When used in reference to electronics, "brick" describes a device that cannot function in any capacity (such as a device with damaged firmware). This usage derives from the fact that some electronic devices (and their detachable power supplies) are vaguely brick-shaped, and so those which do not function are as useful only as actual bricks. The term can also be used as a verb. For example, "I bricked my MP3 player when I tried to modify its firmware." In the strictest sense of the term, bricking must imply that software error has rendered the device completely unrecoverable without some hardware replacement. If a software or firmware change can be executed to fix the device, it's not a brick. Brick may also refer to a power brick which is used to describe some external mains AC to low voltage DC power converters commonly supplied with many consumer electronics devices. It is called a brick because even with a unit with an appealing design, an OEM power transformer is generally supplied, and has a much less pleasing design - it is usually the size and shape of a brick. When these devices plug directly into a wall outlet (without an additional cord), they are also commonly referred to as a wall wart. The term "brick" is also used to refer to a particularly large mobile phone, referring to the analogic 1980's cell phones such as the Motorola DynaTAC which were the size of a house brick
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console by Sony, can become bricked and unable to restart completely. The main cause of this problem is the modification of the PSP. Software crackers have created a virus called Trojan.PSP Brick, which deletes the necessary files needed to restart the system. This has now been patched; by anti-virus companies and by upgrading the PSP System Software.
Another way in which a PSP may be bricked is during a firmware upgrade when its lithium-ion battery is not charged enough, its AC adapter is unplugged, or the device is accidentally powered off. It is paramount that the PSP has a constant battery life while being updated as the firmware is writing directly to the internal flash memory of the PSP. As it is overwriting previous firmware, the current firmware is incomplete and therefore cannot boot up. Some users have also experienced bricks when they removed their battery while running homebrews.
PlayStation Portables can be 'unbricked' by using a modified battery with the serial number 0xFFFFFFFF written to its EEPROM. Once modified, the PSP will boot from an IPL located on a memory stick rather than the NAND. In this way, a firmware or recovery application can be booted from the memory stick to restore the system.
There are also known cases of 'semi-bricks' where the PSP may function but hindered by abnormal activities (ex. screen not staying on).
I experience bricking my PSP once, that was when I'm tweaking the themes for my PSP. I download XMB themes to put in my psp, because having XMB themes in your psp is so cool because its no ordinary theme for your psp because it is really customize. Mine is like an apple OS like themes which has a dock menu at the bottom of the psp just like an Mac pc. But doing or putting XMB themes for your psp is not encourage especially if you are really into techie things like firmwares, because if you make a wrong move in tweaking the themes of your psp, it can be brick just like what happen to me. But for those who bricked there PSP, don't worry, brilliant people solve this problem. It can be fix by using Pandora Battery and Magic Stick. This things fixed my fully brick PSP.
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console by Sony, can become bricked and unable to restart completely. The main cause of this problem is the modification of the PSP. Software crackers have created a virus called Trojan.PSP Brick, which deletes the necessary files needed to restart the system. This has now been patched; by anti-virus companies and by upgrading the PSP System Software.
Another way in which a PSP may be bricked is during a firmware upgrade when its lithium-ion battery is not charged enough, its AC adapter is unplugged, or the device is accidentally powered off. It is paramount that the PSP has a constant battery life while being updated as the firmware is writing directly to the internal flash memory of the PSP. As it is overwriting previous firmware, the current firmware is incomplete and therefore cannot boot up. Some users have also experienced bricks when they removed their battery while running homebrews.
PlayStation Portables can be 'unbricked' by using a modified battery with the serial number 0xFFFFFFFF written to its EEPROM. Once modified, the PSP will boot from an IPL located on a memory stick rather than the NAND. In this way, a firmware or recovery application can be booted from the memory stick to restore the system.
There are also known cases of 'semi-bricks' where the PSP may function but hindered by abnormal activities (ex. screen not staying on).
I experience bricking my PSP once, that was when I'm tweaking the themes for my PSP. I download XMB themes to put in my psp, because having XMB themes in your psp is so cool because its no ordinary theme for your psp because it is really customize. Mine is like an apple OS like themes which has a dock menu at the bottom of the psp just like an Mac pc. But doing or putting XMB themes for your psp is not encourage especially if you are really into techie things like firmwares, because if you make a wrong move in tweaking the themes of your psp, it can be brick just like what happen to me. But for those who bricked there PSP, don't worry, brilliant people solve this problem. It can be fix by using Pandora Battery and Magic Stick. This things fixed my fully brick PSP.
