INTRO
The first step is to get custom firmware, this has been outlined in other guides and is fairly easy (you MUST be on firmware 3.55 or lower.) For this tutorial I will be using 3.55 kmeaw (the best custom firmware in my opinion.)
DOWNLOADING MULTIMAN
Now you need to grab a copy of multiMAN, at the time of this guide the latest version is 2.0. You can find the links here. There are three multiMAN packages; the BASE package contains just multiMAN, the FULL package contains multiMAN and all the covers for the games (so they show the cover image when you select the game in multiMAN) and the MEGA package contains multiMAN, the covers and a bunch of themes which you can use to customize multiMAN's interface. You also need to get the BDEMU.bin, this allows you to run backups without running the Level 2 patcher every time you start the PS3, download here. Now you'll need to un-rar the files, inside the multiMAN rar are various files, the one we need to start is multiMAN ver 2.00.00 BASE/FULL/MEGA (20110507_200000).pkg. The other files in that archive are for different features in multiMAN that I will outline later as well as a special version of multiMAN for wutangrza's custom firmware. Inside the BDEMU.rar will be two files, one for kmeaw's custom firmware one for wutangrza's custom firmware; for this guide you need to use the BDEMU-355KM.pkg.
INSTALLING MULTIMAN
Alright, now you have everything you need, load those pkg files onto the root of a FAT32 formatted usb drive/stick and plug it in your PS3. Now you will need to use Install Package Files function in the game category to install them. Pretty straight forward. You will need to install multiMAN FIRST and then install the BDEMU.pkg.
CREATING BACKUPS
Now you should have a working multiMAN setup, congratulations! Now that everything works you can backup your first game. You can either use your PS3's internal hard drive or an external usb hard drive formatted as FAT32. To backup the game you need to start multiMAN (under game,) put your game into the PS3, select the game in multiMAN and press triangle and select Backup/Copy. It will ask you if you want to backup your game to the internal hard drive first (if you want to backup your game on the internal hard drive press yes) if not select no and it will ask you to backup the game on the external hard drive, press yes. Now it will backup your game, this can take awhile depending on the size of the game. NOTE: if the game has files greater than the FAT32 limit (4GB) you cannot play the game from the external hard drive, you can back it up (and it will split the files into pieces less than 4GB) but it will NOT play. If you want to play these games through multiMAN you must backup the game to the internal hard drive.
PLAYING BACKUPS
Okay, now that you have created your first backup, it's time to play! Start multiMAN, select the game and press X. It will verify the game data and quit. Now if you look what game is in your PS3 it will be the game you just selected! To play the game just press X on the game's icon (just like you would start a game normally.) Yay, now you're playing backups!
LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS, LOCATIONS
If you want to manipulate or copy your backups elsewhere you can find them on your external hard drive in the GAMES folder or on your internal hard drive under dev_hdd0 in the GAMES folder. In order to access the files on your internal hard drive you will have to use multiMAN's file manager function, which will be explained later in the guide.
TROUBLESHOOTING
If your backup does not work (black screen when you start the game) there are a few things you can try. When you select the game in multiMAN, instead of pressing X to start it, press [] (square.) First try fixing the permissions (this can sometimes be a problem) next you can try using the BD-Mirror option (this makes games like COD4 work) lastly if nothing else works look around online for a patch or fix. Some games require this, like Mortal Kombat. You can use this link to find whether a game works or not, and how to fix it.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
LAST GAME
In the multiMAN rar you downloaded earlier you probably noticed the multiMAN [Last Game].rar this is an additional feature that allows you to automatically run the game you played last in multiMAN. So, to install it you'll need to decompress the archive and copy the LAST_GAME_355.pkg to the root of your FAT32 formatted usb drive. Then install it with the Install Package Files function. To use this you must first run a backup from multiMAN, then when you want to play that game again run the Last Game application in the game category, it will automatically load the last game you played and you can start it from the game menu like you normally would.
SHOWTIME
To start showtime go to the video category in multiMAN and select showtime. If it is your first time launching it you will need to download it. Just start showtime and press yes for multiMAN to download showtime. Use the d-pad to navigate, you can search for the files you want to play or you can browse manually by clicking the PS3 HDD folder icon. Generally I would recommend putting your media on a usb drive (because it's easier.) To browse your usb click on the dev_usb000 (for the usb port closest to the disk slot) or dev_usb006 for the other usb port. From there you can select files and play them. You can adjust settings using the gear icon on the top-right of the screen. To exit back to multiman just click on the door icon on the top-right.
FILE MANAGER
To use the File Manager I mentioned earlier go to what normally is the users category and select File Manager. From there you can edit, copy, replace, et cetera all files in the dev_hdd0 and dev_usb00* folders. You cannot (and shouldn't) play with any other folder, unless you use something like Dev_Blind to make your dev_flash writable. I won't list the commands/actions here as they are built into the app. All you need to do it move your cursor over the Help bar at the top of the screen. To go back to the regular multiMAN menu click the Games bar at the to of the screen.
UPDATE
MultiMAN has a built in updater, to use it go to the Users (multiMAN) category and click update. It will check for updates and if there is an update you will have the option to update. Click yes and it will save it to the hdd or usb. To install the update you need to go to the XMB and install it with the Install Package Files function.
THEMES
If you downloaded the MEGA package you will have various themes to try out. To change your theme go to the Users (multiMAN) category and click Themes. Then find one you want to try and press X to apply it.
This guide is still a work in progress, thanks for reading!
