PS4 Linux Tutorial

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External Installation - Method 2 (manual partitioning) ​

WARNING

Remember we'll format the external drive! Back up any existing data you care about.

This method involves manual partitioning. It's slower to do, but works flawlessly, therefore it's recommended if you have issues.

Get a Linux PC or VM (even a Live ISO works), or any program that can format drives in Linux's formats.

Then, plug in your drive, and use "GParted", "KDE Partition Manager", or "Aoemi Partition Assistant" on Windows to format your external drive like so:

  • 50MB of FAT32 at the start of the drive with an empty label
  • And a partition of the remaining space formatted as EXT4 labeled "psxitarch"
    • BTRFS works too, but EXT4 is faster and recommended

Now move your bzImage (and bootargs if you need it) and initramfs to the FAT32 partition.

Then, you will need to untar your distro of choice at the root of the bigger EXT4 partition, using this command:

bash
sudo tar -xvJpf ps4linux.tar.xz -C /run/media/YOURNAME/psxitarch --numeric-owner

Replace YOURNAME and ps4linux.tar.xz accordingly.

Launching Linux Rescue Shell ​

After that, either launch your payload with Payload Guest, or use a payload website to load them.

Payload website hosts ​

Change your target firmware (in the picture it's firmware 11.50). If it doesn't have any particularly append, it's for both Aeolia and Belize.

Do NOT use Pro payloads on non-Pro consoles.

WARNING

Use a 1GB VRAM payload for installation and first boot.

Afterwards, 2GB is recommended.

TIP

I cannot believe I have to say this, but remember that the amount of VRAM you allocate is taken from your system memory!

For example, for a 2GB of VRAM payload, you'd have 8-2 = 6GB of remaining system RAM! You aren't creating memory out of thin air!

Local payloads ​

If you so desire, it's possible to load these payloads locally.

In order to do that, go download them from the ps4boot repositories:

  • Install "Payload Loader" on your PS4 to load the payloads locally
  • Extract from the ELF folders, and rename the file to have a .bin extension instead of .elf, because Payload Loader can't load ELFs
    • Enable "see file extensions" on Windows Explorer or what you're using
    • If it doesn't have any particularly append, it's for both Aeolia and Belize
  • Remember to check sometimes to see if there's any updates

Booting up ​

Now that the storage is covered, here comes the moment of truth. You'll be sent to the Rescue Shell.

TIP

If you get an error, go to the Installation issues section.

You should already boot into the desktop. If it doesn't, run

bash
resume-boot

WARNING

Don't run resume-boot more than twice, or it'll crash the system! Do CTRL+ALT+CANC to reboot instead!

If it doesn't work check this!

If for some reason it doesn't work for you, run the following commands (thanks @gryoza on Discord and @bene4k on Reddit for this):

bash
mount /dev/sdb2 /newroot
exec chroot

You may need to do this at every reboot.

Finale ​

Go now, conquer the finale. Also, read the post-credit stuff.