Temporary vs permanent
Temporary vs permanent CFW
One of the most important distinctions on the PSP is between a custom firmware that lasts only until reboot and one that survives a full power cycle. Understanding it saves a lot of confusion when your "modded" console suddenly seems stock again after switching off.
Live CFW (temporary)
LCFW stands for live, or light, custom firmware. When you run a CFW installer such as ARK-4 or 6.61 PRO, it patches the running system in memory and boots you straight into custom firmware. It works fully, but the patch lives only in volatile memory.
- Active immediately after running the installer.
- Lost the moment the PSP fully powers off.
- Must be re-launched after every shutdown.
Permanent CFW
A permanent setup uses 6.61 Infinity to patch the boot process itself. Because the patch is reapplied automatically at startup, the console comes up in CFW every time with no manual step.
- Loads on its own at every boot.
- Survives full shutdowns and battery removal.
- Behaves like the PSP is permanently modded.
Which should you aim for?
Temporary CFW is a useful checkpoint to confirm everything works before committing. For day-to-day use almost everyone wants permanent CFW via Infinity, so install it once you have verified a clean live boot.
The standard guide deliberately gives you temporary CFW first, then permanence last, so you test before you commit.