Recovery mode found.

[wrcsti]

http://www.qj.net/PS3-recovery-menu-discovered-in-FW-2-50/pg/49/aid/125056

The instructions are inside and it works, I tryed it myself.

 

[nick09]

Options in English that I found in comments:

1. reboot system
2. restore default settings
3. restore database
4. rebuild database
5. restore PS3-System
6. system update

Hey it beats taking a ride to a shop.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Carried over discussion from a recent semi-related thread:

There is a menu to rebuild your database and reinstall the firmware.

It will allow you to reset back to the factory settings. I suggest backing up your hard drive first though.

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2265/ps3_how_to_factory_hard_reset/

That's good info to know... but where do you find this menu?

I looked through the official system software manual as well as the official PS3 Knowledge Center and so far I can't seem to find any reference to this "full format" menu referred to in that tech tip link.

There isn't even a mention about it in the instructions and explanations about the initial setup procedure.

The closest related topic I could find was:

• How do I troubleshoot Hard Disk Drive (HDD) problems on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system?

But this refers to the Format Utility, which will not defrag the drive, but rather will reformat it. Thus deleting everything off it, which I suppose will in effect defrag it as long as you use the Backup Utility to copy all the data from the HDD to an external drive and then restore the data after reformatting the drive.



The other thing that I'm not sure I understand about how to do a hard reset as discussed in that link you posted, is that it mentioned three beeps?

I have used a similar procedure (power switch off -> power switch on - > hold down power button until it beeps) in cases where I have taken the PS3 to someone's house and they don't have a display with HDMI. All this does is reset the Video Output Settings back to the standard settings.

So if I understand correctly, if I were to continue to keep my finger on the power button, I would hear two additional beeps?

Are there other power button reset options besides those two?

One more thing, unless I'm mistaken, by simply selecting the Restore Default Settings, it will do the same thing as powering down the PS3 and then keeping your finger on the power button until you hear 3 beeps... as it too will restore all the default settings and take you back through the intial setup procedure.

The message that says about re-building the database is not really an issue.

I had it after playing the Killzone 2 demo, and apparently it is like the PS3 defragging the hard drive (source - Sony forums and various other forums)

I've always wondered if there was a way to defrag the internal hard drive without having to backup all the data and reformat it, but I have also heard speculation that the PS3 will defrag automatically, but I have no confirmation of this. Do you have links to those sources you mentioned (Sony forums and various other forums) that confirm that the rebuilding of the data base is the way to defrag a PS3's drive?

Digital-Nitrate, the sony source is http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=psnetwork&thread.id=252596 and the other one I found was http://www.avforums.com/forums/ps3/742640-ps3-requires-database-rebuild.html

Given that nothing happened to any of my game data, I also assumed it was a defrag, but the speculation from these two threads seemed to confirm it for me.

Hope that helps

You had to make me dig all the way back to October, didn't you? I first saw this on Joystiq, and then later UnoMOTO found it by luck and used it when he had some sort of system crash.

Here's the Joystiq report, with a picture:
http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/10/18/firmware-2-50-adds-hidden-recovery-menu/

Firmware 2.50 adds hidden recovery menu
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 18th 2008 at 12:50AM }

It appears that firmware 2.50 also added one other feature, meant to help PS3 owners that are trying to troubleshoot their system. A recovery menu (pictured above) gives users access to a variety of restore features. It will even allow users to install a new firmware update, should anything go wrong during the installation process. To access the menu, you must hold down the power button to turn on the PS3 until you hear three beeps. Then the menu will show up.

There are a few reports of systems bricking after firmware updates, so this may be Sony's attempt at creating a fix for future problems. Hopefully, we'll never have to actually use this feature -- but if we do, it may be a quick way of avoiding a trip to the post office to send the PS3 to Sony's support center.

I have previously mentioned it here and a few posts later you even linked the Wiki page listing what was added in 2.5. There was also a very short-lived thread on it.


It isn't that the info hasn't been out there for a while, you just missed it. And with as detail attentive as you are, that scares me. You feeling alright?

Thanks for that. I will give that a shot tonight for my problems. Funny, all three times that I was on the phone with Sony for over an hour each time, they never mentioned that screen...

shhh! it's a SECRET!!!

Honestly, you would think it is. It wasn't listed in any official way

It is bizarre.

There is no mention or explanation about this feature in the manual or Sony's support site.

In fact, even the Wiki listing that I posted earlier that lists the known added features for each update doesn't mention it either.


So this then begs the question, what do each of those options specifically do?

1. Restart System
   
   
   • Probably just what it says, and that it boots up the PS3 as normal?
   
   
2. Restore Default Settings
   
   
   • Probably the same thing as it does in the XMB settings menu?
   
   
3. Restore File System
   
   
   • ?
   
   
4. Rebuild Database
   
   
   • ? (supposedly it defrags the hard drive, but when you click on it it warns you that all your messages, playlists, and other saved information will be deleted... which would be strange if all it was doings is defragging the drive)
   
   
5. Restore PS3 System
   
   
   • I suppose this is the same option as it is in the XMB settings menu?
   
   
6. System Update
   
   
   • Again, I suppose this does the same thing as it does in the XMB settings menu?

What do you all think, and does anyone have any actual confirmation on specifically what each of these options do?

 

[land sea air]

before replacing my HDD but after backing the old one up I went to this menu just to see if it had a complete format option (slim chance I know). I can confirm that the restart system option does just that, I chose it just to see what would happen. The system booted up normally.

 

[FoolKiller]

In fact, even the Wiki listing that I posted earlier that lists the known added features for each update doesn't mention it either.

Refresh that Wiki page:

System changes

• The official PS3 bluetooth headset is now supported and a "high-quality (HQ)" mode, which allows higher-clarity voice communication, has been added for this headset.
• An on-screen indicator showing headset battery status, volume level, and whether HQ mode is active has been added.
• The PlayStation Trophies interface has been modified to show the percentage gained towards the next level in addition to the current level when viewing profiles or comparing trophies.
• The on-screen notification displayed when the player gains a trophy now displays the specific trophy icon created by the game's developer.
• The PlayStation Network Sign-Up and Account Management utilities have been redesigned.
• The method of disabling the automatic sign-in option and the way to sign out from PlayStation Network have been modified.
• Information has been added below the avatars of offline Friends in the Friends list indicating how long it has been since they were online.
• A "redeem codes" option has been added directly in the PlayStation Store to make it easier to redeem PlayStation Network Cards and promotion codes.
• The Internet Browser now supports Adobe Flash 9 content.
• Items on the Information Board can now link directly to an item in the PlayStation Store.
• Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have been added as My languages options in the Account Management section
• Support for network printers has been added.
• HP printers are now supported.
• A recovery mode has been added.[14]

I wouldn't have brought it up if I hadn't seen it.


As for what they do I believe UnoMOTO had to use it to save his system. If I remember correctly it is buried deep in the PS General Discussion thread.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

before replacing my HDD but after backing the old one up I went to this menu just to see if it had a complete format option (slim chance I know). I can confirm that the restart system option does just that, I chose it just to see what would happen. The system booted up normally.

Thanks for confirming this. It seemed obvious enough and so it is.

Refresh that Wiki page:

Done.. and fixed it, thanks! Must have been added later. 👍

Too bad they don't offer any details on what specifically these options do.

 

[hamstrings]

I suspect the recovery menu isn't meant to be used by people casually poking around; it might be something a customer service representative would lead you through during troubleshooting. It would simplify steps since there is one menu and not a hierarchy to dig through.

That's my guess.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

The message that says about re-building the database is not really an issue.

I had it after playing the Killzone 2 demo, and apparently it is like the PS3 defragging the hard drive (source - Sony forums and various other forums)

I've always wondered if there was a way to defrag the internal hard drive without having to backup all the data and reformat it, but I have also heard speculation that the PS3 will defrag automatically, but I have no confirmation of this. Do you have links to those sources you mentioned (Sony forums and various other forums) that confirm that the rebuilding of the data base is the way to defrag a PS3's drive?

Digital-Nitrate, the sony source is http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=psnetwork&thread.id=252596 and the other one I found was http://www.avforums.com/forums/ps3/742640-ps3-requires-database-rebuild.html

Given that nothing happened to any of my game data, I also assumed it was a defrag, but the speculation from these two threads seemed to confirm it for me.

Hope that helps

Well I checked those links, and I'm not seeing any confirmation as far as it defragmenting the drive... not that that isn't what it is doing.

Also, what they are referring to may also be different, because some of the accounts say it lasted only a few seconds... so that surely can't be defragmentation.

Also, if you click on that option in the hidden recovery menu, it warns you before you proceed that it "will" (not "might") delete all your messages, playlists, and other saved information... which if it was only defragmenting the drive, that should not happen.

I suspect the recovery menu isn't meant to be used by people casually poking around; it might be something a customer service representative would lead you through during troubleshooting. It would simplify steps since there is one menu and not a hierarchy to dig through.

That's my guess.

An excellent guess at that, and I'm sure you are right, and why any reference to it is missing from all the manuals... but it would still be good to know what all of those options do specifically.

 

[nick09]

The Restore File System option repairs any corrupt system files. I know because my older brother used the power switch in the back while it was loading some files and therefore some files were corrupted. It warns about losing files but I did not lose any when I did the operation. Though it's a good idea to backup all of your files. I'm currently doing a backup of a good 150GB worth of data and the estimated time is 4 hours and 20 minutes.

There are some short answers on the options here.

@DN: The warning is for the OS information, not for the actual files on your HDD. The rebuild database option would just rebuild your PS3 for the newer firmware and run a bit faster.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

The Restore File System option repairs any corrupt system files. I know because my older brother used the power switch in the back while it was loading some files and therefore some files were corrupted. It warns about losing files but I did not lose any when I did the operation. Though it's a good idea to backup all of your files. I'm currently doing a backup of a good 150GB worth of data and the estimated time is 4 hours and 20 minutes.

There are some short answers on the options here.

That is very helpful, thanks! 👍

@DN: The warning is for the OS information, not for the actual files on your HDD. The rebuild database option would just rebuild your PS3 for the newer firmware and run a bit faster.

That makes sense, so as far as we know, it is not defragmenting the drive, only rebuilding the OS right?

 

[nick09]

Yeah it only rebuilds the OS from what we know so far.

 

[FoolKiller]

As for what they do I believe UnoMOTO had to use it to save his system. If I remember correctly it is buried deep in the PS General Discussion thread.

Found it.

I had quite the scare this weekend. My son tells me early Saturday morning that the PS3 isn't working. Sure enough I had some kind of real problem going on. Hitting the main power switch would get it to power up but for some reason it would actually not boot up. I just thought about what I was going to do for a few hours and then I thought it must have some kind of diagnostic safe boot start up procedure. Sure enough I took a shot and with holding my finger on the power button I could get a short list of features to show up. After trying a few options with no success I had to pick the dreaded format disk. Yep, lucky me had to wipe the slate clean and at least it did the trick.

Everything seems to be running fine again but I’ve lost all my downloads and game saves. That certainly is better then sending the whole unit in. Since I’ll probably be moving this weekend I don’t think I’m going to even bother with setting anything back up until I’m in the new place. I am curious to see how well all of my purchases will be remembered at the store.

So it sounds like he had a possible hard drive corruption issue, which he was able to fix with this.

The thing is, I have seen various places online where complaints of this problem seem to be second in frequency only to "yellow light of death." I wonder how much customer service hassle could be saved if Sony made this more widely known?

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Now that we seem to know a lot more about this menu, here is the updated list for future reference:


Hidden Recovery Menu

1. Restart System
   
   
   • Restarts the PS3.
   
   
2. Restore Default Settings
   
   
   • Resets all system settings back to the default settings - (same thing as it does in the XMB settings menu)
   
   
3. Restore File System
   
   
   • Checks for corrupt/missing system files.
   
   
4. Rebuild Database
   
   
   • Rebuilds the OS for the PS3 - (supposedly it also defrags the hard drive but this has yet to be confirmed)
     
     WARNING: All your messages, playlists, and other saved information will be deleted.
   
   
5. Restore PS3 System
   
   
   • Deletes everything and starts from scratch - (same option as it is in the XMB settings menu)
   
   
6. System Update
   
   
   • Updates the PS3 System Software - (same thing as it does in the XMB settings menu)