Upgrading PS3 HDD

[Unreal]

Hi,

So long story short I need to upgrade my 80gb PS3 to one of more substantial size but to be honest im pretty clueless on it. I dont have another PS3 available to system link so this isnt an option for me, im not to bothered about losing game data etc as I can just install again and download dlc again I only really am bothered about my game saves, trophies and psn account.

Can I just move all the saves, trophies and account info on to a usb stick and move them back over when done swapping? Will this work for copy protected saves?

Do I simply just slot the new HDD in and the PS3 will do the rest?

Will getting a HDD with a higher rpm cause any noticeable damage?

Im from the UK so if anyones knows of some sites with good deals it would be appreaciated.

Many thanks.

[xerodok]

So you bought the Playstation 3. Good for You. Now you have no room left on your Hard drive because you filled it up with content from the playstation store and music. If only you hav a bigger Hard Drive.

FEAR NOT! I bring you the best guide out there on removing and replacing your Hard Drive with a much bigger one that you will have plenty of space on.

I present to you:

The ULTIMATE ultimate guide to replacing your PS3 Hard Drive


The next installment to "The ULTIMATE ultimate guide series," by jg101987


Contents:

Section 1: Stuff You Should Know
Section 2: About Your Current Hard Drive
Section 3: What Do I Need to Replace a Hard Drive?
Section 4: Before Taking Apart Your Hard Drive
Section 5: Disassembly
Section 6: Re-Assembly
Section 7: Formatting
Section 8: Re-Transferring the Data
Section 9: Info



Section 1: Stuff You Should Know


Throughout this guide you will see several terms that you may not be familiar with:

Byte = The most basic unit of storage on a Hard Drive
Format = The process of deleting and restoring a Hard Drive
GB = Gigabyte
HDD = Hard Drive
PS3 = Playstation 3

When you do decide to replace the HDD, please note that replacing the HDD will NOT void the warranty

Section 2: About Your Current Hard Drive


The actual definition for a GB is 1,073,741,824 bytes. Sony realizes this and programs this into the PS3. However, The HDD company uses the common definition that a GB is 1,000,000,000 bytes.
1,073,741,824 bytes multiplied by 60 GB is 64,424,509,440 bytes, but 1,000,000,000 bytes multiplied by 60 is 60,000,000,000. The difference is about 4.5 GB which is why your PS3 says 55 GB when your box says 60GB.

Section 3: What Do I Need to Replace a Hard Drive?


There are only a few things needed to replace the current PS3 HDD.

Phillips Screwdriver
Regular Screwdriver
Hard Drive
20 Minutes

When you buy a HDD it must have the following specs:

5400 RPM
2.5" Mobile
SATA Hard Drive


Section 4: Before Taking Apart Your Hard Drive


Before you take apart your PS3 to replace the HDD, you must transfer any data you may want to keep.

Option 1: (recommended) Backup your PS3 HDD to another storage media
Option 2: Copy files to an external HDD
Option 3: Copy files to a USB Flash Drive
Option 4: Copy files to a Memory stick of some sort (60 GB model only)


Which ever way you choose, (this only applies to options 2-4) you may need to do several transfers from the PS3 to a Storage media, to a PC to get all of the data you want.

Section 5: Disassembly


Here are the step-by-step instructions on removing the HDD from the PS3:

1. On the side of the PS3, there is a small, black plate that you can pry out with a regular (flathead) screwdriver

2. After doing this, there is one screw in the center to remove

3. That will enable you to lift the small metal lever up so you can slide the HDD (and it's cage) to the right and pull it out

4. Now remove the 4 screws on each corner of the cage to slide the HDD out

http://www.ps3blog.net/wp-content/up...s3_hdd_bay.jpg

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/11/ps3manual_pg2.jpg

There is a video guide to removing the HDD here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B1mQ21XXLE

Section 6: Re-Assembly


Here are the step-by-step instructions putting the HDD in the PS3:

1. Slide the new HDD into the cage, and replace the 4 screws to secure it in place
2. Place the cage (with the HDD now secured inside) back into the PS3 and place the lever in it’s down position
3. Replace the screw in the center
4. Replace the cover
5. You may now plug in you PS3 and proceed to the next section

Section 7: Formatting


When you put the HDD in as described above, and turn the system on. You will see: "The Disk must be formatted"

Select yes and the following will appear: Are you sure you want to continue?"

Select yes and wait for it to finish. Once it is done you will see: "Format Complete. Press X to restart."


The system will then restart.


Section 8: Re-Transferring the Data


To re-transfer the data you copied by means described in Section 4, simply restore the HDD using your backup (in the settings menu, or copy from your other storage media or PC back to your PS3.

Section 9: Info


Please Note that the writer of this article is in no way responsible for any damage you do to you PS3.

Also, replacing the HDD does NOT void you warranty.

From PSN forums. Essentially all you need to buy is a laptop HDD and something to store your data on.

[Outlaw]

Nice guide. I didn't know it had to be a 5400 RPM drive. That kinda sucks.

[Tormentormike]

I've seen reports of people using 7200 RPM HDDs, and although heat was thought to be a problem, turns out it works just fine. Get whatever deal you can though, performance wise it's not too much of a difference since the PS3 is very optimized as it is (see 5400/7200/SSD comparison) along with a reliable brand and you're good to go.

[chiyio]

7200 work fine, I have http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148374 in mine.

[Isiolia]

I've seen reports of people using 7200 RPM HDDs, and although heat was thought to be a problem, turns out it works just fine. Get whatever deal you can though, performance wise it's not too much of a difference since the PS3 is very optimized as it is (see 5400/7200/SSD comparison) along with a reliable brand and you're good to go.

Though I'd generally agree - console games are built for the machine in question, so slow drives/etc are designed around - there do seem to be exceptions.

That said, a good size SSD is going to greatly increase the cost of the system. 7200rpm drives, however, are becoming more common for the 2.5" form factor anyway.

[Tormentormike]

I'm sure there are games, as mentioned GT5, that would benefit from the SSD. However, from that comparison I read I guess it was more towards PS3 oriented features, like boot time and what not, that showed the HDD speeds having very minimal differences. Guess I should have specified/linked the article. Can't wait for the day SSD are the norm though!

[Kaisha]

What would be considered a reliable brand these days anyhow? I've been out of the HD loop lately (neither my Seagate or Maxtor have yet to fail on me after four years), but I'm also in the market for replacing my PS3's 80gb drive (thanks GT5 -.-).

[Tormentormike]

Comes down to preference really. Western Digital, Seagate, some Samsung have been good.

[Unreal]

Thanks xerodox thats cleared a lot up except the copy protected saves, im assuming using the back up facility solves this problem? So I can just move whatever files from ps3 to usb to laptop and vice versa?

I have also seen some things on the net stating I need a specific firmware version ready to install or it wont work? Can I not just do it over the net with the fresh hdd?

[jmc]

Thanks xerodox thats cleared a lot up except the copy protected saves, im assuming using the back up facility solves this problem? So I can just move whatever files from ps3 to usb to laptop and vice versa?

I have also seen some things on the net stating I need a specific firmware version ready to install or it wont work? Can I not just do it over the net with the fresh hdd?

Firmware is saved internally to memory on the ps3, not the hard drive. So you should just have to pop in the new one, and it will prompt you to format.

[Unreal]

Firmware is saved internally to memory on the ps3, not the hard drive. So you should just have to pop in the new one, and it will prompt you to format.

Thats brilliant thanks very much, just got to find myself a good deal now.

[Kaisha]

Thanks xerodox thats cleared a lot up except the copy protected saves, im assuming using the back up facility solves this problem? So I can just move whatever files from ps3 to usb to laptop and vice versa?

Manick has said to me in the past that copy protected saves will transfer over to a backup, but will only restore to the same PS3 they came from.

Hope that is the case though as I got a couple hundred hours of playtime sunk into a couple games that are protected. ;/

[chiyio]

Firmware is saved internally to memory on the ps3, not the hard drive. So you should just have to pop in the new one, and it will prompt you to format.

I'm not sure that's true anymore, with the new firmware it's on the HD, not the internal memory I'm pretty sure. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't want the OP to get stuck. I think you need to copy the firmware to a usb stick or something.

I just did this to mine a few months ago and I'm pretty sure that's what I had to do.

[sruon]

It's still on the flash partition

[Shojin]

Manick has said to me in the past that copy protected saves will transfer over to a backup, but will only restore to the same PS3 they came from.

Hope that is the case though as I got a couple hundred hours of playtime sunk into a couple games that are protected. ;/

It's still true as far as I know. Only way to transfer locked saves to a brand new PS3 is via ethernet data transfer and that seems to be buggy as shit and decides to only work when it wants to.

[Unreal]

Thanks for all the replies think I will just have to back whatever I can up to a usb stick and see what happens when my HDD arrives.

[Shojin]

You'll be able to back up most saves and stuff just fine to the USB stick. Trophy stuff is PSN related and you can resync once the new hard drive is inside, as for accounts and firmware that is all on the internal PS3 flash memory, don't have to worry about that. You'll just have to re-download any PSN games/DLC/Demos/Game patches from the PSN again. You will lose any copy protected saves if you don't use the backup utility, unfortunately.

Actually, how big is your USB stick? If it is 8 or 16gb (maybe 4gb or a little lower if you are lucky) maybe you can try deleting all your themes, demos, videos, music, game data (installs, those are huge) and PSN games, and you might possibly be able to use the backup utility on to the USB stick. Just make sure the USB stick is FAT32 formatted.