right?)
is there anyway i can message you or something? i have a lot of questions about psp….
Please use the contact form on this site
excuse me, but cud you find the answer to my problem….it would help me a lot!!
Well there’s 2 ways to fix the game could not be started problem. You can either download and run the eboot patcher to make the game work with your cfw version,
Or…. you can redownload a Fifa 09 fixed for 5.00 M33
how to get back the games of my psp if the games is corrupted?i need a pandora battery? or can i do it without pandora battery?
Hi. I installed gen-c successfully on my psp-3004. However, I shut down my psp and it’s now in regular ofw mode. when I want to re-install it, when exactly do I hold in L trigger? If I don’t hold it in, will it brick my psp?
Also, how many times can you run the gen-c update? Asking this cos I don’t like leaving my psp in standby mode and I have to shut it down to use USB mode, as my pc doesn’t recognise it in in gen-c mode.
Please help. I’m a little nervous about trying this again, as I don’t want to brick my psp.
Hold the L trigger when the PSP prompts you to press X to install 5.0 GEN-C. No, it won’t but it’ll just take longer for the installation since it’ll recopy the files instead of just reactivating the CFW.
You can run the update to infinity without any problems. The only way you’ll brick your PSP is if you don’t follow the instructions as stated above
Cool! Thanks very much for replying so quickly.
No prob.
So it looks like I’m still a bit lost with the hold down L trigger thingy. ^_^;
My unit is working fine, but curiosity always gets the best outta me.
Can’t really avoid running out of power and having to reload 5.03 GEN-C again, but I NEVER hold down the L trigger and it works ok. What is the difference in holding down L trigger and not?
holding down the L trigger skips the part where it copies the installation files and simply runs the activation routine.
Ah so even when I turn off my PSP completely and it reverts to OFW 5.03, the 5.03 GEN-C files are actually still in my PSP? I thought turning off wipes out these files?
Nope, they’re still there but you do need the installer to activate them again.
thanks very much for your reply!!
so I’m confused…I have to drag the “PSP” file to the PSP’s memory stick and it asks me if i want to replace it… but won’t i lose all my photos,music & videos? sorry if that’s a dumb question but i’m new to this
If you’re on a mac you need to choose the merge option instead of replace. If you’re on a PC that’s fine, you can choose replace and it won’t replace anything (because it’ll only replace files with similar names not folders
)
hi i have a question i have a psp model 3002 will the 5.03 GEN-C work on my psp? sorry im new to this ^^;
Yep, it’ll work with your PSP.
sorry one more question like i said my psp is a 3002 when i got it it had a 5.55 update is there anyway to downgrade it to 5.03 at the moment?
if you have an unhackable psp.. no.
so if install this if i turned my psp off will i still hack it again?
All games work fine except fewww, This new 1 i downloaded and its not working.
naruto ultimate ninja heroes 3 usa
it says game could not be started. Is it because its too recent? Or do i need klown or espalpsp’s version which always works?
You downloaded the scene release by PSPKiNG right? Yeah try the one by KloWn. That group is always my next choice when scene releases don’t work.
guys the loader is working tnx u rock
pls help! whenever i try to run gen-b or gen-c updaters, all it says is “now reboot you psp in CFW5.03 GEN-B/BEN-C” there’s no steps like “press x to reboot” after the message, it just goes back to home and its still GEN-A. when i try to reboot it by turning it off or from the select button, i hav to run CHICKhen and the INSTALLER-LOADER again from GEN-A. when i try to do it from CHICKhen (i just ran over CHICKhen) it’s just a black screen and still goes back to home. i read all steps, watched some videos but none seem to help me.
PLS HELP BECAUSE I KNOW THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG I’VE DONE AND I DONT’T WANNA BRICK MY PSP.
PS
I have extracted all files, redownloaded all files and still the same message appears
PLS REPLY QUICKLY!
Another PS
Sorry for having so many PSs but also when i run 5.03 GEN-C or GEN-B the stupid message appears and my psp magically turns GEN-A. This happens even when i run it directly after running CHICKhen. Bakit ganun?
PLS REPLY! My psp is version 2000 slim and is a TA-088 v3 Checked using the PSPident 0.4
help my GEn-B and GEN-C dont work. I follow all the steps but it just says: reboot your psp in CFW5.03 GEN-B/GEN-C when i run them. When i do run them, my psp just becomes a 5.03 GEN-A. My psp is a slim 2000 TA-088v3. pls help me!
PLS Reply quickly
I’ve just figured out how to do it. One thing you’ve failed to mention was that once you run the GEN-C updater, it’s going too say “Reboot your psp in CFW5.03 BEN-C” after that, you have to run the GEN-C updater again WHILE HOLDING THE L BUTTON ON THE LOADING SCREEN (when it shows the psp sony entertainment). It should take you to the GEN-C menu. press x to install GEN-C and press x again to reboot and then… You’ve just installed GEN-C!
I hope this helps you and all the people having the same problem! Btw pinoy rin ako
Will update the post to reflect this
Thanks.
sylv3rblade..patulong nmn..bkt ung tiff file unsupported data na sa psp ko..naupgrade ko kasi sa 6.0..pwde ko pa bang ibalik un sa 5.03?plz rply…
Ermm thats’ the problem. nagupgrade ka to 6.0
pano gagawin ko don? la n b sulosyon un?
Check mo if hackable ung PSP.. if hackable pede pa idowngrade, if inde wala na.
pano po check if hackable ung psp? psp 3000 ung model nya…at pano po idowngrade?thanx po…
PSP 3000? Wala na
Read this: http://www.atmaxplorer.com/2009/03/how-to-check-if-your-psp-can-have-cfw-installed/
dAmN…I bRick my Psp…Now what….
Well di pa naman sya bricked… kaso UMD lang ang pedeng lruin
By thE waY,,Thanx a lot sylverBlade…
yup..mamumulubi naman ako nyan blade..mahal ang umd eh..
a silly question…
where should i paste the iso file games to play?
Inside the ISO folder at the root of your memory stick, if you can’t find one, create an ISO folder and drop your files there.
can i install this on my psp 3004,TA-088v2 mobo and i have 5.03MHU firmware. what will be the advantage and is this an upgrade for me.
Yep. This is the most up to date CFW for your PSP. You’ll be able to play most of the latest games.
thank you very much you had been very helpful and informative.
help i have downloaded PES 2010 and wen i try to start the game, it shows the error message “could not start the game”……pls tell me wat shud i do?? i have the GEN-C
same here hakusho, silverblade plz help us what to do.
pano if bigla nwla ung mga games ko sa psp uhm my psp is 3000 version 5.03 GEN-C??? UMD nlng ba pde d2?
erm… ihave a problem. i’ve downloaded the gen c file and successfully hacked the psp to gen c. the system settings read “5.03 GEN – C (Full)” but the game files i put in the ISO dont appear in the psp when i turn it on… help?
My psp is a 3000 btw.
What file format are your games and are you certain that the directory you’re putting them in is X:/ISO not X:/PSP/ISO?
the games are in rar format. other games in rar format can be played on my psp so i dont find the format a problem. and yes im sure ive put the games in the ISO folder, not PSP/ISO
in rar? Do the files specifically end in .rar?
the type of file states winrar archive
They need to have the extensions below (.iso or .cso) in order for them to work.
but i have a few games that are also in the rar format that works..
Winrar actually calls all files that it opens as a winrar archive so there’s really no other way of knowing other than checking the extension.
ermm… do i update the psp 3000 to gen c after the psp reads “5.03 gen-b (full)” or reads “Chickhen r2″? :l
i have downloaded PES 2010 but its not running on my psp. i have tried it even on gen-a but it still wont run. plz help!!
If I turn the psp off can I upgrade directly to C or do I have to update to A then B then C??
Thanks!
You can install 5.03 GEN-C directly
pls help nmn po
psp 3004 with 5.03 m33-6
when i run the gen-c loader
m33-6 p din ang nkalagay sa system
pnu ko ggwin gen-c toh?
and ma bbrick ba kpg nag update ako from m33-6 to gen-c
plz HELP T_T
plz
You need to remove 5.03 M33-6 first… turn off your PSP then run chickhen and this installer.
gnun pa din
m33-6 p din xa
khit gen-c instaler ang ni run ko
pnu po b ggwin ko?
is it possible to brink a psp 3004 if your cfw is 5.03 m33-6 converting it to 5.03 gen-c?
ask ko lng!!!???1111
i just wanna ask…im using psp 3001 version 5.5. how can i play ISO games
There’s no way to downgrade a PSP-3000 above 5.03 firmware to install cfw.