HDD, Fat, Skinny, and then some:

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BubbleBelly542
I have a few questions about PS3 and HDD transfers with a few catches.

1)If I remove my 250GB HDD from my PS3 Slim and put in my old 80GB HDD from the fat PS3, will it automatically erase it and format it? Also, will the 250 be erased and reformatted when put back in?
2)If the fat PS3 broke as a result of something in the HDD going wrong, would it mess up the Slim? And could putting the 250 in the fat PS3 fix the problem if it was something with the HDD.
3)Would the systems even run the different HDD's?
4)Would you it be a bad idea to put the 80 in the Slim to wipe it?
5)Is there an another way to wipe the HDD?

I'd appreciate help. I've recently had renewed interest in PS2 games and want to get my old PS3 fixed so I can play them on it, but want to erase the HDD first. Thank you.
 
Okay I'll try to explain this.

Removing the HDD on a PS3 and replacing it with another, even downgrading the space, if I am reading this correctly, will automatically detect and format the disk. If you installed the drives properly, and I mean everything on the PS3 will go back together and look like nothing ever happened, then you shouldn't have any trouble in formatting the drives and start over.

Throwing what I just said out, if you seriously want my advice, make a backup of both PS3s HDD(shouldn't take more than hour, hour and a half tops per PS3) on two separate external HDDs and just buy a bigger HDD in the 500-750 GB range and put it in the PS3. I understand that you want to cut down on costs, but there is no need to sacrifice a perfectly good system just to get more space that will fill up quickly.
 
Sanji Himura
Okay I'll try to explain this.

Removing the HDD on a PS3 and replacing it with another, even downgrading the space, if I am reading this correctly, will automatically detect and format the disk. If you installed the drives properly, and I mean everything on the PS3 will go back together and look like nothing ever happened, then you shouldn't have any trouble in formatting the drives and start over.

Throwing what I just said out, if you seriously want my advice, make a backup of both PS3s HDD(shouldn't take more than hour, hour and a half tops per PS3) on two separate external HDDs and just buy a bigger HDD in the 500-750 GB range and put it in the PS3. I understand that you want to cut down on costs, but there is no need to sacrifice a perfectly good system just to get more space that will fill up quickly.

Don't want to replace anything here, just want to to know what will happen if I pull out my HDD and then put it back in. Will it erase everything (even though it's already correct format) or will I keep everything. Also, same question, but if I put a different correctly formatted HDD in from another PS3A, what would happen if I put the original back on after the other HDD is in?
 
It will erase everything. And I apologize for my attitude in my last post. It is a part of the PS3's copy protection scheme. That scheme is designed for upgrading HDDs and they have not considered the possibility(based on the spec HDD that you gave in the OP) of switching the HDD around. In the 360 you can do that and get by with it since it is a proprietary HDD, but since the PS3 uses actual HDDs for storage, it will be next to nill to swap around the disks without formatting them.
 
Sanji Himura
It will erase everything. And I apologize for my attitude in my last post. It is a part of the PS3's copy protection scheme. That scheme is designed for upgrading HDDs and they have not considered the possibility(based on the spec HDD that you gave in the OP) of switching the HDD around. In the 360 you can do that and get by with it since it is a proprietary HDD, but since the PS3 uses actual HDDs for storage, it will be next to nill to swap around the disks without formatting them.

Now how else could I delete everything off the hard drive?
 
1)If I remove my 250GB HDD from my PS3 Slim and put in my old 80GB HDD from the fat PS3, will it automatically erase it and format it?

Yes.


Also, will the 250 be erased and reformatted when put back in?

*Yes & **No.

* Yes, it will get reformatted IF you had already put it in your other PS3 and it got reformatted for that PS3.

** No, it will not get reformatted if you are just taking it out and putting it back in.

I used to swap drives for my old PS3, and it did not reformat the two drives I was using at the time, and recognized all the content on each one. However, I have not swapped drives in over two years, so this option might not work any longer. If I were you I would make a back-up copy first before you attempt to swap drives.


2)If the fat PS3 broke as a result of something in the HDD going wrong, would it mess up the Slim?

If there is a problem with a HDD that can not be fixed with various HDD repair software, and thus likely a physical problem, then it stands to reason you'll have the same problem.


And could putting the 250 in the fat PS3 fix the problem if it was something with the HDD.

Yes, assuming of course the problem is only in the data and or formatting, because when you put it in a different PS3 it will automatically reformat that drive, and thus delete all the data.

If the problem is a physical one, then no, reformatting a drive wont fix it.


3)Would the systems even run the different HDD's?

Yes, but if you move a drive from one PS3 to a different PS3, it will reformat that drive. If you are just swapping drives that have been formatted by the same PS3, then it most likely will not reformat them again - at least my PS3 did not when I used to swap drives for the same PS3.


4)Would you it be a bad idea to put the 80 in the Slim to wipe it?

No, but if all you want to do is wipe the drive, you can reformat the drive without even taking it out.

Just got to the Settings menu, and then the System Settings menu, and select Restore PS3 System. (click the link for more info)


5)Is there an another way to wipe the HDD?

Yes. Remove the drive, connect it to any PC (might require a SATA external case depending on the computer you have) and reformat it. This is also what you will have to do to run diagnostic software to try and find out if their is a problem with your drive.

I'd appreciate help. I've recently had renewed interest in PS2 games and want to get my old PS3 fixed so I can play them on it, but want to erase the HDD first. Thank you.

I'd recommend getting a PS2, they are cheap. Although the disc drive for my old fat60 no longer works, I never used it to play PS2 games any way.




Don't want to replace anything here, just want to to know what will happen if I pull out my HDD and then put it back in. Will it erase everything (even though it's already correct format).

No, you can remove the HDD and put it back without it reformatting the drive - or at least that was the case a couple years ago when I use to swap drives for the same PS3.


Also, same question, but if I put a different correctly formatted HDD in from another PS3A, what would happen if I put the original back on after the other HDD is in?

Again, it should not reformat the old drive as long as it has not been used in a different PS3.

In a nut shell, PS3 HDDs will only get reformatted if they have never been used for that PS3, or if they have been used in a different PS3.



Now how else could I delete everything off the hard drive?

Use the Restore PS3 System from the System Settings menu or from the Safe Mode, or remove the drive, connect it to any PC (might require a SATA external case depending on the computer you have) and reformat it. This is also what you will have to do to run diagnostic software to try and find out if their is a problem with your drive.


No matter what though, if you don't want to lose your data on any HDD, be sure to use the Backup Utility from the System Settings menu to backup your drive before you start messing around with it.
 
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Thanks for the help. However, for your solution to question four, it won't work because the PS3 won't even turn on. I don't think there's a even a red light when switched on and plugged in, so I can't access the drive from the PS3.
 
Thanks for the help. However, for your solution to question four, it won't work because the PS3 won't even turn on. I don't think there's a even a red light when switched on and plugged in, so I can't access the drive from the PS3.

If the PS3 wont even turn on, then the problem isn't with the HDD, or isn't just with the HDD.

The problem could be a bad power supply, or more commonly the problem is the dreaded YLOD which happens when the thermal paste between the CPU & GPU and the heat sink, or a connection between a chip and the motherboard becomes detached. This can happen over time due to deterioration of the solder each time the board heats up and then cools down - which is why computers and consoles that are left on (and kept clean from dust) will outlast those that are constantly turned on and off.
 
Thanks for the help. However, for your solution to question four, it won't work because the PS3 won't even turn on. I don't think there's a even a red light when switched on and plugged in, so I can't access the drive from the PS3.

If the PS3 turns on the light and trys to start beeps and turns off (without showing the red light) then it might be a problem with the HDD.
 
If the PS3 turns on the light and trys to start beeps and turns off (without showing the red light) then it might be a problem with the HDD.

In that case, he would still be able to use the Safe Mode which bypasses the HDD.

Also, most HDD errors wont make the PS3 turn off, as the PS3 can still run (limited functionality of course) without the HDD working properly. Instead you'll get an error message, like,

"The hard disk's database will be rebuilt." or,
"The hard disk's file system is corrupted and will be restored."

If all else fails, and he still thinks the problem is with the HDD, he can still remove it and put it in a different PS3 which will cause it to get reformatted to that PS3, or connect it to a PC and reformat it, then, assuming the PS3 is working properly, insert it back and it will automatically reformat it for that original PS3.
 
Well, here is how it died: I had been playing for about a half an hour, and all of a sudden it froze for about 10 seconds, the the screen went black. I don't remember what lights were on, it's been a few years since it happened.
 
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