[thon0925]

firmware 2.51 should have the recovery menu, but once you upgrade, you cant go back. Since you are on 2.10 right now, it is possible to downgrade your firmware without a previous dump, which might allow you to launch the retail updates. I tried starting an older update on retail FW 1.51 and it launched (but did not install) and on one of the newer FWs, the update would not launch at all.

[OCMan]

but with the 2.10 actually on the demo firmware, it doesn't recgnize any of the retail updates , i have tried all from 2.15 to 2.52, all downloaded, all tested on usb and throught proxy, no way of installing it
on usb it doesn't recognize update data, on proxy it always fail before the end of the installation on the hdd. always locked at 81-82%

I really don't understand, even debug firmware is unrecognized by the update process.

Seems I need to wait that somebody hacks the pup file encryption to make an hybrid firmware with header of kiosk/demo and datas of retail to bypass all the checks.

If someone as an idee on something I can try to force that sh*t....

and what about the hdd swap trick? is there a way ( on linux I suppose ) to read data of the HDD on the computer so I can modify the files during the reboot of the update procedure?
( taking files from the update on my retail and put them inside the kiosk/demo before lauching the second phase of installation)

Also, I don't how to downgrade it as you seem to say it is possible. With the proxy trick??
thanks to enlight me on that, because I think I must go back to a previous ( 1.6 or 1.8 firmware wich won't check for validity of firmware the way the 2.10 is ( don't know if my sentence is understandable lol)

[thon0925]

The only way it seems possible to force it to install retail FW, would be to downgrade it to an older FW that doesn't have as many .pup checks, with Infectus. Its not a guarantee, but its the only thing that you didn't try yet.

[OCMan]

There is really no way of reading the datas on the hdd on a computer with linux?

I will do research by myself and keep you informed as soon as I manage to go through that sh*t....

First thing to try, reading content of hdd and trying to replace update files after the first reboot.
seems tricky but possible, just hope I can read the HDD on linux.

[thon0925]

The PS3s hypervisor blocks all access to the system partition, and even if you could edit the system partition, it will break the encryption signature, and make the update impossible to use.

[OCMan]

Your re right, no way to fix that.
I'am really in a no way now, don't want trying infectus on that working systems, too risky business.

If someone could post link to demo firmware, I have read that 2.35 retail and demos have exactly the same md5 checksum, there may be something to try there, but I only have the retail, If someone has the 2.35 demo, it could help me to light up some differences beetween them and try something .

So please, if someone has 2.35 demo firmware, please post or upload it, it may help !

Thanks so much to everyone.

[iguanajm]

i've got 1.93 FW on my demo box. I wonder if I'll have any better luck trying to convert over to the retail version.....

If i want to dump the 1.93 demo FW and post it up here, how would I go about doing that? That is, if you guys even need it.

[OCMan]

This is what you have to do : you must have 2 SATA drive identical for that.
Put a retail update on a usb key, go to system update => from storage, it will copy update on hdd then restart and ask you to press the ps button on the pad. DO NOT, POWER OFF THE PS3 WITH THE SWITCH.
Now put in the ps3 your second hard drive, and start updating with a demo unit firmware. ( the version must be equal to retail or near, example, if you take retail firmware 2.10, find a demo firmware 2.10 too). Do the update procedure, it will copy files to HDD, then it will reboot and ask you to press the ps button of the controller, DO NOT, just immediatly replace the hdd with the other WITHOUT powering the ps3. normaly it will make the update job alone.

Good luck ( it was impossible on mine because of the firmware the demo unit already had was 2.10 and it was protected against this kind of hack).

[iguanajm]

OK, so I guess there isn't a way to dump my demo firmware from the flash? I have demo 1.93 and I downloaded the retail version. I put this on a usb drive in /PS3/UPDATE/ I then tried to do a update directly from the system and it did not work.

I just thought of something...Is the directory structure on the PS3 case sensitive? Also is it like linux or is it like windows? The question for this is I used windows to create the directories, and that would be a \ (backslash). If it is linux then it will be a / (forward slash).

Here is another test I'd like to do. Borrow my friends retail ps3. Get 2 hd's and put one hd in my ps3 and one hd in my friends ps3. Perform an update using the "retail to debug" tutorial....maybe that will work??

[mdneilson]

I have access to demo disks, and here are my early observations very quickly. I will post more, and ideas for work-around retail updates, when i have more time.

One, demo update disks have a different file structure than for retail.
Retail:
./PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP
Demo:
./PS3_UPDATE/PSUPDAT.PUP

Two, I do have two firmware update PUP files that I will upload to Downloads>Firmware. I tried several times, only to have the server time out, or reject the upload. Also, could we insert a subcat for demo firmware too?

Three, I have access to a demo unit that I could test on. I do not, and cannot afford, an infectus chip. I CAN install one, so if some generous benefactor wants to send one my way for dev purposes.

Four, I have not had time to test any of the PUP extractors because the only linux-based one utilizes old libraries that I don't want to install.

More to come... toss and questions or suggestions my way.

Oh, PS. It looks like demo firmware releases are on a version offset of +x.x1 from retail. So, demo fw 5.50 doesn't exist. A quick hex evaluation appears that they are extremely similar to their cousins, and could be identical with the exception of the lock.