Newbie-Friendly CEX-to-DEX Conversion and Rollback Tutorial

[gDrive]

Seeing as everyone is asking for a CEX-to-DEX tutorial, I've decided to post one up here - so here you go.

Part 1.1: Preparing The Flash Dump For DEX Firmware Installation

- QA-Flag the system using REBUG's Toggle-QA
- Use multiMAN (referred to mM hereafter) 04.04.04 or later/MemDump to dump the FLASH (I used the mM-dumped one instead, even though the MemDump/mM dumps are the same as each other, hash-wise)
- Use flatz's EID root key application on the PS3 once installed by executing it without having any USB dongles plugged in and the key should be dumped in the "/dev_hdd0/tmp/" path
- Use Gunner54's CEX-to-DEX application to patch the flash dump
- Double-Click (tap) on the DEX TargetID-modified dump renamed to have ".EID0.NORBIN" or ".EID0.NANDBIN" extension in mM 04.04.04 or later in order to change the TargetID from there
- Restart the system by:
--- Exiting mM and returning to the XMB by pressing the PS button, and selecting "Quit Game"
--- Selecting the "Users" menu in XMB, selecting "Turn Off System", then selecting "Yes" after you have selected "Turn Off System".
--- Pressing the <POWER> button on the PS3 after it has been shut down.

Part 1.2: Installing DEX Firmware

- Having an official 3.55 DEX firmware PUP on a USB memory dongle in the "USB:\PS3\UPDATE\PS3UPDAT.PUP" (must be named as such) directory:
--- Install it in XMB via the "Settings" XMB menu, and then select the "System Update" option, and then;
--- Select the "Update from storage media" option whilst having the "Turn system off automatically after update" option unchecked, providing that the option is there, then follow the instructions from there.

Part 2.1: Rolling Back to CEX

- Having installed the official DEX 3.55 firmware now, Use mM again, but this time, use the original CEX flash dump, and select it in order to change the TargetID back to the original TargetID (mine was 87 = CEX-UK)
- Exit mM and returning to the XMB by pressing the PS button, and select "Quit Game", and then from there, restart the system by:
--- Selecting the "Users" menu in XMB, selecting "Turn Off System", then selecting "Yes" after you have selected "Turn Off System".
--- Pressing the <POWER> button on the PS3 after it has been shut down.

Part 2.2: Installing CEX Firmware

- Having the KMEAW 3.55 (CEX) firmware PUP on a USB memory dongle in the "USB:\PS3\UPDATE\PS3UPDAT.PUP" (must be named as such) directory:
--- Install it in XMB via the "Settings" XMB menu, then select the "System Update" option, and then;
--- Select the "Update from storage media" whilst having the "Turn system off automatically after update" option unchecked, providing that the option is there, and then follow the instructions from there.

To summarize, I had to restart my PS3 every time I had to install the firmware after the TargetID changeover and I had to install it via XMB, as it was safe enough for me to do so.

Also, to successfully revert back to CEX, make sure your console is QA-flagged, you're using the newer mM versions (CEX VERSIONS ONLY, otherwise you'll get an error) as the flash-writing capabilities are improved, AND as a safety precaution (nobody says this in their tutorials, but I do it anyway as a safety precaution), make sure you install/have already installed the official DEX 3.55 firmware WITHOUT the Downgrade Support before going back to CEX.

USEFUL LINKS:
RedBeezley's CEX > DEX Tutorial - BlackCats Forums
CEX-to-DEX-to-CEX Information Survey - PS3Crunch
EXCLUSIVE: C2D v2 (PS3 Flash Patcher) - Now Allows Users to Modify TargetID Settings - PS3Crunch

Special thanks go to deank, aldostools, redbeezley (@ BlackCats Forums), Rogero, acab, zadow28, flat_z and everyone else for making the process possible/easy.

[zhoick]

Hi gDrive. I have three questions, would you kindly explain for me.
First, during the process to install DEX firmware, do I have to install it from recovery mode to be more secured?
Second, When I want to convert back from DEX to CEX, QA Flagged has to be done once when on CEX or I have to do it again on DEX before back to CEX?
Third, Which one is more secure FSM mode or QA Flagged mode when I want to convert back to CEX. Since actually I hesitate to do the FSM that it will wiped my HDD.

Thanks before

[jawgee]

I'll be the first n00b to ask...why would I want to convert to DEX? What advantages does it have over other current methods of playing backups/homebrew? If it does have advantages, why would I want to roll back to CEX?

Thanks!

[gDrive]

Hi gDrive. I have three questions, would you kindly explain for me.
First, during the process to install DEX firmware, do I have to install it from recovery mode to be more secured?
Second, When I want to convert back from DEX to CEX, QA Flagged has to be done once when on CEX or I have to do it again on DEX before back to CEX?
Third, Which one is more secure FSM mode or QA Flagged mode when I want to convert back to CEX. Since actually I hesitate to do the FSM that it will wiped my HDD.

Thanks before

1. You don't have to install it from recovery mode if you don't want to, you can simply install it via XMB, but however, I haven't tried installing DEX firmware from recovery mode so I don't know fully and installing DEX firmware via XMB isn't an issue; it's when going back to CEX firmware that usually triggers a soft-brick.

2. QA-flagging HAS to be done on CEX, and you only need to install Toggle QA and execute it whilst on CEX

3. The QA-flag route is obviously the more convenient route and thee FSM route is, according to some, safer, but you do end up losing everything on your HDD.

I'll be the first n00b to ask...why would I want to convert to DEX? What advantages does it have over other current methods of playing backups/homebrew? If it does have advantages, why would I want to roll back to CEX?

Thanks!

Pros:
- Allows you to keep homebrew whilst playing the latest games
- Allows you to go back and forth between different firmware revisions (3.55 to 4.21 or later and back again)
- Allows you to play the latest game backups if there's an update for them (now simplified thanks to FreePlay) and play older game backups on newer firmware versions (simplified thanks to the DATeam)

Cons:
- Blu-ray movie playback is disabled until you roll-back to CEX
- Some may feel that it is too much of a mind-fuck to play the latest game backups without scene-released fixes

[jawgee]

...
Cons:
- Blu-ray movie playback is disabled until you roll-back to CEX
- Some may feel that it is too much of a mind-fuck to play the latest game backups without scene-released fixes

Thanks for the breakdown, gDrive. This mind-fuck that you speak of, is there any way to reduce this in some way in the foreseeable future, perhaps through some further mM magic as perpetrated by DeanK?

[zhoick]

To gDrive thanks for the explanation. For jawgee, today multiman 04.05.04 Dex appears which contain much improvement, although proDG is still needed. But, I expect in the near future everything will be easier; for playing games as well as for converting from C2D-D2C

[gDrive]

Thanks for the breakdown, gDrive. This mind-fuck that you speak of, is there any way to reduce this in some way in the foreseeable future, perhaps through some further mM magic as perpetrated by DeanK?

Deank/Aldostools have made this step slightly more easier once again with mM 04.05.04, and with the upcoming/needed mmDM v2 just recently, and Freeplay has released an Open BDEMU HDD Manager tool - but it's still a fairly difficult for some sadly, but yeah, by the looks of it, the backup boot-up process will be far more easier than it is now, provided that work is still being put in to this (and hopefully, N0DRM et al have actually figured out how to fix the latest games right off the bat so they can release those fixes on a day-zero basis).

To gDrive thanks for the explanation. For jawgee, today multiman 04.05.04 Dex appears which contain much improvement, although proDG is still needed. But, I expect in the near future everything will be easier; for playing games as well as for converting from C2D-D2C

No problem.

[Legion303]

Couple of newbie questions:

1. Are backup games playable via internal yet with DEX, or are they still limited to external?
2. Are retail game playable at all? I don't have blu-ray movies and I don't care if I lose the ability to play them, but I'd like to be able to play new retail without bouncing back to CEX to rip them.

[gDrive]

Couple of newbie questions:

1. Are backup games playable via internal yet with DEX, or are they still limited to external?
2. Are retail game playable at all? I don't have blu-ray movies and I don't care if I lose the ability to play them, but I'd like to be able to play new retail without bouncing back to CEX to rip them.

1. They're still limited to PS3Gen & mmDM/mmDEX (external) sadly.
2. Retail games ARE still playable, and you get to have the benefit of playing the newest disc-based retail games without losing homebrew.

[NeilJames]

Part 2.1: Rolling Back to CEX

- Having installed the official DEX 3.55 firmware now, Use mM again, but this time, use the original CEX flash dump, and select it in order to change the TargetID back to the original TargetID (mine was 87 = CEX-UK)
- Exit mM and returning to the XMB by pressing the PS button, and select "Quit Game", and then from there, restart the system by:
--- Selecting the "Users" menu in XMB again and then shutting down the system from there
--- Pressing the <POWER> button on the PS3.

I need some clarification with this step as I am a tad bit confused as to what you mean, exactly. The part where we go to "Users" and click "Shutdown", at this point, do we click "Yes" and the power button on our PS3s simultaneously or do we hit the power button on our PS3s immediately after we click "Yes" from the Shutdown menu? I am just unsure if this is a timing method so some clarification will be appreciated, thanks. Also, what is the purpose of this exactly, just curious.

Another thing, correct me if I am misinformed but isn't Rebug's toggle QA-Flag incompatible with NAND consoles? I think I remember reading that somewhere. My first attempt at CEX to DEX was following a tut that mentioned the QA-FLAG but I did not proceed because I read the the .pkg from Rebug was incompatible with NAND consoles. Again, I could have misread the info.

Regards,

NeilJames