Install ChickHen R2 on your PSP

So what is chickHen?

ChickHEN is an loader for all Sony PSP models (1000, 2000 and 3000) to run homebrew apps on official Sony 5.03 firmware. Everything runs on the onboard memory of the PSP so there’s no risk of damage (unless you stray away from the instructions).  The current version of chickHen is chickHen-R2.
Update: This guide is sorely outdated.
Please refer to this new guide instead : Install Signed 5.03 Hen + 5.03 GEN-C on your PSP.  It’s much simpler to follow and will help you install 5.03 GEN-C and the Prometheus-4 module.

Important: If you have official firmware 5.50 installed, stop now.  You can’t install the chickHen hack which means you can’t install any of the custom firmware for your PSP (5.03 GEN-A or Custom Firmware Enabler).  As of 5.50 OFW, the TIFF exploit that the chickHen hack runs on is already patched.
Requirements:

• A PSP-3000 or PSP-2000 with TA-088v3 motherboard.
• A firmware version of 5.03 or lower. If you have anything higher, you can’t install chickHen.
• Download: 503.pbp | 503.pbp
• Download: ChickHEN R2 | ChickHEN R2

Update your PSP to OFW 5.03

Skip this step if you already have official firmware 5.03 installed.

• Connect your PSP to the computer in USB Mode
• Copy the 503.pbp to folder PSP/GAME/UPDATE
• Disconnect the PSP from USB
• Run the Update via XMB
• When the update finishes proceed to installing chickHen R2.

How to Install chickHEN R2 on your PSP

• On the Settings menu of your PSP’s XMB, do the following
  • Restore to Default Settings’ of PSP
  • Turn off UMD Auto-Start and UMD Cache
  • Character set to us
  • Revert theme for classic
• Connect your PSP to the computer in USB Mode
• Unzip ChickHEN R2.zip on your computer
• Copy h.bin to your memory stick root, this is where the VIDEO, PICTURE and PSP folders are.
• Copy the chickHEN folder (use the contents PHAT folder for PSP-1000s, SLIM folder for PSP-2000s and PSP-3000s) inside the PHOTO folder of your PSP (X:/PSP/PHOTO is the root of the memory stick, manually create this if you don’t see one)
• Disconnect the PSP from USB.
• Turn OFF (not standby) your PSP and turn it on again.
• Go to XMB >> Photo >> Memory Stick and wait (YES YOU NEED TO WAIT) an Options menu appear (Right Bottom)
• Hit X to open ChickHEN folder
• If you’re successful ChickHEN-R2 load up, you’ll see flashing colors, and your PSP will reboot automatically into ChickHEN.  Check your Firmware version and you should see :

5.03 ChickHEN R2

Easy installer for ChickHen R2

For you lazy bums out there, you can use these programs to install chickHen R2 will just one click.

• Download the installer for your PSP Model:
  • Download for Phat (PSP-1000): HEN for PHAT
  • Download for Slim/Brite (PSP-2000/-3000): HEN for SLIM/Brite
• Extract the zip file to your computer
• Run the included program (it’s an exe, but don’t worry, it’s virus free)
• Connect your PSP to your PC.
• Hit the install button.
• If you’re successful ChickHEN-R2 load up, you’ll see flashing colors, and your PSP will reboot automatically into ChickHEN.  Check your Firmware version and you should see :

5.03 ChickHEN R2

installer by ADePSP

Running custom firmware on ChickHen

After successfully loading chickHen, you can now proceed to run custom firmware on your PSP.  You can choose:

Troubleshooting

If you’re experiencing trouble (and yes, a lot of people are having trouble running ChickHen) try these:

• Go to system settings, and choose Restore Default Settings option.  Don’t change your PSP’s name from default.
• Turn off the Umd Auto load
• If you have PSP-2000 or PSP-3000 turn off UMD cache.
• Change the character set code to the US (437) or Multilingual latin 1 (850), this code are used for system access of some file types.
• Adding 1 to 2 extra gif images, copy and paste with name e.g. ChickHENe.gif, ChickHENf.gif. Its most happen on High Speed memory stick pro duo. Fake MS or Not
• Don’t use the chickHen folder other than for pictures used for chickHen.
• Try to use a different memory stick or reformatting your memory stick (after backing up it’s contents).