sanity1123
Member
ADMIN EDIT: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Has not been properly tested. Single test/model tested: CECHA00 model
.How to get your PS3 jailbroken and have CFW installed while bgtoolset is down.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REQUIRES THAT YOUR CURRENT OFW IS ON 4.85 OR LOWER. If it is higher than 4.85 this process will not work. In addition to this, please note that all actions that you perform on your console using this described process is done at your own risk. There are no safety checks to see if your console if CFW compatible (like with bgtoolset) - therefore, please make sure that you have a CFW compatible. There are a couple of sources out there for you to know if your console is CFW compatible. For the sake of keeping things short, here is just one list: https://www.superpsx.com/ps3-jailbreak-compatibility-list-e3-2018/ but again, please remember that doing this workaround procedure is at your own risk. I am simply giving you the steps that I followed that allowed me to get this up and running without bgtoolset as to hopefully help someone else with this process while bgtoolset is down. I do not take any responsibility for damage or bricking of your console. Final words for the disclaimer. This thread assumes that you have a high level of comfort with hosting a web server, a high level of comfort with working with programming code, and a high level of comfort messing around with your PS3 to figure out what you have and decide what is needed. You also need to know how to update your firmware version on PS3. If you'd like some video guidance how the basic processes that I explain here, I really recommend this creator's videos; he makes great video's on PS3 updating and jailbreaking:
&
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get started. To check your current OFW version, you head over to the settings and view system information. On this screen you will see the following lines:
System Software
IP Address
MAC Address
Free Space
The important line here is the System Software version. If this version is 4.85 or lower you are good to proceed with the rest of this artcile. If your version is 4.86 or higher, please stop reading and do not try this method, it will not work!
Once you've confirmed your current OFW version, now begins the fun
There are a couple of things that you will need to download now. I'm going to list everything that we will be downloaded right here and mark it with a number (#number) so that you know which download I am talking about. This will just make the thread a little easier to read, but you need to keep track of the files downloaded and make sure that you are loading the right files onto your USB and from your USB.
#1: Flash Dumper: https://github.com/PS3Xploit/flash-dumper
#2: Flash Writer: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/f...n7-checks-for-hfw-factory-installed-fw.27673/
#3 (optional/recommended - if you are on Windows) Nginx for Windows: http://nginx.org/en/docs/windows.html
#4: PS3 Flash Checker: https://github.com/littlebalup/PyPS3tools
#5: OFW Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=cex
#6: HFW Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=hfw
#7: (optional/recommended CFW) REBUG Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=rebug -- I recommend REBUG for this process because that is what I used as my CFW; but this process should work for any CFW as long as it's 4.85 or higher; but I cannot confirm because I only used REBUG
OK, now that you've got all the links, let's go through them one by one.
#1 - this is used to dump your original flash. Should anything go wrong with this process, you can use a hardware flasher to possibly restore your console from a brick state. I am not an expert in this, and have no idea how it is done; but everything that I've read about jailbreaking your PS3 - this is the most vital step of everything that you need to do. You need to keep this file in a safe space. If you can upload it to cloud storage, that would be even better, but just make sure to keep this file safe and backed up. In order to use the files downloaded from #1 and #2 you will need to host a web server that can serve static files. My recommended choice here is NGINX - because it is simple and light weight. You can use any other web server you would like, such as IIS or Apache or anything really that can serve static files on your network. In my case, I used NGINX and it was easy to use out of the box. When you extract nginx you will see inside the nginx folder that you have an html folder. This is where you're going to place your files that you downloaded from #1 and #2. For the sake of making things a little easier to navigate here's what I did. Create a new folder called "dumper" and another new folder called "writer". Now you can place the extracted files from #1 in "dumper" and extracted files from #2 in "writer".
To run nginx, open the terminal or cmd at the location where nginx is and run "start nginx.exe" - this will open another cmd window and the web server will be up and running. To test this you can simply navigate to http://localhost on your computer. You should see the default nginx web page. Now to check that dumper is working, you can navigate to http://localhost/dumper/index_nand.html because you are running this on your computer you should see the following warning from the web page "You are not on a PlayStation System! All features have been disabled". This is correct, but you can click OK to see that the page loads. If the page loads that everything is a success.
PLEASE NOTE, you need to understand and know which system you have (a NAND or a NOR flash). To check, please look at this page: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/. If you have a NOR system, you will need to go to http://localhost/dumper/index_nor.html
Once you've confirmed that the flash dumper site is running and working on your computer, you can also just confirm that the flash writer is working too. In order to do that go to the following webpage on your computer: http://localhost/writer/index.html if the page loads, then everything is working correctly.
Now, first you will want to DUMP your FLASH using the dumper. You need to ensure that your computer is allowing port 80 connections through the firewall on your computer. Open a terminal and check your IP address of your computer. On windows you will run "ipconfig", and here you will see a line like this: IPv4 Address. Write down this address as we're going to use it on the PS3. For the sake of making the tutorial a little more readable I'm going to use 192.168.0.2 as my PC local IPv4 Address - yours will differ based on how your router is configured.
Now, before heading over to your PS3 - we need to check something. If you remember your OFW version, that's great, if you don't go check it again. Now, you'll notice that the dumper that we downloaded and are hosting at http://localhost/dumper/index_nand.html says that it works for OFW versions 4.10 to 4.85. For some reason, I was not having any luck with one of the lower OFW's so I upgraded my OFW to 4.80 - and this worked. So, my recommendation would be to go to an OFW version that is between 4.80 and 4.85. Go to link #5 and download the necessary OFW if you need to get your OFW on the console to a version between 4.80 and 4.85. My recommendation would be to stay as low as possible, so I recommend 4.80 still here. Once you've got the OFW downloaded, you need to make sure of the following (and I'm only going to mention this process once, as it's the same for all FW's that you want to install on your PS3); make sure that your USB is FAT32 formatted. Then, create a folder called "PS3". Inside that folder create another folder called "UPDATE". Please make sure that the folders are all UPPERCASE, it does matter! And then the FW that you've downloaded, copy it into the "UPDATE" folder on the USB drive, and once it's on the USB make sure to have it named "PS3UPDAT.PUP" (again, all UPPERCASE, it is important). Make sure that the file extension is visible and that the file extension is ".PUP". Now, that you've got your OFW to a version between 4.80 and 4.85, let's get started on the PS3.
Head over to your PS3 and now if your current FW is lower than 4.80, you'll want to go into the settings -> system update and from here you're going to select install "Update via Storage Media". This will use the USB drive. When you proceed, you'll see a screen that says something like "The following update data was found...." and it will list the version. Make sure that this version is the same as the one that you are expecting to upgrade too and again, make sure it is not higher than 4.85
Now, just follow the prompts and let the FW update. This process will restart your PS3 two times. Once this is done, you can head over to settings -> system information to verify that the OFW is at the version you want it to be.
Now that the FW is on a version that we need, we can now go into the browser on the PS3 and navigate to our locally hosted versions of the dumper and flasher. The first thing that we're going to want to do is dump our flash. So, as mentioned before, you have your computer's IP address (which in this example we're going to say is 192.168.0.2) - open the browser and perform a clean of the browser. This is recommended just to ensure that there are no funny JavaScript files or cookies lying around. So you're going to press triangle in the browser, go to tools -> and then from here there are 4 delete options. You're going to repeat the process for each, so click on Delete Cookies, Delete Search History, Delete Cache and Delete Authentication Information. Once you've cleaned the browser, we want to make sure that it stays clean, so we're going to get back into tools -> Home page now. And from here, set blank page as your home page. Press triangle one more time and go to exit to close the browser.
Now that the browser is clean, we can begin the dumping process. Before we do anything further, make sure to unplug your USB and plug it in again in the slot that is closest to the BD drive (CD drive). I had some issues with this, and the closest one to the optical drive seemed to work the best for me, so much to unplug it and plug it in closest to the drive (i.e. the port all the way to the right). Now you can open the browser again, and it will be in a fresh state. We can navigate to our dumper hosted on our computer. So press START and then enter the IP address of your computer and the following http://192.168.0.2/dumper/index_nand.html or http://192.168.0.2/dumper/index_nor.html (depending on your system). You will get a message saying that you are running X FW version and ask you if you want to run the JavaScript. Make sure to always say YES when asked to run JavaScript. Now, you can leave all the settings as they are on the page, and simply click on "Initialize exploitation". This will take a few moments. Once that is done, it will enable the "Dump" button underneath it. Click on this and leave the console as is, do not navigate away or anything. This process could take up to 25 mins, and it is vital that you do not lose power to the console (so if you have a UPS around, make sure to plug it in before starting the process). Just wait for the process to complete. It will take a few minutes. If it finishes really quickly, then the file might not be there, but it's still worth checking. You will see a green message saying that the dump is completed and you can check your USB for the dump. Once, and ONLY ONCE this is done, can you remove your USB and bring it back to you PC.
Now that we're back at our PC, let's check the USB drive. On the root of the USB drive, you should now see a "dump.hex" file. if you do not, please go back. Clean the browser, and start the dumping process over. You'll want to do this until you get the "dump.hex" file on your USB. For me, I had to do this multiple times, but I think it might have been because of the FW version that I was on. So, if you're also having trouble, maybe try going up 1 FW version at a time, but make sure to NOT GO OVER 4.85.
Now that we have the "dump.hex" file, we can copy it to our computer and make a backup of this file. Let's test the dump file using the tool that we downloaded from #4. In that download, there will be a file with the following name "PyPS3checker-standalone-package_2022-05-11_214232zip". Or something similar (if it's been updated). If the file does not have an extension, as in this example, then simply change it to have a ".zip" extension. Now you'll extract this standalone zip file and copy your dump.hex file into this folder. In this folder there will be a file named "drag&drop_your_dump_here.bat" here. You can simply drag your dump.hex file onto that .bat file and then a terminal window will open. Let it run and if you see something similar to this:
Total number of checks = 113
Number of dangers = 0
Number of warnings = 0
As long as you have 0 dangers and 0 warnings, then you have got your dump correct. If there's a problem, you can usually fix it by just following the dump process again.
Once we've verified that our original dump is good, we can now proceed to flash our console with the flash that will be used to install CFW.
The flash writer that I've linked from #2 is one that requires HFW 4.85 - go download 4.85.1 HFW from the link in #6. Once you've got that then you can do the same update process to update your console's firmware to HFW 4.85.1. Because HFW is an addition to OFW, you can simply run it on top of OFW (without having the console jailbroken). Follow the upgrade process, let it restart twice again as before and then confirm that the version is HFW in settings -> system information. Once you've confirmed that you're on HFW 4.85 - now we can go to the browser again.
This time, when we go to the browser, we're going to go to a different URL. This URL will be similar to the dumper one, but slightly changed as we discussed previously. Press START and go to http://192.168.0.2/writer/index.html. If you have the correct FW version installed, you will receive a message that says you're good to go. If not, it will tell you that you need HFW 4.85. Make sure that you select the correct flash for your console. The options are NOR and NAND. Make 100% sure that you are flashing the correct flash for your console. Confirm it again here: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/. Let this process run, it will give you a message once it is done.
OK, that's about it for getting your PS3 jailbroken without the bgtoolset. Just remember, that this is just a temporary work around and won't work for everyone; because you need to have a OFW that is 4.85 or lower to do this.
Once the flash writer is completed, you will now be able to install your custom firmware (like REBUG, etc.).
So what you'll do now, is go to your PC, download the CFW that you want to use and put it on the flash drive (USB) with the PS3UPDAT.PUP of that CFW that you want. You can then go to your console. Update via Storage Media and you should see the CFW version there that you want to install. Additionally you can also just add any homebrew packages onto your USB from https://store.brewology.com/homebrew.php?lang= in one go, if you'd like to install homebrew right after you've installed your CFW.
I hope this tutorial saves you some time, because I had to go back and forth for about 6 to 7 hours playing around with this, but finally got it working.
A HUGE THANKS to all the people on the PS3Xploit team for creating these tools. The bgtoolset really makes things a little easier for the user to get it jailbroken and get CFW installed, but all their previous work in this scene is still around, so if you're lucky enough to have a firmware that is lower enough, you can still perform these steps to get your console jailbroken while bgtoolset is being worked on.
The sources that I used to get all of this from are here:
https://store.brewology.com/homebrew.php?lang=
https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=cex
https://github.com/littlebalup/PyPS3tools
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/4...lling-ps3hen-on-4-84-4-85-4-86-4-87-fw.23094/
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/p...mpers-v2-0-1-now-install-cfw-from-4-84.23123/
https://www.ps3xploit.me/ - the current offical ps3xploit site
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/ps3xploit-net-down.37744/page-3#post-341909
https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/4.84_CEX - to check HASHES of the download OFW
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/u...0-2-fw-4-85-to-install-cfw.38791/#post-350010
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/f...n7-checks-for-hfw-factory-installed-fw.27673/
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/ps3-ofw-downloads-where-to-get.38869/#post-350636
- information video that goes through a lot of the concepts discussed here. Just used as a reference for the things I was doing
- information video that goes through a lot of the concepts discussed here. Just used as a reference for the things I was doing
- information video that goes through a lot of the concepts discussed here. Just used as a reference for the things I was doing
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/b...rmware-4-85-or-lower-no-problem.38895/#350812
.How to get your PS3 jailbroken and have CFW installed while bgtoolset is down.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REQUIRES THAT YOUR CURRENT OFW IS ON 4.85 OR LOWER. If it is higher than 4.85 this process will not work. In addition to this, please note that all actions that you perform on your console using this described process is done at your own risk. There are no safety checks to see if your console if CFW compatible (like with bgtoolset) - therefore, please make sure that you have a CFW compatible. There are a couple of sources out there for you to know if your console is CFW compatible. For the sake of keeping things short, here is just one list: https://www.superpsx.com/ps3-jailbreak-compatibility-list-e3-2018/ but again, please remember that doing this workaround procedure is at your own risk. I am simply giving you the steps that I followed that allowed me to get this up and running without bgtoolset as to hopefully help someone else with this process while bgtoolset is down. I do not take any responsibility for damage or bricking of your console. Final words for the disclaimer. This thread assumes that you have a high level of comfort with hosting a web server, a high level of comfort with working with programming code, and a high level of comfort messing around with your PS3 to figure out what you have and decide what is needed. You also need to know how to update your firmware version on PS3. If you'd like some video guidance how the basic processes that I explain here, I really recommend this creator's videos; he makes great video's on PS3 updating and jailbreaking:
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get started. To check your current OFW version, you head over to the settings and view system information. On this screen you will see the following lines:
System Software
IP Address
MAC Address
Free Space
The important line here is the System Software version. If this version is 4.85 or lower you are good to proceed with the rest of this artcile. If your version is 4.86 or higher, please stop reading and do not try this method, it will not work!
Once you've confirmed your current OFW version, now begins the fun
There are a couple of things that you will need to download now. I'm going to list everything that we will be downloaded right here and mark it with a number (#number) so that you know which download I am talking about. This will just make the thread a little easier to read, but you need to keep track of the files downloaded and make sure that you are loading the right files onto your USB and from your USB.
#1: Flash Dumper: https://github.com/PS3Xploit/flash-dumper
#2: Flash Writer: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/f...n7-checks-for-hfw-factory-installed-fw.27673/
#3 (optional/recommended - if you are on Windows) Nginx for Windows: http://nginx.org/en/docs/windows.html
#4: PS3 Flash Checker: https://github.com/littlebalup/PyPS3tools
#5: OFW Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=cex
#6: HFW Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=hfw
#7: (optional/recommended CFW) REBUG Downloads: https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=rebug -- I recommend REBUG for this process because that is what I used as my CFW; but this process should work for any CFW as long as it's 4.85 or higher; but I cannot confirm because I only used REBUG
OK, now that you've got all the links, let's go through them one by one.
#1 - this is used to dump your original flash. Should anything go wrong with this process, you can use a hardware flasher to possibly restore your console from a brick state. I am not an expert in this, and have no idea how it is done; but everything that I've read about jailbreaking your PS3 - this is the most vital step of everything that you need to do. You need to keep this file in a safe space. If you can upload it to cloud storage, that would be even better, but just make sure to keep this file safe and backed up. In order to use the files downloaded from #1 and #2 you will need to host a web server that can serve static files. My recommended choice here is NGINX - because it is simple and light weight. You can use any other web server you would like, such as IIS or Apache or anything really that can serve static files on your network. In my case, I used NGINX and it was easy to use out of the box. When you extract nginx you will see inside the nginx folder that you have an html folder. This is where you're going to place your files that you downloaded from #1 and #2. For the sake of making things a little easier to navigate here's what I did. Create a new folder called "dumper" and another new folder called "writer". Now you can place the extracted files from #1 in "dumper" and extracted files from #2 in "writer".
To run nginx, open the terminal or cmd at the location where nginx is and run "start nginx.exe" - this will open another cmd window and the web server will be up and running. To test this you can simply navigate to http://localhost on your computer. You should see the default nginx web page. Now to check that dumper is working, you can navigate to http://localhost/dumper/index_nand.html because you are running this on your computer you should see the following warning from the web page "You are not on a PlayStation System! All features have been disabled". This is correct, but you can click OK to see that the page loads. If the page loads that everything is a success.
PLEASE NOTE, you need to understand and know which system you have (a NAND or a NOR flash). To check, please look at this page: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/. If you have a NOR system, you will need to go to http://localhost/dumper/index_nor.html
Once you've confirmed that the flash dumper site is running and working on your computer, you can also just confirm that the flash writer is working too. In order to do that go to the following webpage on your computer: http://localhost/writer/index.html if the page loads, then everything is working correctly.
Now, first you will want to DUMP your FLASH using the dumper. You need to ensure that your computer is allowing port 80 connections through the firewall on your computer. Open a terminal and check your IP address of your computer. On windows you will run "ipconfig", and here you will see a line like this: IPv4 Address. Write down this address as we're going to use it on the PS3. For the sake of making the tutorial a little more readable I'm going to use 192.168.0.2 as my PC local IPv4 Address - yours will differ based on how your router is configured.
Now, before heading over to your PS3 - we need to check something. If you remember your OFW version, that's great, if you don't go check it again. Now, you'll notice that the dumper that we downloaded and are hosting at http://localhost/dumper/index_nand.html says that it works for OFW versions 4.10 to 4.85. For some reason, I was not having any luck with one of the lower OFW's so I upgraded my OFW to 4.80 - and this worked. So, my recommendation would be to go to an OFW version that is between 4.80 and 4.85. Go to link #5 and download the necessary OFW if you need to get your OFW on the console to a version between 4.80 and 4.85. My recommendation would be to stay as low as possible, so I recommend 4.80 still here. Once you've got the OFW downloaded, you need to make sure of the following (and I'm only going to mention this process once, as it's the same for all FW's that you want to install on your PS3); make sure that your USB is FAT32 formatted. Then, create a folder called "PS3". Inside that folder create another folder called "UPDATE". Please make sure that the folders are all UPPERCASE, it does matter! And then the FW that you've downloaded, copy it into the "UPDATE" folder on the USB drive, and once it's on the USB make sure to have it named "PS3UPDAT.PUP" (again, all UPPERCASE, it is important). Make sure that the file extension is visible and that the file extension is ".PUP". Now, that you've got your OFW to a version between 4.80 and 4.85, let's get started on the PS3.
Head over to your PS3 and now if your current FW is lower than 4.80, you'll want to go into the settings -> system update and from here you're going to select install "Update via Storage Media". This will use the USB drive. When you proceed, you'll see a screen that says something like "The following update data was found...." and it will list the version. Make sure that this version is the same as the one that you are expecting to upgrade too and again, make sure it is not higher than 4.85
Now, just follow the prompts and let the FW update. This process will restart your PS3 two times. Once this is done, you can head over to settings -> system information to verify that the OFW is at the version you want it to be.
Now that the FW is on a version that we need, we can now go into the browser on the PS3 and navigate to our locally hosted versions of the dumper and flasher. The first thing that we're going to want to do is dump our flash. So, as mentioned before, you have your computer's IP address (which in this example we're going to say is 192.168.0.2) - open the browser and perform a clean of the browser. This is recommended just to ensure that there are no funny JavaScript files or cookies lying around. So you're going to press triangle in the browser, go to tools -> and then from here there are 4 delete options. You're going to repeat the process for each, so click on Delete Cookies, Delete Search History, Delete Cache and Delete Authentication Information. Once you've cleaned the browser, we want to make sure that it stays clean, so we're going to get back into tools -> Home page now. And from here, set blank page as your home page. Press triangle one more time and go to exit to close the browser.
Now that the browser is clean, we can begin the dumping process. Before we do anything further, make sure to unplug your USB and plug it in again in the slot that is closest to the BD drive (CD drive). I had some issues with this, and the closest one to the optical drive seemed to work the best for me, so much to unplug it and plug it in closest to the drive (i.e. the port all the way to the right). Now you can open the browser again, and it will be in a fresh state. We can navigate to our dumper hosted on our computer. So press START and then enter the IP address of your computer and the following http://192.168.0.2/dumper/index_nand.html or http://192.168.0.2/dumper/index_nor.html (depending on your system). You will get a message saying that you are running X FW version and ask you if you want to run the JavaScript. Make sure to always say YES when asked to run JavaScript. Now, you can leave all the settings as they are on the page, and simply click on "Initialize exploitation". This will take a few moments. Once that is done, it will enable the "Dump" button underneath it. Click on this and leave the console as is, do not navigate away or anything. This process could take up to 25 mins, and it is vital that you do not lose power to the console (so if you have a UPS around, make sure to plug it in before starting the process). Just wait for the process to complete. It will take a few minutes. If it finishes really quickly, then the file might not be there, but it's still worth checking. You will see a green message saying that the dump is completed and you can check your USB for the dump. Once, and ONLY ONCE this is done, can you remove your USB and bring it back to you PC.
Now that we're back at our PC, let's check the USB drive. On the root of the USB drive, you should now see a "dump.hex" file. if you do not, please go back. Clean the browser, and start the dumping process over. You'll want to do this until you get the "dump.hex" file on your USB. For me, I had to do this multiple times, but I think it might have been because of the FW version that I was on. So, if you're also having trouble, maybe try going up 1 FW version at a time, but make sure to NOT GO OVER 4.85.
Now that we have the "dump.hex" file, we can copy it to our computer and make a backup of this file. Let's test the dump file using the tool that we downloaded from #4. In that download, there will be a file with the following name "PyPS3checker-standalone-package_2022-05-11_214232zip". Or something similar (if it's been updated). If the file does not have an extension, as in this example, then simply change it to have a ".zip" extension. Now you'll extract this standalone zip file and copy your dump.hex file into this folder. In this folder there will be a file named "drag&drop_your_dump_here.bat" here. You can simply drag your dump.hex file onto that .bat file and then a terminal window will open. Let it run and if you see something similar to this:
Total number of checks = 113
Number of dangers = 0
Number of warnings = 0
As long as you have 0 dangers and 0 warnings, then you have got your dump correct. If there's a problem, you can usually fix it by just following the dump process again.
Once we've verified that our original dump is good, we can now proceed to flash our console with the flash that will be used to install CFW.
The flash writer that I've linked from #2 is one that requires HFW 4.85 - go download 4.85.1 HFW from the link in #6. Once you've got that then you can do the same update process to update your console's firmware to HFW 4.85.1. Because HFW is an addition to OFW, you can simply run it on top of OFW (without having the console jailbroken). Follow the upgrade process, let it restart twice again as before and then confirm that the version is HFW in settings -> system information. Once you've confirmed that you're on HFW 4.85 - now we can go to the browser again.
This time, when we go to the browser, we're going to go to a different URL. This URL will be similar to the dumper one, but slightly changed as we discussed previously. Press START and go to http://192.168.0.2/writer/index.html. If you have the correct FW version installed, you will receive a message that says you're good to go. If not, it will tell you that you need HFW 4.85. Make sure that you select the correct flash for your console. The options are NOR and NAND. Make 100% sure that you are flashing the correct flash for your console. Confirm it again here: https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/. Let this process run, it will give you a message once it is done.
OK, that's about it for getting your PS3 jailbroken without the bgtoolset. Just remember, that this is just a temporary work around and won't work for everyone; because you need to have a OFW that is 4.85 or lower to do this.
Once the flash writer is completed, you will now be able to install your custom firmware (like REBUG, etc.).
So what you'll do now, is go to your PC, download the CFW that you want to use and put it on the flash drive (USB) with the PS3UPDAT.PUP of that CFW that you want. You can then go to your console. Update via Storage Media and you should see the CFW version there that you want to install. Additionally you can also just add any homebrew packages onto your USB from https://store.brewology.com/homebrew.php?lang= in one go, if you'd like to install homebrew right after you've installed your CFW.
I hope this tutorial saves you some time, because I had to go back and forth for about 6 to 7 hours playing around with this, but finally got it working.
A HUGE THANKS to all the people on the PS3Xploit team for creating these tools. The bgtoolset really makes things a little easier for the user to get it jailbroken and get CFW installed, but all their previous work in this scene is still around, so if you're lucky enough to have a firmware that is lower enough, you can still perform these steps to get your console jailbroken while bgtoolset is being worked on.
The sources that I used to get all of this from are here:
https://store.brewology.com/homebrew.php?lang=
https://archive.midnightchannel.net/SonyPS/Firmware/?cat=cex
https://github.com/littlebalup/PyPS3tools
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/4...lling-ps3hen-on-4-84-4-85-4-86-4-87-fw.23094/
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/p...mpers-v2-0-1-now-install-cfw-from-4-84.23123/
https://www.ps3xploit.me/ - the current offical ps3xploit site
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/ps3xploit-net-down.37744/page-3#post-341909
https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/4.84_CEX - to check HASHES of the download OFW
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/u...0-2-fw-4-85-to-install-cfw.38791/#post-350010
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/f...n7-checks-for-hfw-factory-installed-fw.27673/
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/ps3-ofw-downloads-where-to-get.38869/#post-350636
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/b...rmware-4-85-or-lower-no-problem.38895/#350812
ORIGINAL POST:
It has been a long long long journey the past couple of days, as I tried to get around getting my PS3 jailbroken/rooted so that I can install custom firmware and mess around with all the goodness that comes with CFW.
Just to set some context. I got a PS3 this past week from Japan. And wanted to play my old PS1 games from disc on it, but ofc the PS1 and PS2 games are region locked. So what can we do? Jailbreak the PS3 so that we can override this setting and have access to play all our games!
I had known about PS3Xpolit for quite a while (probably 2 years now) and had installed HEN on a slim model with great success. The bgtoolset was the key for me to get full CFW when I got a CFW compatible PS3 earlier this year. So, it was with great excitement that I knew I had all the pieces I needed to do what I needed to do. That's basically why I bought the NTSC-J PS3, however, I did not know the current state of the bgtoolset.
After searching and chatting to some folks here on the PSX-PLACE forum, I finally managed to get it to work, and now I can play my PAL PS1 games from the disc, on my PS3
I need a little more time to compile everything that I did to get this working. It was quite a challenge, but the very clever guys that have worked on PS3Xploit really did all the heavy lifting already; I just had to get some of the files here and there.
While bgtoolset is down, you can still get your PS3 jailbroken and have CFW install - PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING - you have a firmware on your PS3 that is 4.85 or lower. It has to be 4.85 or lower. If the firmware if 4.86, you will not be able to follow this tutorial.
I will post more again in the morning; it is currently 1AM here
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P.S. A huge thank you to @Coldheart2236 for pointing me in the right direction
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but I did just want to do this write up for anyone like me that could possibly help. I understand the risks, and I'm hoping that my thread makes clear that there are risks. I just wanted to get this down so that if I also need to redo it, I could 
