PS VITA / PS TV VitaShell v1.60 - USB Storage Support for PSTV user's & New Theme in this anticipated update!!!

UPDATE v1.61 (03/18/2017): Small update to provide several fixes
(03/17/2017): The much anticipated release of VitaShell v1.60 that contains USB Mass Storage Support for the PlayStationTV (PSTV) aka VitaTV has been released. Also announced is the winner of the VitaShell Theme Competition, with the new theme available in this update. This update provides some additional tweaks and cleanup as PSTV user's will no longer have to see the battery indicator going forward from v1.60. This AIO File Manager for the Vita & PSTV continues to pack in creditable functionality for HENkaku users on Vita firmware 3.60. The full details of this update and also a history of logs has been provided along with some additional details from creator and developer of VitaShell, TheFlow.

New VitaShell: Electron by Acemad (Competition Winner)​

VitaShell v1.60 Notes Contest Winner (Theme) History Additional Details

• 
  Update (03/18/2017) - VitaShell 1.61 Changelog
  
  • Fixed database corruption crash by inheriting 'calendar', 'mms' and 'mtp' when mounting USB ux0:.
  • Fixed bug where insufficent memory dialog appeared on uma0:.
  • Fixed bug where pressing triangle crashed if unsafe mode was disabled.
  
  VitaShell v1.60 Changelog (03/17/2017):
  
  • Added ability to mount uma0: and ability to use uma0: as ux0:.
  • Added ability to mount game card as usb device.
  • Added possibility to refresh the livearea.
  • Added scrolling text for long filenames.
  • Added 'Sort by' option to context menu (R trigger combo removed).
  • Added 'Electron' theme by Acemad, the winner of the VitaShell theme contest.
  • Added theme selector.
  • Improved property dialog animation.
  • Fixed text editor bugs.
  • Fixed bug where USB cable wasn't recognized.
  • Fixed bug where VitaShell left to livearea after deleting the updater.
  • Removed battery icon in status bar for PSTV.
  • File statistics are now inherited when copying.
  • I/O operations speed will now be showed in KB/s.
  • Made control smoother.
  
  How to use an USB flash drive as Memory Card on a PS TV
  
  • Format your USB flash drive as exFAT or FAT32.
  • Launch VitaShell and press /\ in the 'home' section.
  • Select 'Mount uma0:' and attach your USB flash drive. You can now copy stuff from/to your USB stick.
  • Once 'uma0:' is listed under the partitions, press /\ again and choose 'Mount USB ux0:'.
  • Your USB flash drive is now acting as a Memory Card.
  • To sync all your apps on your USB flash drive, press /\ and choose 'Refresh livearea'. This will NOT refresh PSP games.
  • If you wish to revert the patch, press /\ and select 'Umount USB ux0:'.
• 
  Contest Winner: New VitaShell Theme (by Acemad)
  
  This theme was submitted in the official competition thread over at wololo.net, checkout other themes and submissions within that thread link
  
  ​
  via Acemad
  

  My third entry to the competition.
  
  This one took lots of effort / time to complete than I had imagined. Lots of experiments were made before settling on the final looks. Anyway, It's inspired by the flow of electrons through electronic circuits, it's not too dark nor bright, kinda neutral. Subtle and unobtrusive design focusing on the essence of VitaShell without too much unnecessary frills.

  
  
  
  ​
  More screens, info and download here : https://github.com/Acemad/VitaShell-Themes/tree/master/Electron Theme
  
  

  I recommend installing the theme and seeing it on a vita

  

  (screenshots don't do it justice)
  Working on this was a great experience !
  Thank you all and good luck !
  
  EDIT : Updated theme to support 12H clock format. Thanks to razneck for the heads up !

  

  
  
  EDIT 2 : Bonus LiveArea theme to go with this theme :
  
  

  ​

  
  More info and download from the link above.
  Thank you

  

• 
  
  History of VitaShell Changes:​
  
  Changelog 1.51
  
  
  • Fixed bug where 'Please wait...' was shown instead of a specifc USB message.
  • Fixed VPK installation crash.
  • Fixed bug where 'theme.txt' was always resetted.
  • Updated to newest libftpvita.
  
  Changelog 1.50
  
  
  • Added USB mass storage transfer support.
  • Added RAR archive support (by Mayoshiroi).
  • Added coredump viewer.
  
  Changelog 1.43
  
  
  • Added taiHEN config.txt reload option available in molecularShell.
  • Changed default HENkaku spoofed version to 3.63.
  • Fixed bug where you couldn't exit the application.
  Changelog 1.42
  
  
  • Added a brand new settings menu which is accessible by pressing START (design by WesleyPolicena).
    This adds the ability to disable auto-update and power options have been added where you can
    reboot, enter standby or turn off your device.
  • Fixed local date being incorrect.
  • The name 'molecularShell' will now be displayed if it's runned as molecularShell, otherwise 'VitaShell'.
    This will help differentiating the two applications, as molecularShell is from now on a safe homebrew
    and doesn't have the full range of features like VitaShell. Additionally in molecularShell you can see
    the HENkaku settings section which are hidden in VitaShell (note that both still share the same eboot.bin,
    only the flag is different).
  Changelog 1.41
  
  
  • Added ability to sort files and folders by size and date. Press R to switch sort method.
  • Added the long desired 'Properties' feature. You can also check whether an eboot.bin is safe or not.
  Changelog 1.4
  
  
  • Added group RW permissions on files and folders when moving.
    Safe homebrews like RetroArch will now recognize files and folders
    that you have moved from 'ux0:video'.
  • Added scanning for dangerous functions in packages.
  • Added possibility to choose compression level.
  • Fixed time information in zip archives.
  Changelog 1.31
  
  
  • Touching the screen on dialogs would abort the process, fixed.
  Changelog 1.3
  
  
  • Added ability to compress files and folders into a zip archive.
  • Added scanning for unsafe fself's and imports.
  • Added lrc support for audio player by Mayoshiroi.
  • Added partition used/total size information, thanks to littlebalup.
  • Added 'Install folder' by soarqin.
  Changelog 1.2
  
  
  • Added ability to export photo and music files ('More' -> 'Export media').
  • Added battery percentage to system information (thanks to littlebalup).
  • Added toolbox where more features will have place, by theorywrong (press START).
  • Improved stability for file browser delete operation.
  • Pressing L in the music player will now restart the song if the song is not at the beginning.
  • VitaShell will now remove the unused updater bubble after successful updating.
  Changelog 1.1
  
  
  • Added cover.jpg and folder.jpg as alternative cover image.
  • Fixed ID3 tag parsing.
  • Play and pause icons where swapped, fixed.
  • FTP does now show 'Please wait...' until it has been connected to Wi-Fi.
  Changelog 0.95
  
  
  • Added ability to install update files as .vpk (for Vitamin).
  • Added patch to make .vpk installation appearing as full version instead of test version.
  • Added text editor by BigBoot (WIP).
  • Added 'More' entry to the context menu.
  • Added 'Install all' feature to install all packages available in the folder (by ribbid987).
  • Added 'Calculate SHA1' feature by xerpia64.
  • Added support for ftp promoting for https://github.com/soywiz/vitaorganizer.
  • Fixed 'Move' operation. Now it does integrate into folders and replace files.
  • Dropped GENERAL_COLOR, now all colors are adjustable.
  Changelog 1.00
  
  
  • Added audio player with .MP3 and .OGG support (Press /\ to turn off the display while listening to music. Graphics by Valle).
  • Added changelog to the VitaShell bubble (press /\ or hold the bubble of VitaShell in the livearea).
  • Added ability to resume to the directory you've last visted before exiting VitaShell).
  • Leaving to livearea or suspending the device does no longer corrupt an IO process anymore (while copying things you can now leave VitaShell and resume).
  • Improved text editor and added search feature to context menu (press /).
  • Fixed bug where copying to different partitions didn't work.
  • Fixed network update bug.
  Changelog 0.91
  
  
  • Added automatic network update. VitaShell will now notify you when there's a new update.
    You'll then be able to download it within the VitaShell application and it will update both
    molecularShell and VitaShell to the newest verison.
  • Added text and audio file icon by littlebalup.
  • Updated to latest libftpvita which fixed file size string > 2GB and added APPE command.
  Changelog 0.9
  
  
  • Added possibility to use specific background for file browser, hex editor, text editor, photo viewer.
  • Added files and folder icons by littlebalup.
  • Added charging battery icon by ribbid987.
  • Added sfo reader by theorywrong.
  • Added translation support for turkish (english_gb uses the same id as turkish, fix it Sony!).
  • Updated to latest libftpvita which fixed file size string > 2GB and added APPE command.
  • Fixed bug where copied files and folders of archives didn't stay on clipboard.
  • Allow auto screen-off.
  • System information trigger combo changed to START instead of L+R+START.
    System information can now also be translated, thanks to littlebalup.
  Changelog 0.86
  
  
  • Added dialog box animation and aligned dialog box y to make it look better.
  • Fixed wrong time string for files and folders. Thanks to persona5.
  • Fixed INSTALL_WARNING text crash.
  • Added default files creating.
  Changelog 0.85
  
  
  • Added customization possibility for ftp icon, battery, dialog and context menu.
  • Added random wallpaper feature.
  • Changed location of themes to 'ux0:VitaShell/theme/YOUR_THEME_NAME'.
  • Fixed russian and korean language support.
  Changelog 0.8
  
  
  • Added support for >2GB zip archives (dropped support for 7zip and rar though).
  • Added cache system for zipfs (faster file reading when browsing in zip archives).
  • Added possibility to customize the application's UI.
  • Added possibility to translate the application.
  • Fixed 12h time conversion.
  Changelog 0.7
  
  
  • Ported to HENkaku (support for renaming/creating folders and for analog stick for fast movement).
  • Added custom dialogs.
  • Added graphics by Freakler.
  • Added possibility to use FTP in background.
  • I/O operations can now be cancelled.
  • Removed misc stuff, shader compiler, homebrew loading, PBOOT.PBP signing, network host.
  • Fixed various bugs.
  Changelog 0.6
  
  
  • Fixed size string of files, again.
  • Optimized I/O operations regarding speed.
  Changelog 0.5
  
  
  • Increased homebrew force-exit compatbility and stability.
  • Added network host mountpoint.
  • Added ability to compile shader programs (use the _v.cg suffix for vertexes and _f.cg for fragments).
  • Finished photo viewer. Use the right analog stick to zoom in/out. Left analog stick to move. L/R to rotate and X/O to change display mode.
  • Updated to newest vita2dlib which fixed many bugs with images.
  • Improved 'New folder' by extending to 'New folder (X)', where 'X' is an increasing number.
  • Improved message dialog texts.
  • Limited filenames so it doesn't overlap with the size/folder text.
  • Fixed infinite loop when copying the src to its subfolder by an error result.
  • Fixed FTP client crashes and added support for Turboclient Android.
  • Fixed alphabetical sorting, finally.
  Changelog 0.4
  
  
  • Added experimental feature: Holding START to force exit homebrews.
  • Added battery symbol by Ruben_Wolf.
  • Switched to official PGF font.
  • Changed triangle-menu animation to ease-out.
  • Improved mark all/unmark all feature.
  • Fixed percentage precision in progress bar.
  • Fixed small bug in move operation.
  Changelog 0.3
  
  
  • Added translation support. See translation_readme.txt for more details.
  • Added move ability (only possible within same partition).
  • Added tabulator support in text viewer.
  • Removed 'Paste', 'Delete', 'Rename' and 'New folder' in read-only partitions.
  • Fixed size string of files over 1GB.
  • Fixed alphabetical sorting.
  • Fixed battery percent bug being -1% on PSM Dev Assistant.
  Changelog 0.2
  
  
  • Added ability to sign PSP homebrews.
  • Added sleep prevention when using FTP, deleting and copying files.
  • Added a scrollbar.
  • Added date and time to info bar.
  • Added correct enter and cancel buttons assignment.
  • Added some cosmetic changes.
  • Fixed crash when deleting marked entries.
  • Copied entries now still rest in clipboard after pasting them.
  • The application now cleans itself before launching homebrews.
• 
  
  • Release: VitaShell (A multi-functional file manager )
  • Open Source: Yes (Source Code)
    
  • Developer: TheFlow (Github Page, Official Twitter )
  • Requirements: A PS Vita / PlayStation TV / Vita TV running the HENkaku exploit on Vita firmware 3.60.
    
  • Mirror(s): via psx-place

Downloads VitaShell_1.61.vpk

Source: github.com / twitter.com/theflow0​

 

So I have been using this but trying over a 64gb flash drive keeps causing corruption using my 128gb stick. Anyone else have this issue? It works great for 64gb or lower. Space is no longer an issue. To bad TheFl0w banned me from his Twitter account for what I have no idea why.

 

I don't think I have a usb that's smaller than 64GBs. the one that's 64GBs, was the fastest on the market when I had money, is being used by my mom for some movies she wanted to see on the media player I gave her. anyway, I can't help u there, but iirc, the psp was able to use memory sticks up to a terabyte, so I'm sure sony had that sort of thing in mind with those memory cards. can u imagine the cost of a 1TB memory card if they existed?

 

I've mounted my 500gb hdd & thats working great. My problem now is when I push select to activate file transfer I get the message "USB connection is not available on this device" Can anybody please shed some light on this please?

......my bad, I should of just looked in the options. all sorted......face palm

 

I've mounted my 500gb hdd & thats working great. My problem now is when I push select to activate file transfer I get the message "USB connection is not available on this device" Can anybody please shed some light on this please?

......my bad, I should of just looked in the options. all sorted......face palm

Sweet. good to hear larger drives are working, after atreyu187s comment I was thinking it might be limited to memory stick sizes.

 

VitaShell v1.61
TheOfficialFloW released this 7 hours ago
Changelog 1.61

• Fixed database corruption crash by inheriting 'calendar', 'mms' and 'mtp' when mounting USB ux0:.
• Fixed bug where insufficent memory dialog appeared on uma0:.
• Fixed bug where pressing triangle crashed if unsafe mode was disabled.

 

Added update and also added correct theme,

Seems there is 'Electron SKY' theme & also the Electron Theme by Acemod. We had the SKY version up recently but the winner is the "Electron", which both are great version but i think i might prefer the the SKY version myself.

 

Not sure but the new update seems to fix my issue I had I have a 1 terabyte hard drive working perfectly fine

 

Curious didnt see anywhere in release notes but is using the external storage option a semi permanen or is it a soft mod? Guess what i mean is do i have to re mount every reboot? Does the pstv suffer from the sleep bug that was in the vita?

 

It works great for 64gb or lower.

What file system is your 64GB? FAT or exFAT? I'm still facing some errors, and trying to figure out best config.

 

What file system is your 64GB? FAT or exFAT? I'm still facing some errors, and trying to figure out best config.

Well my 500gb HDD is exfat but the 64gb USB stick was fat32. They aren't clear about that as just fat will not work

 

I have played around it last evening. I found that slow memory card readers and/or mass storages making this mod pointless as everything goes unstable (i.e random disconnections). But when I attach my middle quality pendrive directly to USB port everything start be ok. So conclusion is simple: use always possible highest quality stuff and every problems will perish. At least in my case.

I have used MBR with FAT32, 8K clusters. Anyone try it with exFAT or TexFAT?

I found also bug in VitaShell, after using VitaRW, VitaShell cannot make new folders, rename files (it will freeze and user only can kill it via PS Button and after that circle), also hangs on "uma0:/". Didn't try any other options from context menu. I found it just because I fighting with whitelists. ;p

 

I prefer to use a hdd to a pendrive for obvious reasons. I've not had any issues so far. Just wanted to ask which is the best whitelist to use?

 

I HIGHLY suggest exfat only. Your issues will be gone as it is the native file system for the Vita. I'm using a 500gb USB drive in exfat and everything works. I simply disconnect from PSTV to my PC and transfer over VPK via USB hook back up and mount. Fat32 has been nothing but a PITA. I also suggest a powered USB hub if using a HDD without its own dedicated power supply. Using exfat allowed me to copy my modded VPK files like my God of War HAD mod where I used the video from the PS3 version since the Vita videos are of such low quality but that was done as there is a 4gb cap on official Vita game carts. I was also able to install a 12gb VPK of RetroArch with ROMs, art, cheats and all in one simple install. Also the FTP VPK apps work great as well. Loaded up 200gb and left it over night and awoke to them all working just fine and dandy.

 

@atreyu187 "I also suggest a powered USB hub if using a HDD without its own dedicated power supply."

Can go in to a little detail on what you experianced with the non dedicated HDD.

Thanks

 

Amazing progress awesome to see usb hdd support
something that sony shouldve done from day one

I loved my ps vita but the memory card is just a huge pain

Managed to buy a ps tv the other day on a low fw at a reasonable price
ive been sending messages on ebay to various sellers luckily got one good reply then i bought it straight away
there were other places cheaper but then I was not guaranteed which fw it would be on

So cant wait to get it and try this new stuff out

 

mounting usb as ux0 is permanent (usb is still mounted as ux0 after restart/turn on)? if yes, what if we need to connect dualshock in extreme cases, for example db crash or if we restore default settings, and after restart we need to connect dualshock, when usb is still mounted? pstv will boot from internal memory if usb not found?

regards

 

@jabbbar No, it's not. Cannot be permanent without CFW or kernel plugin remounting uma0 on start. So everytime You run HENkaku, You must run VitaShell and do mounting.

Use HUB. You will be able then have at once pendrive and joypad connecting.

ux0 is one of the partition, not the whole flash, so Your last question doesn't have sense. ;]

 

thank you for answer

"Your last question doesn't have sense"

my bad, i forgot that system files are not stored in ux0

regards

 

I HIGHLY suggest exfat only. Your issues will be gone as it is the native file system for the Vita. I'm using a 500gb USB drive in exfat and everything works. I simply disconnect from PSTV to my PC and transfer over VPK via USB hook back up and mount. Fat32 has been nothing but a PITA. I also suggest a powered USB hub if using a HDD without its own dedicated power supply. Using exfat allowed me to copy my modded VPK files like my God of War HAD mod where I used the video from the PS3 version since the Vita videos are of such low quality but that was done as there is a 4gb cap on official Vita game carts. I was also able to install a 12gb VPK of RetroArch with ROMs, art, cheats and all in one simple install. Also the FTP VPK apps work great as well. Loaded up 200gb and left it over night and awoke to them all working just fine and dandy.

Would you mind telling me how you formatted your drive exactly? I used the Windows format with default allocation size. I have this drive https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152200 and I am using a USB y splitter for external power and the cable works fine as pc detects it but Vitashell for w/e reason will not. Idk if im suppose ot format it a certain way or not. this is the Y splitter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HHK576/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1