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Problems With Chick Hen for the PSP

Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released in 2004 with features new to a handheld gaming system, including the capability to play movies and audio, as well as connect to other gaming devices, such as the PS3. Many users have utilized its versatility to create custom content for the device, but Sony has often thwarted those utilities in an attempt to control software piracy. ChickHEN was a utility born in this climate as a compromise to traditional solutions, allowing users to run custom content without altering their device. Unfortunately, ChickHEN is far from a perfect solution.

Booting Problems
- Probably the most frequently cited complaint for users of the ChickHEN utility is getting the software to boot. Since it uses an image exploit to load into memory, ChickHEN is particularly vulnerable to a number of variables that can cause it to load improperly, such as load timing, fragmented system memory and system BIOS versions. While many users have posted possible solutions to the loading issue, the truth is that many people trying to load ChickHEN will have to reset their PSP dozens of times before getting the program to load correctly.
Keeping ChickHEN Loaded
- Many users have a problem keeping ChickHEN loaded. Because it is designed to be a memory resident solution rather than a hardware patch, ChickHEN will be unloaded as soon as power is lost to the PSP. This means that for this problem alone, you must keep your PSP in standby and fully charged, or you will lose ChickHEN. Additionally, many of the home brew applications that ChickHEN allows the user to load are unstable. When such applications crash, they often cause ChickHEN to leave memory as well.
Compatibility Problems
- Because there are several different models of PSP, each with its own custom firmware, ChickHEN requires different flavors depending upon the PSP you own. The version of ChickHEN used for the standard PSP will not work on the slim version. Since ChickHEN was coded for the standard PSP models, it is incompatible with the PSP Go device. Because of security changes Sony made to the system, ChickHEN will also not work on firmware versions greater than 5.03, requiring you to downgrade your system if you have a newer firmware.
Piracy Problems
- Despite the fact that it was designed specifically for completely legal home brew software support, several users have employed other utilities in conjunction with the ChickHEN software to allow the use of pirated images (.iso and .cso snapshots, for example) of commercial software. Because of this, Sony has distanced itself from those who use home brew applications and discouraged users from developing applications such as ChickHEN. The original developer no longer supports or develops ChickHEN software because of such concerns, making it difficult to find help or solutions when ChickHEN fails to operate properly.

Sony PSP