[Auron_Kale]

My PS3 HDD & enclosure arrived yesterday, but I picked it up from our mail center today. Man, 2.5" drives are tiny and the enclosure is equally small. D:

Decided last night that I would delete all of my game installs as well as PSN games so that I would just back everything up to my USB drive; incidentally, my JP PSN games gave me a weird error when I tried to play them on my PSP so re-downloading them shouldn't be a problem and correct the error (think it was an activation error).

Corrective surgery will commence upon my arrival at home from work. Once everything is up and running (hopefully it'll be a smooth process), I'll spend the rest of the night reinstalling game data/PSN & PS1 games/dlc.

[Auron_Kale]

Update:

I started the process as soon as I got home and was able to remove the blue screw with no problems (used a #1 Phillips). The 4 main screws that hold the HDD caddy is a completely different story. I managed to get 2 of the screws out (got them out with pliers) but the other two...stripped and the screws themselves are also worse for wear when I tried to use pliers. After many attempts, I've just decided to replace the screws that I managed to get out (they're not on too tightly so I'll be able to remove them quite easily) and place the old HD back in the PS3 (it's just updated to FW 2.6).

I've sent SCEA an e-mail asking if they'll be able to send me a new HDD caddy (hopefully they will) and I'll probably head down to Lowes tomorrow to see if they can help me remove the harder to remove screws.

It's kinda frustrating knowing that I was halfway done - only to be halted dead in my tracks because of those damn HDD caddy screws from hell... :(

[Mejilan]

Another one bites the dust. Sorry to hear it, man. :/
I only got 1 out with a screwdriver (#1 philips). The remaining 3 were stripped beyond use and came out only by leveraging my pliers. I put all 4 back in, again, by using the pliers. The blue screw also came out with my screwdriver, quite effortlessly.

[LiK]

thanks for the report. looks like i'll need to be extra careful with those 4 screws

[RuGalz]

thanks for the report. looks like i'll need to be extra careful with those 4 screws

Use pliers to loose them up first, works like a charm.

[patsu]

Use the right-sized screw driver and hold tight. Pay attention to what you're doing.

I was able to unscrew all but one successfully. I ended up stripping the last one because I decided to watch a TV show while unscrewing at the same time >_<

Was able to unscrew it effortlessly using a long-nose plier.

[RuGalz]

Use the right-sized screw driver and hold tight. Pay attention to what you're doing.

3 out of 4 of my screws still stripped and I was extremely careful about it. Pliers is the way to go imo.

[user friendly]

Proper size driver and a bit of torque is the way to go.

[Auron_Kale]

3 out of 4 of my screws still stripped and I was extremely careful about it. Pliers is the way to go imo.

The thing was, I was using pliers to loosen them up, but the 2 screws that I couldn't loosen (there wasn't enough leverage for the pliers to grab hold) were the ones that got stripped.

In case anyone was wondering, these screws weren't the ones that you see immediately when you open the HDD cover, but rather the screws that face the ps3's internals. The gaps alongside the side of the caddy (plus the screws being as tight as a drum) made it difficult to get enough torque to actually loosen the screws.

Like I said, I'll try again tonight (need to update the FW on my thumbstick). Lowes is right next to my house, so I'll head home first and grab everything and see if they can help me out. Also, Best Buy is along the way as well so they may have replacement screws but if not, I'll have to head to Fry's this weekend.

[Mejilan]

Hmmm, I'm surprised to hear that you couldn't manage it with pliers. I only had access to a bulky, over-sized pair of joint pliers (couldn't find my needle-nose pliers) and I still managed to get enough of a grip to get the screws out. It did take me almost an hour, though.

[allegate]

I got the first three out fine but the fourth one was a pain. It was just starting to strip when I finally got it out. I couldn't get any grip with my pliers so I had to keep trying the screwdriver.

[Auron_Kale]

Hmmm, I'm surprised to hear that you couldn't manage it with pliers. I only had access to a bulky, over-sized pair of joint pliers (couldn't find my needle-nose pliers) and I still managed to get enough of a grip to get the screws out. It did take me almost an hour, though.

Yeah, I thought it was weird too. It's like they were on crooked and screwed in super tight enough that I couldn't get the leverage I needed (I was using both needle nose & these big oversized pliers that we had around) to get them loose.

Not giving up hope just yet, more like I'm biding my time before attacking again. Worse comes to worse, I can try taking the HDD caddy from my MGS4 Hagane PS3 and using that (hopefully the screws come out easier).

Edit: Just talked to SCEA, getting new screws in 7-10 days (free of charge).

[Luigison]

All these people having problems with the screws is disconcerting and making the more expensive weaKnees option more appealing. That fact that I have some much data to copy somehow is also a challenge since I don't want to redownload/install everything.

Also, I've been going through the guides in the OP and several people say something like, "The PS3's original hard drive is ... rated at 5400 RPM, a similar speed replacement is recommended." Is this due to heat or read/write speeds or just a fallacy?

[Mejilan]

Bullshit. I switched from a 5400 RPM/8MB cached drive to a 7200 RPM/16MB cached drive and everything's awesome.

I suppose there might be a concern with older 7200 RPM drives running too hot, but I've never heard of anything happening.

[Luigison]

Thanks, that what I expected.

Anyone have a recommendation for an enclosure for the old drive? I easily have 80G of Bill Nye and Mythbusters video I could use it for. Are there any enclosures that have an interface that would allow me to play videos without having to have a computer?

[Mejilan]

I ordered this guy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817392019

It got some kudos in this thread, and is serving me very well so far. I think the PS3 uses a proprietary file structure, so I doubt you'll be able to plug and play the old PS3 HDD and use it without reformatting it.

[Luigison]

This might be a stupid question, but why can't we ...
1. Remove the old drive
2. Install the new drive
3. Restore from the old drive (in an enclosure with a USB connector)

???

[Mejilan]

I couldn't tell you the reasons why they chose to go the route they did, but from a technical standpoint, it's because an internal HDD is formatted using a non-standard (to my knowledge) file structure, whereas for an external HDD to be read by the PS3, it must be formatted using the FAT32 file structure.

[mintylurb]

Update: I started the process as soon as I got home and was able to remove the blue screw with no problems (used a #1 Phillips). The 4 main screws that hold the HDD caddy is a completely -snip- It's kinda frustrating knowing that I was halfway done - only to be halted dead in my tracks because of those damn HDD caddy screws from hell... :(

Which ps3 model do you have?

[Auron_Kale]

Which ps3 model do you have?

NA 60GB

[Souther]

I'll have to pick up a new HD at some point... 2.5HD's are really cheap now. I remember paying 100+ for like a 80GB over a year ago.

[Mejilan]

NA 60GB

I strongly suspect that us launchers got most fucked over by these soft, weak screws, and that later hardware revisions attempted to remedy the situation somewhat.

[MrVargas]

Just swapped in a 500GB hard-drive into mine. Everything worked pretty smoothly. The only hitch was the screws are a bit tough to get out (the blue one and the ones on the hard-drive carriage). I had to go to the hardware store (which is right next to my house) to get a different screw-driver.

Anyways, I am currently re-downloading the endless gigs of PSN games I've purchased (i.e. Burnout Paradise, Siren, Ratchet & Clank, Wipeout HD, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Warhawk, etc.).

[Auron_Kale]

I strongly suspect that us launchers got most fucked over by these soft, weak screws, and that later hardware revisions attempted to remedy the situation somewhat.

Agreed.

Anyways, I tried to stop by Sears to see if they had a particular screwdriver - computer said it was in stock but the guy couldn't find it. I'll check out Ace Hardware tomorrow to see if they have the elusive screwdriver that I need.

Since my PS3's just fine right now, I'll probably wait until my replacement screws arrive before I re-attempt my upgrade. Besides, since my PS3 is BC, I'll just play PS2 games for the time being. :lol

[The Faceless Master]

I strongly suspect that us launchers got most fucked over by these soft, weak screws, and that later hardware revisions attempted to remedy the situation somewhat.

seriously, whenever i see people say just do this or just do that, i wonder if they're insane.

i have taken apart COUNTLESS ITEMS before and have never ever EVER EVER seen screws that were just this shitty, even in the cheapest piece of shit 99¢ toy i tried to repair.

maybe it's just the older models that had these screws that were made from play dough...

[KeioSquad2]

seriously, whenever i see people say just do this or just do that, i wonder if they're insane. i have taken apart COUNTLESS ITEMS before and have never ever EVER EVER seen screws that were just this shitty, even in the cheapest piece of shit 99¢ toy i tried to repair. maybe it's just the older models that had these screws that were made from play dough...

I totally agree. The fact that I had to use a screwdriver pen( a pen with break apart set of screwdrivers) basically a kids toy, to remove the screws without stripping them is ridiculous.
I still managed to slightly strip 1 screw because I didn't apply enough pressure, and I never seen a screw head shred like complete jello when trying to turn as I did that day.

As soon as I put pressure it saved the screw, but damn man. At least my BC 60gig is now my BC 320gig:D

[sajj316]

I ordered this guy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817392019 It got some kudos in this thread, and is serving me very well so far. I think the PS3 uses a proprietary file structure, so I doubt you'll be able to plug and play the old PS3 HDD and use it without reformatting it.

kudos+1

My brother ordered the same HDD and he upgraded successfully last night. His PS3 was a 40 GB model. Mine was a launch 60 GB model. Two different models, same positive results.

[deepbrown]

Anyway to back up my PS3 HDD without my PS3 working?

Can I swap out my PS3 HDD into a new PS3?

[Mejilan]

seriously, whenever i see people say just do this or just do that, i wonder if they're insane. i have taken apart COUNTLESS ITEMS before and have never ever EVER EVER seen screws that were just this shitty, even in the cheapest piece of shit 99¢ toy i tried to repair. maybe it's just the older models that had these screws that were made from play dough...

To really drive the point home, I even tried using one of those tiny flathead screwdrivers used to tighten up glasses. You know, those itty bitty screwdrivers that bend at the slightest hint of any resistance. The screws in the PS3 HDD tray started to give even against such a harmless screwdriver. You know something's wrong when the screw's metal is weaker than even that!

[Freedom = $1.05]

Anyway to back up my PS3 HDD without my PS3 working? Can I swap out my PS3 HDD into a new PS3?

I think that it will try to format the drive if inserted into a different PS3. I'm on the same boat as you seeing as my 60 gig crapped out a week ago : /

[Auron_Kale]

SUCCESS!!!

Just swapped the drives and am syncing my trophies & data right now. FW 2.60 is currently up and running.

Don't really know why today was different than Tuesday, but I managed to get the crappy stripped screws off with pliers then followed up with ye screwdriver. Before I did that, I pulled out the HDD from my MGS4 Hagane bundle to use the caddy only to discover that the caddy in the JP PS3 is waaaayyy different than my US PS3 and it looks far nicer.

Time to go download my PSN stuff and reinstall my games.

This thread has been extremely helpful and insightful.

Thanks so much everyone!

[bigswords]

Bullshit. I switched from a 5400 RPM/8MB cached drive to a 7200 RPM/16MB cached drive and everything's awesome. I suppose there might be a concern with older 7200 RPM drives running too hot, but I've never heard of anything happening.

I think it's more likely the cache made the difference, not the RPM. There was a comparsion done by a Japanese website sometime back. The 5400 16meg cache did as well as the 7200 16 meg cache. But that was awhile back, maybe Sony's new firmware improved the usage of the higher RPM harddisk.

[mintylurb]

SUCCESS!!! Just swapped the drives and am syncing my trophies & data right now. FW 2.60 is currently up and running. Don't really know why today was different than Tuesday, but I managed to get the crappy stripped screws off with pliers then followed up with ye screwdriver. Before I did that, I pulled out the HDD from my MGS4 Hagane bundle to use the caddy only to discover that the caddy in the JP PS3 is waaaayyy different than my US PS3 and it looks far nicer. Time to go download my PSN stuff and reinstall my games. This thread has been extremely helpful and insightful. Thanks so much everyone!

Congrats!!

[bigswords]

May I ask what's the best screwdriver to use for this operation. In my previous 60 gig PS3 I used those philips screwdrivers meant for glasses and even that stripped the screws.....

I now have a 40 gig PS3 which I am thinking of upgrading the harddisk...

[navanman]

I'm thinking of upgrading my 60GB drive and from looking around the web and reading the OP and first page, I see someone has already installed a WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200rpm drive without any problems at all.

Think I'll pull the trigger on it today and get it, bargain at €75.

[Auron_Kale]

May I ask what's the best screwdriver to use for this operation. In my previous 60 gig PS3 I used those philips screwdrivers meant for glasses and even that stripped the screws..... I now have a 40 gig PS3 which I am thinking of upgrading the harddisk...

I used this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...e=Screwdrivers

Fit perfectly.

[gcubed]

seriously, whenever i see people say just do this or just do that, i wonder if they're insane. i have taken apart COUNTLESS ITEMS before and have never ever EVER EVER seen screws that were just this shitty, even in the cheapest piece of shit 99¢ toy i tried to repair. maybe it's just the older models that had these screws that were made from play dough...

i've upgraded a launch 60 and a brand new model, the screws are different and in fact, the hard drive carriage/bay is completely 100% different.

[bigswords]

I used this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...e=Screwdrivers Fit perfectly.

Thanks I'll look for something like that.

[Mejilan]

I'm thinking of upgrading my 60GB drive and from looking around the web and reading the OP and first page, I see someone has already installed a WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200rpm drive without any problems at all. Think I'll pull the trigger on it today and get it, bargain at €75.

Do it. Prices are relatively cheap, and the process is pretty damn easy, assuming you don't get stuck on the screws. You won't regret it!

I think it's more likely the cache made the difference, not the RPM. There was a comparsion done by a Japanese website sometime back. The 5400 16meg cache did as well as the 7200 16 meg cache. But that was awhile back, maybe Sony's new firmware improved the usage of the higher RPM harddisk.

Yep. We've discussed it quite a bit, and all indications point to cache making a difference, RPMs, not so much. It seems to be the PS3 not really utilizing the extra speed, more than any physical limitation, and it might be remedied in a future firmware update! The price difference is pretty negligible, however, so I just went with the faster drive to future proof my efforts.

SUCCESS!!!

YES! I was rootin' for you, mate!

[LiquidMetal14]

Ready to pull the trigger on a 500GB drive. Looking at this one currently...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...UNG-_-22152114

Or can someone point me to some better 500GB HDD's?

[matticus]

I just came in here to say fuck them T-1000 screws.

[M3wThr33]

I'm a dolt. I almost blew $100 today getting a drive to backup my PS3 on, so I could put in a bigger one.

DUH! The iPod can do it. Didn't buy the new big drive yet, but now I realize I don't need a portable backup drive. :lol
(80GB 5.5G)

[Mejilan]

That's what I used as well. :)
Well, 160GB gen 6, anyway.

[slider]

On a related note...

I have a 60gig drive in (the one that came with the machine) and I swear I used to have shit loads on there before. 60 isn't the biggest but it certainly isn't small.

The following phenomenon has been happening for a while.

On the HDD I have:

Warhawk
WO:HD
Everyday Shooter
Crash Commando
Pain

I've deleted shit loads including SSHD, Blast Factor, R&C, a few chapters of Siren but whenever trying to DL a demo I always get the "not enough memory". The RE5 demo forced some more deletes only leaving it and the list above. I tried to kid myself that my drive was choc-a-block full cos of my, y'know, awesome trophy collection... ahem.

Is there something I can do housekeeping wise on the HDD until I get a bigger drive? I have a feeling that I'll never get around to re-DLing those games I deleted. This makes me sad.

[allegate]

forgot to add: all of my PS2 saves were backed up as well, I didn't have to copy them back to the HDD.

[LiquidMetal14]

Important question. Can I format a big partition or a whole HDD into FAT32 to backup my content? I know a buddy of mine bought his HDD already formated in fat32 and he did an entire backup. How can I do this so I don't have to delete around 80GB of data?


Got a 500GB coming this week so I would appreciate some input.

PM me if you can as this thread gets pushed back at times.

[RaidenZR]

I ordered this Samsung model from Newegg. It arrives today and I'll probably install tonight. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

On a side note, anyone install Ubuntu on your PS3? I may do that as well.

[Mejilan]

I left a 10GB partition free for installing a Linux distro, but I haven't decided on which one, or even bothered to start researching it. It'd really only be for the novelty, so it's not a priority. I wouldn't mind a discussion concerning the various PS3-friendly distros, however.

Regarding formatting a drive in FAT32, I don't think WindowsXP will natively allow it, but there are apps that you can download that will. Some are even posted in this thread.

[mintylurb]

Regarding formatting a drive in FAT32, I don't think WindowsXP will natively allow it, but there are apps that you can download that will. Some are even posted in this thread.

You can format any drive to fat32 with winxp but you can't create a fat32 partition larger than 32GB.

[Schrade]

I left a 10GB partition free for installing a Linux distro, but I haven't decided on which one, or even bothered to start researching it. It'd really only be for the novelty, so it's not a priority. I wouldn't mind a discussion concerning the various PS3-friendly distros, however. Regarding formatting a drive in FAT32, I don't think WindowsXP will natively allow it, but there are apps that you can download that will. Some are even posted in this thread.

Here's the PS3 Linux thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144383

Here's one dealing with just Ubuntu: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151685