(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); i recently bought a ps3 on ebay and it comes with firmware 2.42 whats a better firmware to upgrade to 3.55 or 3.42. ive used 3.55 but not 3.42

3.55 custom firmware would allow you the most functionality including online play without updating to 3.6 and more homebrew applications and other things made for custom firmware.

another thing is i have the 3.55 kmeaw file thats the full size upgrade package. should i go to the original first or is it safe to upgrade via the kmeaw

Going straight to kmeaw should be 99.99% safe.

Update to 3.55 OFW first then update to kmeaw. doing otherwise may lead to a bricked ps3