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.