PS3+160GB+Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 (56k warning!!! Pics Inside)
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Quiet_Storm
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What's the biggest HDD I can possibly fit into my PS3? What are the pros and cons of having an external and installing one in place of the 60GB HDD that came with the PS3? If I have a 500GB external HD that is connected via USB, can I download games and demos on the PSN and save it to the external HD or only the internal? Thanks!
- 6,009
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- D-Nitrate / GTP_DNitrate
The biggest HDD is only limited by what manufacturers can come up with for 2.5" SATA drives. I think the largest that's available right now is 250GB.
Pako gave me some good advice, and that is to use the PS3's Backup Utility. If the new HD isn't already formatted for FAT32, you can do that with the PS3 as well with it's Format Utility.
I'm still looking at getting a 500-750GB external drive with both USB and SATA so I can use it with my DVRs as well, but in the meantime I used an old external drive that I had long forgotten about. It's a three year old 160GB 7200 RPM USB 2.0 drive from Buffalo, model HD-HB160U2. It came preformatted for FAT32 so I didn't have to format the drive.
I have the 60GB PS3 (which actually has just 47GB for all content; games, videos, music, pics). Selecting System Information it said I had 1.3 GB of free space out of 55 GB.
When I started the backup, it first gave me the following warning:
"If you restore on a different system some data will not be restored."
This is basically what it says in the manual as well:
Reading all this I assumed that meant if you ever want to replace your PS3 with a new PS3, you can only restore none copyright-protected files, which I suppose means no games will be able to be restored, and you would have to re download them from your "Download List" in each PS Store... and for each user on your PS3.
For instance, my wife has purchased and downloaded PSN games, so to get those reloaded, I'd have to switch to her user account t se those games on the "Download List"... which of course makes sense, but I suspect some may not realize this and wonder where some of their games went from the "Download List".
As I will be using the same PS3, but with a new HDD, the back-up will make copies of all the content on my PS3's HDD including the games. So this warning didn't Apply. 👍
When I started the back-up it first said it was going to take 2 Hours and 29 Minutes, but just a minute later it recalculated it to 1 Hour and 40 Minutes, which is exactly how long it took. 👍
As expected, the back-up was 46GB (47GB - 1.3 GB) so that works out to be about 2 minutes per GB, but best of all not only are you saving time by being able to copy the games, but that it was just a one step process. 👍
Now after the back-up was completed, I got another warning alert, but this one seemed odd to me:
It suggests that there is some kind of time limit for you to restore copyright-protected content. If so, this is the first I've ever heard of something like this.
Also there is a warning in the manual about how changes to your PS3 before restoring the back-up may cause problems:
I have not yet decided what new internal HDD to get for my PS3, so I guess to play it safe, I'll make a new back-up just before switching internal drives.
OK, so that's my current experience with the back-up utility, and seems to be pretty solid, and the quickest and best solution for those wanting to replace their internal HDD and copy all their content over.
But here is where I might suggest a different approach. As a precaution, I also used the "Copy Multiple Files" option and made copies of all my pics, music, and videos off my PS3 to the 160GB USB drive.
The pics and music files were minimal, but I still had 171 (24GB) video files on the PS3, which took about a minute per GB to copy over... about ten times faster than re-downloading them off the PS Store. 👍
Now that I had all this extra space, I could also copy over the +10GB worth of video files I had been forced to remove from the PS3 and copy them to my laptop as the PS3 HDD has been full for some time now.
Now that I not only had a back-up, but I had copies of all my content on the USB drive, I discovered there are some big advantages to keeping your content (pics, music, and videos) on an external HD rather than on the HDD:
ADVANTAGES
Unfortunately, as with most things, along with the advantages there are also some noteworthy disadvantages:
- I have a lot more space!
- I can create custom multiple folders and hierarchic folders making it very easy to organize and find similar and specific files. This means instead of all the pics being lumped together or in dated folders, I can have custom folders for each "album". This means I can also create custom folders and organize my songs exactly how I like. This also means instead of having all the video files lumped together, I can have a folder for game videos, system videos, movie trailers for upcoming films, movie trailers for films currently released, youtube videos, home movies, full feature films, etc. 👍👍
- By selecting Information, you can now find out exactly how many files and memory used on the USB as well as each individual folder you create... something the XMB has yet allowed users to do.
- I can easily unplug the drive and connect it with other PS3s and PCs to share and view the same content. 👍
- When connected to a PC, not only can you easily organize your files, sort them by more than just name and install date, and easily search for specific titles, but you can also change the file names much quicker than you can with the PS3. 👍
DISADVANTAGES
- If you have more than one level of folders (in other words, if you create a folder, and then create more folders inside that folder), then it will not generate thumbnail folder & file picture icons and must always select "display all" each time you select the USB drive in order to see all the folders... which some might consider an undesireable inconvenience.
- Also, unlike when a video file is on the HDD, you cannot create a 15-sec preview video loop icon for a file. I never found those to be terribly useful so it isn't a big deal to me, but it might be for others.
BTW: I found that if you copy a video file from the USB drive to the HDD, it automatically creates the 15-sec preview video loop icon. So for those that do like to have that preview icon, but don't want to go through the multiple step process for every file, a quick way of doing that is to copy your video files to a USB drive. Erase those files on the PS3, then copy them right back to the PS3. Voila, they will now all have 15-sec loop icons.
- Because there are no sort options for files off an external drive, all folders and files will be sorted alphabetically. With files on the HDD, although they are all lumped together, at least the video files are, you can sort them by intalled date, which can come in handy if you are trying to remember which file you last downloaded.
Granted, you can do this with the USB drive as well, but only by connecting it to your PC.
- Along with the missing "Sort By" option, here are the other missing features when using a USB driver to store your content:
- Delete Multiple (odd, because the "Copy Multiple" is available)
- Group Content (although I found this fairly useless, as it was just by date)
- No background downloading off the PS Store to a USB drive. (this is also not a big deal, as it is very fast to just copy files from the HDD to the USB drive. So what I would do is continue to use background downloading and save them onto the HDD, but when all the downloading is complete, simply select the "Copy Multiple" option and copy the new files to the USB, then delete them from the HDD.
It only adds one rather quick step to the process. Certainly a far better option than downloading each file from the PS Store directly to the USB drive.
So there you have it. Those are the advantages and disadvantages that I have found when using a USB drive for your PS3 content.
Personally, now that I have seen how it works first hand, I am totally sold on the idea of having all my content on an external USB drive!
For some, it may also allow you to keep your current HDD in the PS3 as you would now only need it to store your games, game demos, and game saves.
Although, if you plan on keeping all the game demos on your HDD, and or plan on buying lots of PSN games, you'll find that you'll need a bigger drive than 60GB. Currently, without downloading any of the PSN games, you'll need about 25GB of space for all the demos, and at the current pace, you'll need over 50 GB sometime next year. Once you start adding all the disc space you might need for any and all PSN titles you buy and download, then all of a sudden that 60GB HDD may not be looking so big after all.
On the other hand, it is also true you can delete and re-download games, so even those that want every single game demo and PSN game, you can still manage it on a 60GB HDD, it's all a question of convenience.
Quiet_Storm
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Hmmmmm, interesting. Thanks for the reply! I think I'll just get a 250GB one to replace the 60GB HDD that's currently in my PS3 just for the heck of it and get a 500GB external and hook that up to it via USB. Yay!
Pako
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File Format compatibility or hardware compatibility list?
As far as hardware, I bought a hard drive with similar specs as the original one. Basically, a laptop hard drive, SATA interface, with a 5400 RPM drive speed. I could have gone with a faster hard drive but additional heat inside the PS3 might be a concern.
File format compatibility, I really have no idea...but I know Fat32 works and assume that's the file format the PS3 uses.
As far as hardware, I bought a hard drive with similar specs as the original one. Basically, a laptop hard drive, SATA interface, with a 5400 RPM drive speed. I could have gone with a faster hard drive but additional heat inside the PS3 might be a concern.
File format compatibility, I really have no idea...but I know Fat32 works and assume that's the file format the PS3 uses.
kekke2000
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i tried with a laptop-hdd but it couldnt read it... its the laptop i'm on now, i'll check the RPM and specs and edit this post in just a minute
EDIT!
Hitachi 120 GB SATA 5400 RPM 5V 700mA
should work? must be the brand or something
EDIT2!
Find anything odd? http://computers.pricegrabber.com/hard-drives/m/38000500/details/
Pako
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I don't know why your other HD didn't work. Was it preformated NTSF? Did you try the "Format Disk" utility in the PS3?
As far as the HD listed, everything looks like it would work. SATA, 5400 RPM...not sure what other specs you might have.
I know the Western Digital I used worked. Here's the Model:
WD1600BEVS
Best of luck!
As far as the HD listed, everything looks like it would work. SATA, 5400 RPM...not sure what other specs you might have.
I know the Western Digital I used worked. Here's the Model:
WD1600BEVS
Best of luck!
Scaff
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Well I've now joined the club.
I've been using a 250gig USB external drive with my PS3 since I got it (PAL UK launch), which is very handy, but I picked up a 2.5" 160gig SATA a few days ago. It had been on my mind to give a drive replacement a go for some time, particularly as my games collection has grown and more titles take advantage of the HDD. With stuff like Singstar I can see drive space becoming a potential issue (that and I just fancied a larger internal drive.
I used the PS3 backup tool to copy over the contents of my 60gig drive and then got out the screwdrivers this morning. The blue screw came out quite easily, but the four holding the drive were a bit of a pain. Still a small amount of care avoided striping them and the new drive was in place.
One quick format and a restore later and I'm now the proud owner of a 160gig PS3 (+ 250gig external of course) which should keep me going for quite a while.
Hats off to Sony for actually making it a very straightforward process, its a move I would strongly recommend to all owners.
Regards
Scaff
I've been using a 250gig USB external drive with my PS3 since I got it (PAL UK launch), which is very handy, but I picked up a 2.5" 160gig SATA a few days ago. It had been on my mind to give a drive replacement a go for some time, particularly as my games collection has grown and more titles take advantage of the HDD. With stuff like Singstar I can see drive space becoming a potential issue (that and I just fancied a larger internal drive.
I used the PS3 backup tool to copy over the contents of my 60gig drive and then got out the screwdrivers this morning. The blue screw came out quite easily, but the four holding the drive were a bit of a pain. Still a small amount of care avoided striping them and the new drive was in place.
One quick format and a restore later and I'm now the proud owner of a 160gig PS3 (+ 250gig external of course) which should keep me going for quite a while.
Hats off to Sony for actually making it a very straightforward process, its a move I would strongly recommend to all owners.
Regards
Scaff
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- Slunderfungus
Are we going to be able to store our standard blue ray games on our harddrives anytime soon? I know that with the PS2s when you installed a harddrive you could down load all your games so as to save the discs from wearing or being handled. However I've been made to understand that we can't do that with our PS3s. Personally I would love to be able to download all my games to the hardrive and keep the discs put up so as to keep them from getting scratched up and damaged. Mind you, I pmyself am prety anal aout caring for my discs, my kids however are as prudent as I am .
Scaff
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Allowing that to happen without then using the disc to validate the HDD save (as GT5
and Warhawk do with the BR versions) would just be an open door to piracy.To be honest I just can't see this ever happening in the way you describe, as nothing would exist to stop people just lending a disc to a friend or renting a copy and then saving it without actually buying it.
I wouldn't worry to much about damage to BR discs, they are tough little critters, far tougher than DVDs. They carry a very tough scratch resistant coating (actually required as BR data is held much closer to the disc surface that the data is on DVDs), and are well regarded in terms of being hard to damage.
Regards
Scaff
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I agree, there was a video on youtube and this guy tried to mess up a blu ray disc, he tried scratching it several different ways, and it had really bad visible scratches, and it still played fine.
- 2,343
- Atlanta, GA
- WallRunner51
That the video you are talking about?
From,
Chris.
- 204
- Slunderfungus
Allowing that to happen without then using the disc to validate the HDD save (as GT5
To be honest I just can't see this ever happening in the way you describe, as nothing would exist to stop people just lending a disc to a friend or renting a copy and then saving it without actually buying it.
I wouldn't worry to much about damage to BR discs, they are tough little critters, far tougher than DVDs. They carry a very tough scratch resistant coating (actually required as BR data is held much closer to the disc surface that the data is on DVDs), and are well regarded in terms of being hard to damage.
Regards
Scaff
I am not sure whether or not the aility to do so on the PS2 was a software option given y Sony, or software that a hacker may have written tht allowed for games to e acked up on the PS2 HDD, ut concerning the issue of pirating theres not much to stop it anyway. It won't e long efore Blueray recorders will be as affaordable as CD/DVD urners so that all one would have to do to copy thegame would be to simply burn a copy. With as expensive as games are getting I know I'm not alone in wanting a way to protect the investment I have made in the basic purchase of said games by backing the up to the harddrive of the console I play them on. Most PC games I have ever played have an initial download ofthe disc, then when you want to play you simply open the game file instead of loadign the disc into the tray. Mind you Its een awhile since I ought and played a PC game as my PC is a it on the old side to be a gaming center anymore.The last hardcore game I had on my computer was Monster Truck Madness
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Indeed...
Pako
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Just to give a little more detail to your question. You can use external drives for additional storage, but not for your main system drive.
ROAD_DOGG33J
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Most PC games I have ever played have an initial download ofthe disc, then when you want to play you simply open the game file instead of loadign the disc into the tray. Mind you Its been awhile since I ought and played a PC game as my PC is a it on the old side to be a gaming center anymore.The last hardcore game I had on my computer was Monster Truck Madness
Yeah now pretty much all PC games require you to have the disc in the drive.
- 204
- Slunderfungus
Its been a while since I played a game on the PC. Mine is a bit out dated for Gaming with the games that are out now.The last one I played was Monster Truck Madness online with friend up in Salem (online) using the custom trucks and stuff. Thats been a few years back though, I had t stop playing because it was getting in the way of me doing my homework. I was in college at the time. Funny,I ddn't go to college until I was 30...after I crewed my back up.
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