PS3 Hard Drive Replacement

U

un_peacekeeper

758
un_peacekeeper
Hi everyone,

I searched the forums and didn't seem to see any related threads on this topic, so sorry if I am apparently deficient in my searchings. Or, blame that it's a friday midnight, so I am tired. haha :)

Anyway, I have always wanted to replace my HDD from my PS3, but never really needed the space for it. But slowly but surely, it's filling up, and figured that since prices have gone down so much, I might as well.

I have read over many pages of info concerning the drive swap, from tutorials to discussions whether 5400rpm/7400rpm difference is substantial, from buffer size to pricing. But I still have a worry.

If I copy all my saves to an external hard drive, or flash drive, I am going to copy them all back to the HDD no problem. But what about the demos and stuff that I have downloaded. The games and stuff I bought, I can download again from the PSN. However, there are limited-time demos, such as GT HD, or GT5P demos which I cannot re-download again. So how will I be able to get those back again?
 
You wont.

There are ways to get those games, though. It ain't a simple thing to do. You must use your PC and have the exact address for the game(s) you want. Then, you transfer the game from your PC to your PS3.

http://zeus.dl.playstation.net/cdn/...0KntL1yuRot3clPmn.pkg?product=0083&country=hk

That's the link to the old Everybody's Golf 5 game. Use the PS3Proxy (use your PC as proxy server -> PS3) to download. Do a Google on PS3Proxy it will give you links to the program and necessary instructions. I have to admit the procedure is a bit complicated for common users. I never used it so don't ask me how to do it. You're on your own.

See, I told you it ain't easy.
 
What about just getting an External HDD and putting all your Music, Pictures and videos onto it then wiping them from the main PS3 HDD? That would save the demos and free up the space and also give you room to expand.
 
I hear its fairly easy. The PS3 has a function to copy all, they say ALL the files to external or USB.. whatever fits you. Once you switch, reformat. then just put all the files you had to the new HDD.
 
NoxNoctis Umbra
I hear its fairly easy. The PS3 has a function to copy all, they say ALL the files to external or USB.. whatever fits you. Once you switch, reformat. then just put all the files you had to the new HDD.
Click to expand...

But it doesn't copy the demos, only saves, music, videos and pictures. If he goes down the rout of a new internal HDD he will need to re-download the demos, but if he goes external everything is fine. Plus the copy all sometimes kills the saves (so ive heard) so a manual back up is better.
 
Sprite
But it doesn't copy the demos, only saves, music, videos and pictures. If he goes down the rout of a new internal HDD he will need to re-download the demos, but if he goes external everything is fine. Plus the copy all sometimes kills the saves (so ive heard) so a manual back up is better.
Click to expand...

Not quite right, if you have an external hard drive you can use the backup function on the PS3 to copy over everything (and I do mean everything). Then pop in the new internal HDD, format the new drive and use the restore tool to copy everything back from the external HDD to your new internal drive.

I used exactly this method when I put a 160gig internal HDD drive in my PS3, after the restore the only thing I had to do was put my theme back. All my music, movie and pictures files, saves, game data and demos were backed up and restored perfectly.

If you have access to an external FAT32 HDD then its very easy to do and you don't have to re-download any of your data.


Regards

Scaff
 
Scaff
Not quite right, if you have an external hard drive you can use the backup function on the PS3 to copy over everything (and I do mean everything). Then pop in the new internal HDD, format the new drive and use the restore tool to copy everything back from the external HDD to your new internal drive.

I used exactly this method when I put a 160gig internal HDD drive in my PS3, after the restore the only thing I had to do was put my theme back. All my music, movie and pictures files, saves, game data and demos were backed up and restored perfectly.

If you have access to an external FAT32 HDD then its very easy to do and you don't have to re-download any of your data.


Regards

Scaff
Click to expand...

My bad, thanks for the info.
 
Very interesting. I didn't realize it was quite so simple to swap your HDD. I have been planning on doing the swap, but this new info has speed up my plans a bit. Next check, I'm buying a new HDD.

Scaff, check the Moderators forum.


;)
 
Scaff
Not quite right, if you have an external hard drive you can use the backup function on the PS3 to copy over everything (and I do mean everything). Then pop in the new internal HDD, format the new drive and use the restore tool to copy everything back from the external HDD to your new internal drive.

I used exactly this method when I put a 160gig internal HDD drive in my PS3, after the restore the only thing I had to do was put my theme back. All my music, movie and pictures files, saves, game data and demos were backed up and restored perfectly.

If you have access to an external FAT32 HDD then its very easy to do and you don't have to re-download any of your data.


Regards

Scaff
Click to expand...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!

(*cough* sry about that ^ - a little excited haha)

THat is incredible. I had always thought the backup features only the music/video and stuff like that but not demos and games. So if I can do what you said, absolutely incredible. Thanks so much for that. I would do +rep, but apparently I can't so sry. :lol:

...now i have to find a fat32 external hdd. I have a WD myBook but it's NTFS, and I don't exactly want to format that, stuff inside is...well, a little important to say the least.

Thank you so much for everyone's reply: whether the info is accurate or not, i am very grateful!
 
Scaff
Not quite right, if you have an external hard drive you can use the backup function on the PS3 to copy over everything (and I do mean everything). Then pop in the new internal HDD, format the new drive and use the restore tool to copy everything back from the external HDD to your new internal drive.

I used exactly this method when I put a 160gig internal HDD drive in my PS3, after the restore the only thing I had to do was put my theme back. All my music, movie and pictures files, saves, game data and demos were backed up and restored perfectly.

If you have access to an external FAT32 HDD then its very easy to do and you don't have to re-download any of your data.


Regards

Scaff
Click to expand...

Thank You :)

Now people in this thread will think of me like this guy >>>> :dopey:
 
Glad that helped out. I must say its a feature I was glad of, as I didn't want to loose my Japanese Everybody's Golf demo, so I was very happy when it worked.

Scaff
 
Glad to know how easy it is. I bought my PS3 off ebay used from another adult andhad already intended on upgrading from its stock 60 gig HDD to something bigger. Later that I ran across a 120 by Western Digital for $55 including shipping.I still have another question though so I'll just start another thread instead of stepping on this one.
 
you see....I have a 20gb, I got shafted hard by Sony's decision to keep switching SKUs. But then again, I have used my PS3 for so long, and WiFi for gaming isn't exactly stable, considering that I have my living room wired with Ethernet anyway. And I have like 5 external card readers around...and psh...the chrome strip, my PS3 is more unique! :lol: All subsequent PS3s will look the same.

Anyway, I just bought an enclosure for the 2.5" drive I expect to take out...so that I don't waste it lol.
 
I was woundering,if you put your old hdd into a external case,can you then transfer the info back onto your new HDD?
 
I have 3 questions....

If you use the backup utility to copy everything over to the new HDD I am intending to install does it copy over all bought games on PSN?

Once I have done the swap I have the original 60GB... do I need to fomat that on a computer to make it PC useable again?

Can you save PSN games to an external HDD and play off that when its plugged in?

Robin
 
kart racer
I was woundering,if you put your old hdd into a external case,can you then transfer the info back onto your new HDD?
Click to expand...

Not that I am aware of, you would need to use the backup feature, which infers that you need a third area of storage. If you don't have another storage space that can hold everything, maybe you can try moving all your media bit by bit onto your computer to reduce the size of the backup file. And keep it mind, something like an iPod can be used, if you don't mind syncing for a million hours after to get your music back haha.

Robin.
I have 3 questions....

If you use the backup utility to copy everything over to the new HDD I am intending to install does it copy over all bought games on PSN?

Once I have done the swap I have the original 60GB... do I need to fomat that on a computer to make it PC useable again?

Can you save PSN games to an external HDD and play off that when its plugged in?

Robin
Click to expand...

1.
When I used the backup feature, I was a bit worried that some downloads that I cannot redownload (i.e.: GT5P demos that I somehow want to keep despite having GT5P the real thing...anyway). But everything carried over, save games, installed data, music, vids. I dont think I lost anything.

2.
With the hard drive, you should be able to. But be aware that it is a notebook size (2.5") hard drive, so you would either need a special bracket adapter thing to get it to be used inside a desktop. Or use it in your laptop if you really want 60GB in your laptop....

What I did was put it into a drive enclosure and use it as an external drive. But a problem I encountered was that Windows didn't recognize the drive, XP or Vista. So I went on my Mac, thinking that PS3's OS is based on Unix, and Mac OS X is too, and 💡 it was recognized right away. Formatted to a FAT32 and I can now use it with Windows as well. You can also format it to NTFS thereafter if you want.

3.
No. You can however save it as a backup.
 
un_peacekeeper
1.
When I used the backup feature, I was a bit worried that some downloads that I cannot redownload (i.e.: GT5P demos that I somehow want to keep despite having GT5P the real thing...anyway). But everything carried over, save games, installed data, music, vids. I dont think I lost anything.

2. But a problem I encountered was that Windows didn't recognize the drive, XP or Vista. So I went on my Mac, thinking that PS3's OS is based on Unix, and Mac OS X is too, and 💡 it was recognized right away.
Click to expand...

1. Im not sure you quite understood what he meant. From what I understand he was wondering if he could just connect his new drive to the PS3 (via an external enclosure or something), use the backup utitily, then swap drives and "hey presto" its all there.

You cant do that.

What you have to do is use the backup utility to backup your current data (PSN downloads, game saves, themes, etc, etc) onto an external drive.

Then swap the old drive for the new one, and let the PS3 format it, then use the RESTORE function to restore data from the external drive onto the new drive.

Basically you need 3 storage devices (original PS3 HDD, new PS3 HDD and an external device to backup data).

Also.....yes when you make a backup, it backs up EVERYTHING....PSN downloads, games saves, pictures, music, movies, etc, etc.

NOTE: The external device MUST be FAT32, because the PS3 does not recognise external NTFS drives.



2. Just to add to this, you dont need a MAC to format it. Any good partitioning software (Acronis Disk Director Suite for example) can also detect the PS3 drive.
 
The next best thing to do it you dont have a third HD to make a Backup, is to copy all your saved game data, to and USB key, IPOD, or something similar. That way you dont lose your progress in the games you are playing.
Just install the games again once you have inserted the new HD to the PS3. Then copy the saved game data back to the PS3.
 
My 60 Gb PS3 Locked up about 4 months ago, so I bought a used one off ebay from one of those companys that rebuild them. Well long story short the 60 GB hard drive in the PS3 they sent was really a 80 GB hard drive. I logged into my old PS3 account and went to downloads and downloaded everything that was on my old PS3 from day one> Yes both GTHD demos can be downloaded if you downloaded it once.
 
H3rmaN
1. Im not sure you quite understood what he meant. From what I understand he was wondering if he could just connect his new drive to the PS3 (via an external enclosure or something), use the backup utitily, then swap drives and "hey presto" its all there.

You cant do that.

What you have to do is use the backup utility to backup your current data (PSN downloads, game saves, themes, etc, etc) onto an external drive.

Then swap the old drive for the new one, and let the PS3 format it, then use the RESTORE function to restore data from the external drive onto the new drive.

Basically you need 3 storage devices (original PS3 HDD, new PS3 HDD and an external device to backup data).

Also.....yes when you make a backup, it backs up EVERYTHING....PSN downloads, games saves, pictures, music, movies, etc, etc.

NOTE: The external device MUST be FAT32, because the PS3 does not recognise external NTFS drives.



2. Just to add to this, you dont need a MAC to format it. Any good partitioning software (Acronis Disk Director Suite for example) can also detect the PS3 drive.
Click to expand...


Thanks for repeating what I just said.
And...No, I DID NOT SAY YOU NEED A MAC. I said I USED A MAC to do it, and saying that default Windows does not recognize it. A partioning software might do it, but I did not try it. Therefore, a barebones Windows OS failed to recogonize the drive.

klondike
The next best thing to do it you dont have a third HD to make a Backup, is to copy all your saved game data, to and USB key, IPOD, or something similar. That way you dont lose your progress in the games you are playing.
Just install the games again once you have inserted the new HD to the PS3. Then copy the saved game data back to the PS3.
Click to expand...

Thanks for repeating what I said too! :)

nick09
At maximum the ps3 makes archives 4GB big.
Click to expand...

H3rmaN
ie....the max file size FAT32 can handle (2^32 = 4,294,967,296 Bytes = 4GB).
Click to expand...

Yes, however, my backup was roughly 12 GB in size. Thus, I believe it is perhaps made under more than 1 file, having the 12GB technically split up into smaller bits. The 12GB was compressed from 16GB usage on the hard drive.

---
I really do try not be cocky or arrogant, but I really hate how you don't read my complete post and reply saying that I am wrong, misunderstanding the question. I just answered it...come on.
 
Well its a litle confusing, especialy for poeple whom may not be computer geeks :)

The Internal HD in PS is using a Proprietary File format. This means you can not take it out from the PS3 and use it directly as a external drive for the PS3, or PC, with out reformating it first.

Windows use NTFS file format. So if you want to use the old Internal PS 3 HD, for windows you have to reformat the drive as a NTFS drive.

If you want to use the old internal PS3 HD as a external PS3 drive, you will have to reformat it as a FAT32 drive wich is the format the PS Operative (XBM) uses for external drives. With windows you can not format a HD to FAT 32 bigger than 32 GB in size, But you can use third party software to do it. Programs such as Switch knife and other similar software can do it.

There is a way to reasd NTFS drives from a PS3. If you install Linux on the PS3 you will be able to use a NTFS drive when booting the PS with the Linux OS. I wouldent recomend doing this unless you have at least a litle knowledge about how a computer operates.

Anyway it is not as complicated as it may sound. Swaping the Internal PS3 HD to a new one takes less than 2 minutes. Unless you have a lot of video, or music files you want to keep on your PS 3, just copy the saved games data to a USB key, IPOD, MP3 Player or something similar, then change the HD, and copy the saved game data back. That way you dont lose anything.
 
un_peacekeeper
Thanks for repeating what I just said.
And...No, I DID NOT SAY YOU NEED A MAC. I said I USED A MAC to do it, and saying that default Windows does not recognize it. A partioning software might do it, but I did not try it. Therefore, a barebones Windows OS failed to recogonize the drive.


I really do try not be cocky or arrogant, but I really hate how you don't read my complete post and reply saying that I am wrong, misunderstanding the question. I just answered it...come on.
Click to expand...


Can you please show me exactly where in your previous post that you said you needed 3 storage devices (original HDD, new HDD, and external HDD for backing up)??

Robins question seemed like he thinks you can do it with just 2 storage devices (original HDD and new HDD), nothing more, which is INCORRECT!

I was just clearing it up for him, that you need a 3rd storage device to backup the data.

Not once did you mention that, so dont go saying I am repeating what you said, when you didn't even say one single word about what storage devices are required.

As for the MAC OS thing, I was just ADDING to what you said, and explaining that 3rd party partitioning software CAN see the PS3 file system, even if the default Windows OS cant. Not once did you mention that, and if the guy doesn't have a MAC, then what I wrote would help him in formatting his old PS3 HDD without having to find someone who has a MAC.
 
OK, one more nuub question. can you do the backup file using your pc that has Windows XP?Hooking the PS3 to the pc.
 

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