How to change your PS3 HDD

2009-04-28 09:26:51

#1

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

Silly me buying the 40GB version of PS3 and now the HDD is filled to the limit

But it's quite easy to do something about just that, what you need is:

2,5" SATA disc 5400 rpm - I will be using a Western Digital Scorpio 500GB
A screwdriver
An external HDD to backup your existing saves etc

Backing up files
1. Under games you will find your saved data
2. Connect your external HDD
3. Press the "triangle"
4. Choose "copy"
5. Choose target to copy to
6. Repeat until all your files are transferred to the external HDD
7. When finished, turn off the PS3 and disconnect all cables.

Remove old HDD
1. On the left side there is a cover, remove that.
2. You will now see 3 screws, remove the blue screw.
3. Flip out a little piece of metal.
4. Push the HDD to the right.
5. Pull out the HDD, with the little metal piece, do not use force.

Change the HDD
1. Unscrew 1 screw from each corner, 2 on each side.
2. Remove the HDD from its cover.
3. Place the new HDD in the cover.
4. Screw the 4 screws back on.
5. Put the new HDD in the PS3
6. Push it to the left
7. Put the blue screw back in its place, and the cover.

Reload the saved files
1. Connect all cables.
2. Turn on the PS3, if it ask to format choose yes.
3. Connect the external HDD.
4. Go to saved data under games.
5. Choose the external HDD
6. Find your saved files.
7. Press "triangle"
8. Choose "copy"
9. Wait for it to copy the data from the external to the PS3.
10. Repeat until all files are transferred.

I have yet to try this myself but will do it asap when my new HDD arrives ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2009-04-28 09:30:34

#2

King_County_Downy: shitfaced; +2,791|6841|Seattle

Sticky?

Looks like some great instructions...

Sober enough to know what I'm doing, drunk enough to really enjoy doing it

2009-04-28 09:31:31

#3

Mekstizzle: WALKER; +3,611|6865|London, England

Yeah I'm thinking of upgrading, although I'm also maintaining my HDD by actually deleting the crap I don't need so there's always some space, but I'd like to be able to just keep all the crap and horde it just incase, you know like those crazy old people who live in homes that are giant piles of garbage (or Freezer7pro) - except in digital form (like Freezer also)

2009-04-28 09:33:39

#4

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

King_County_Downy wrote:
Sticky?

Looks like some great instructions...

Pulled it off a Norwegian PS3 forum after looking for a good guide for a couple of days, my translation might need some brushing up if a English speaking mod is up for it

Wat ... did I forget to stickey?

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2009-04-28 09:34:32

#5

King_County_Downy: shitfaced; +2,791|6841|Seattle

Varegg wrote:
King_County_Downy wrote:
Sticky?

Looks like some great instructions...
Pulled it off a Norwegian PS3 forum after looking for a good guide for a couple of days, my translation might need some brushing up if a English speaking mod is up for it

Wat ... did I forget to stickey?

You have been officially stickified!

Your English is fine brutha- Looks great!

Sober enough to know what I'm doing, drunk enough to really enjoy doing it

2009-05-28 15:28:30

#6

west-phoenix-az: Guns don't kill people. . . joe bidens advice does; +632|6633

There is a backup utility feature for replacing the HDD. You don't need to copy your game saves.
The backup feature will bring your movies, photos, music, settings, bookmarks, game installs, game saves, etc.
Some game saves cannot be copied from the game save folder, they are protected.
Resident Evil 5 is one you can't copy.
However, the backup utility can copy and restore it.

You can use a external HDD or a flash drive.
I only had a flash drive so I had to delete my music, photos, videos and some game installs and replace them later.

I used a 7200 rpm HDD and it seems a slight bit faster, can't say for sure though.

I purchased ($10-20) a HDD enclosure for my old ps3 hdd so I could use my 40GB ps3 HDD as an external drive. I did have to format the old PS3 drive before I could use it. To reformat the old ps3 drive with Windows XP so you can use it as an external drive put it in the enclosure and plug it into your computer. Right click on "My computer" and select "manage". Under "storage" click "disk management". From here you should be able to reformat it. I don't remember the exact options/settings, but it was easy and I figured it out pretty quick.

There are videos on youtube that show you how to remove and install the new drive. Note there are at least two different methods depending on when your PS3 was made. If you have your owners manual check it for detailed instructions on your model. Mine was different than the online videos, but it was easier once I figured out what to do.

The swap really is simple and I recommend buying the smallest PS3 you can and upgrading it. 80gb is not bad, but with demos, installs, photos, music, game saves, you end up sucking up a lot of space.

Its always a good idea to backup your game saves using a flash drive, and then copying them to your PC.
You never know when your HDD might go and lose all those game saves.

Last edited by west-phoenix-az (2009-05-28 16:02:17)

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2009-06-22 04:56:11

#7

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

Finally upgraded my PS3 about 1 week ago

Backing up files to external HDD - 1 hour
Switching HDD in PS3 - 15 minutes
Restoring files from external HDD - 1 hour

Now I have 500GB to toy around with, I used the WD Scorpio 2,5" 5400 rpm

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2009-06-22 04:59:43

#8

liquidat0r: wtf.; +2,223|6871|UK

Why don't they just sell them with 500GB hard drives? Surely it can't actually increase the price by that much ...

2009-06-22 05:08:41

#9

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

liquidat0r wrote:
Why don't they just sell them with 500GB hard drives? Surely it can't actually increase the price by that much ...

It can and it does ... a PS3 with a bigger HDD costs more than the price difference between the HDDs themselves ...

Besides when I bought mine the only version was with a 40GB HDD ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2010-10-25 07:06:20

#10

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6698|The Twilight Zone

couple of question Varegg. Do you know what file format is PS3's hard drive? And secondly did you try to connect PS3's HDD to your PC and copy files onto it?

https://www.shrani.si/f/3H/7h/45GTw71U/untitled-1.png

2010-10-25 08:50:32

#11

west-phoenix-az: Guns don't kill people. . . joe bidens advice does; +632|6633

Fat32, I think for external only though.
During install I think it formats itself.

Last edited by west-phoenix-az (2010-10-25 08:52:39)

2010-10-25 14:06:33

#12

unnamednewbie13: Moderator; +2,053|7016|PNW

It is FAT32. If I remember right, NTFS is Microsoft-proprietary, and Sony would have to either purchase the rights or use another.

.Sup wrote:
why did you try to connect PS3's HDD to your PC and copy files onto it?

I would just to back up my save games on the NAS.

2010-12-25 04:49:04

#13

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6698|The Twilight Zone

unnamednewbie13 wrote:
It is FAT32. If I remember right, NTFS is Microsoft-proprietary, and Sony would have to either purchase the rights or use another.

.Sup wrote:
why did you try to connect PS3's HDD to your PC and copy files onto it?
I would just to back up my save games on the NAS.

I didn't say "why" hehe

2011-01-03 03:25:40

#14

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

Eh ... a tad late perhaps but no ... I didn't try to connect the PS directly to the PC since I already had an external HDD ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2011-01-04 03:12:15

#15

Vilham: Say wat!?; +580|7011|UK

finally upped my hd to 320 gig, was a total fucking arse trying to turn my external hd into fat32, tried the cmd line method, "too big" tried swissknife which didn't even let me format that HD only my other one, finally dled FORMATFAT32.exe and fired it up from the command line.

Now ive never got to worry about my ps3 hd being full ever again

Btw eggy there is a Backup option under System Settings, which backups everything on your PS3 like game data etc.

Last edited by Vilham (2011-01-04 03:13:58)

2011-01-04 05:24:02

#16

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

Vilham wrote:
Btw eggy there is a Backup option under System Settings, which backups everything on your PS3 like game data etc.

Sweet, that's even better than just the save game files ... tnx

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2011-02-20 12:12:58

#17

baggs: Member; +732|6449

stupid question but;

does HDD speed make much of a difference for the PS3? i.e. 5400 compared to 7200 rpm? and cache too?

also;

is it actually possible to use an SSD?

Last edited by baggs (2011-02-20 12:15:27)

2011-02-21 09:22:18

#18

Camm: Feeding the Cats.; +761|5212|Dundee, Scotland.

baggs wrote:
stupid question but;

does HDD speed make much of a difference for the PS3? i.e. 5400 compared to 7200 rpm? and cache too?

also;

is it actually possible to use an SSD?

it would be possible to use an SSD, don't know how much of a difference it would make.

An SSD would come into it's own when you copy game data to the hard drive (or wait... is that xbox?), it would speed up game load times. But then again, you'd need a big ass SSD and for the price, that's just not worth it.

for a fatty you're a serious intellectual lightweight.

2011-02-21 10:29:48

#19

unnamednewbie13: Moderator; +2,053|7016|PNW

I've actually looked up some timer benchmarks on installation and loading. Loading's improved somewhat, but for the price I'd as soon save my money. I'd only recommend SSD if it had a larger capacity than your PS3 and was cheaper than buying a new one.

2011-02-22 03:08:25

#20

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7054|Nårvei

You can use SSD, 7200 and 5400 ...

But you will not get any better performance with a SSD or 7200 ...

As a comparrison putting a SSD in a PS3 is like hooking up a plasma TV with an old VHS

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2011-02-22 03:14:16

#21

FloppY_: +1,010|6530|Denmark aka Automotive Hell

Considering how much cheaper the 40gb PS3 is... this is actually a must-do...

Your thoughts, insights, and musings on this matter intrigue me

BF2S Forums How to change your PS3 HDD

King_County_Downy wrote:

Varegg wrote:

King_County_Downy wrote:

liquidat0r wrote:

.Sup wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

.Sup wrote:

Vilham wrote:

baggs wrote:

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