It seems pretty much everyday I’m getting either emails or comments asking how to install the custom XMB themes that you can find on this and other PSP related websites. I thought I’d write a clear and concise set of instructions so that if you are having problems, you can refer to this guide.

Step 1. Check your firmware version.

Custom XMB icons can only be used if your PSP is running an Open Edition firmware (created by Dark_AleX). This means that you must have downgraded your PSP to 1.5 at some point and then upgraded to the Open Edition firmware of your choice.

If you have never upgraded the firmware on your PSP, and its older than a couple of months (at time of writing), its likely that your PSP has a standard Sony PSP firmware, such as 2.81. If thats the case, you need to downgrade your PSP to firmware 1.5 and then upto a custom OE firmware.

If you have upgraded your Sony PSP’s firmware, but have only done so using the official Network Update option, you will only have the official Sony firmware. If you have done the Network Update since firmware 3.11 came out, you have no options to downgrade and cannot use the custom XMB icons.

If you PSP has firmware 3.10 or less, you should have the option to downgrade to firmware 1.5 and then upto a custom OE firmware, which will allow you to use the custom XMB icons. There are plenty of articles on the net that talk about downgrading/upgrading your PSP firmware to an OE version.

If you are unsure what firmware version your PSP has, simply turn it on and go to System Settings. Scroll to the System Information option and look at what firmware version shows on the screen. Open Edition firmware will have a number followed by OE.

The Open Edition Firmware version you will be interested in running if you want to use custom XMB icons are either 3.03-C OE or 3.40OE. My personal preference is 3.40)OE as its the latest, and most of the XMB themes being released now are compatible with 3.40OE.

Note : there are a number of OE firmware ranging from 3.02-A to 3.40OE. The main two are 3.03OE-C and 3.40OE – I suggest you use either one of those. Also note that the custom XMB icons will only work for a specific OE firmware. i.e. If you have firmware 3.03OE-C, use the 3.03 version of the icons, if on 3.40OE, download the 3.40 version.

Step 2. Boot into Recovery mode.

Assuming you;ve got this far and your PSP is running a custom firmware version such as 3.40OE, you now need to boot your PSP into the recovery menu. This is done as follows:

With your PSP turned on, hold the power button up until the PSP turns off. This make take upto 10 seconds. This is a hard reset. Now turn the PSP back on while holding in the right shoulder button.

The PSP should boot into a recovery menu (greenish background, text list on the left side of the screen).

Step 3. Connect to Flash0.

Now you are in Recovery Mode. Connect your PSP to your PC with the USB cable. Select the advanced option, then the USB flash0 option.

This is connecting your PC to the PSP’s flash0 memory. You can browse this folder with windows explorer. At this point, highlight all the files in the flash0 and copy them to your harddrive. This will allow you to return your PSP back to its original look if you change your mind in the future about your custom XMB icon choice.

Note : The backup of flash0 is for your PSP. Using someone elses flash0 backup may damage your PSP.

Step 4. Install an XMB theme.

With your PSP still connected to the flash0, you can begin installing your custom XMB icons. Assuming you have downloaded a theme (for your OE firmware version) and have managed to extract the files using winzip or winrar, browse to wherever you extracted the theme files.

You may find there are a number of files in the extract. The main icon file is called topmenu_plugin.rco. The other rco files contain things like the custom battery and volume bar icons. Copy the rco files into the flash0:vsh/resource directory, replacing the exisiting versions.

If there is a font included in the pack that you want to use, copy it into the flash0:font directory. Fonts have the extension pgf.

Once you have copied the files into flash0, disconnect from the USB session, select back from the recovery menu option until you get to the front screen and then select exit. Reboot your PSP.

Step 5. Check your Custom Icons.

Assuming you have followed the instructions and have used a valid topmenu_plugin.rco for your OE firmware, you should now have a custom XMB theme. If you find that some icons become white squares, try re-installing the theme – sometimes there is a problem that can be corrected by simply re-installing.

If your PSP doesn’t boot up at all (unlikely), you can enter the recovery menu again and replace the files with the originals you backed up. I’ve never had to do this however, so its unlikely to happen to you. The only time I’ve heard of this happening is when people have deleted files of the flash0 that the system needs. You should never delete a file off the system without it being replaced with a custom file of the same name.

NOTE: You do have a risk of bricking your PSP if you delete files off the flash0 or touch flash1 and do not know what you are doing. Never delete files off the PSP flash0 without replacing them with either a genuine custom one or the original files.

Happy customising.