PS3 General Discussion

UnoMOTO
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.
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And I am suddenly thinking that copying all my save files to a USB drive is not a bad idea.

It sucks you had to lose all that though. All your game purchases should be in your download list. If you bought any movies from the store, however, those are gone.

I've also heard that you will have to start up each game that has trophies for them to show back up on your system.



And on a more pleasent note; I bought Buzz! this weekend. I only played a few single-player rounds, but it seems fun.
 
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Yeah, that sucks. Better than sending in the entire console, tho, only to possibly have them tell you "there's nothing wrong with your PS3, sir". :ouch::banghead:
 
Pako
By chance did you try a full recycle of power? Unplug from wall, hold power button down while unplugged, re-plug back in and turn on?

What version of PS3 do you have out of curiosity?
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I have the 80g motorstorm bundle machine. I hadn't thought doing what you describe there. Maybe next time....er...lets hope there is no next time.

FoolKiller
And I am suddenly thinking that copying all my save files to a USB drive is not a bad idea.

It sucks you had to lose all that though. All your game purchases should be in your download list. If you bought any movies from the store, however, those are gone.

I've also heard that you will have to start up each game that has trophies for them to show back up on your system.
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Backing up would be a must at this point. I think you have far more invested in that hard drive then I ever will. The only game that will really be a pain to redo is PAIN. GT5P will actually be fun to do again because I didn't have the wheel the first time I went through it.

Parnelli Bone
Yeah, that sucks. Better than sending in the entire console, tho, only to possibly have them tell you "there's nothing wrong with your PS3, sir". :ouch::banghead:
Click to expand...

Just ask Beerz about how much fun it is to return a system.
 
Yeah anythings better than sending in your console for repair! Mine is already out of warranty and it would probably cost a bomb to fix plus I would scared that they wouldnt give me an original 60GB back! (because those spare units are probably now all exsausted).

Robin.
 
Parnelli Bone
BAckup? :confused: YOu can back the system up?

Note to self: read the manual that came with the console, Parnelli! :ouch:
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Yep. Go under System Settings and there is a backup option that will backup most of your hard drive to a USB hard drive. Then if you need to restore that data there is the restore system option. TADA!
 
FoolKiller
Yep. Go under System Settings and there is a backup option that will backup most of your hard drive to a USB hard drive. Then if you need to restore that data there is the restore system option. TADA!
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Wow, sweet! +rep
 
Parnelli Bone
BAckup? :confused: YOu can back the system up?
Click to expand...
The Backup Utility is also a very useful and almost necessary tool to use if and when you upgrade your HDD for a larger one. This way you are able to copy over everything from your old HDD to your new one. 👍


Parnelli Bone
Note to self: read the manual that came with the console, Parnelli! :ouch:
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The physical manual in quite good, but the online manuals for the PS3 are even better! In fact, Sony has a direct link to the PS3's system software user guide from every PS3 located at the top of the Network menu bar in the XMB.

I also recommend you bookmark it in your PC's browser, here is the direct link as well as some other useful links:

In addition to all that, Sony also put together a very nice detailed guide to the PS3:

If you have ever had any question about anything to do with the PS3, I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find an answer in a short amount of time among any number of those links. 👍
 
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Digital-Nitrate
The Backup Utility is also a very useful and almost necessary tool to use if and when you upgrade your HDD for a larger one. This way you are able to copy over everything from your old HDD to your new one. 👍



The physical manual in quite good, but the online manuals for the PS3 are even better! In fact, Sony has a direct link to the PS3's system software user guide from every PS3 located at the top of the Network menu bar in the XMB.

I also recommend you bookmark it in your PC's browser, here is the direct link as well as some other useful links:

In addition to all that, Sony also put together a very nice detailed guide to the PS3:

If you have ever had any question about anything to do with the PS3, I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find an answer in a short amount of time among any number of those links. 👍
Click to expand...

Wow, awesome D/N. Now i have something new to read whenever it's slow at work! :) +Rep
 


I just saw a LBP version of this commercial earlier last night. Sony's holiday onslaught has begun.

I demand more crying babies.
 
Digital-Nitrate
To be fair to those that say they can't imagine spending $4 a month... I suspect the reason many do not is that they don't play online for just a month, and that most likely play online for as long as they have a console. Just about any subscription fee looks small when broken up into many parts, but that's just a marketing gimmick to make it seem like it doesn't cost much. The reality is that if you have been playing on XBL for the last three years you've already spent around $150 and will continue to do so unless MS decides to stop charging for it, which is unlikely.

I'm not saying it's not worth it mind you, just that mentioning the monthly fee is rather misleading... especially given the fact so many criticized the PS3 for being more expensive, and yet just the cost of XBL alone over just four years totally wipes that cost difference out, not to mention all the other "extras" that are free with the PS3 that you have to pay for or are not even available with the Xbox 360.


[/LIST]
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Good points, I am spending $50 a year for my XBL service and that does add up. I didn't realize you could compare trophies the same way, very cool. I think my $50 a year is worth it though since I can DL a system update in less than 30 seconds, DL an HD movie over 1 gig in less than 30 min, and 1+ gig demos in less than 30 min. But the PS3 does allow me to continue downloading while playing online, very nifty with it extremely slow download times. Plus my PS3 is about 100 decibels quieter than my Semi truck loud 360.
 
ChadSpeed
Good points, I am spending $50 a year for my XBL service and that does add up. I didn't realize you could compare trophies the same way, very cool. I think my $50 a year is worth it though since I can DL a system update in less than 30 seconds, DL an HD movie over 1 gig in less than 30 min, and 1+ gig demos in less than 30 min. But the PS3 does allow me to continue downloading while playing online, very nifty with it extremely slow download times. Plus my PS3 is about 100 decibels quieter than my Semi truck loud 360.
Click to expand...

Like the trophy info you may have been told, you have also been extremely misled by someone regarding this so-called "extremely slow download times" on the PS3... which is utter nonsense... not that you are to be blamed for it, just that who ever told you that, you should never count on them for accurate information any longer.

First of all, you mentioned you can DL an HD movie over 1 gig in less than 30 min, and 1+ gig demos in less than 30 min... I do the same thing with my PS3 only about three times faster than what you are getting and I'm doing it wirelessly through a WiFi router. It takes me between 10-20 minutes to download 1 GB files from the PSN to my PS3, whether they be HD movies or demos.

The limit to how fast you can transfer anything from anywhere is first based on the bandwidth your ISP gives you. If you are using a router, especially a WiFi router, then you can also lose bandwidth if it is not properly set up and communicating accurately with the WiFi adapters with access to your network. Then, and only then are you limited by the traffic on a server that you are downloading files from.

Seeing as I regularly am able to download files from the PSN at a transfer rate between 6,000 kb/s and 15,000 kb/s clearly it is wrong to even suggest that the PS3 has extremely slow download times, and in this case at least, my speeds appear to be faster than what you are getting from XBL servers... but that's likely do to how much bandwidth your ISP gives you, and not the fault of XBL servers, but I wouldn't know.

Look, there are plenty of reasons why even hardcore XBL users are not happy that they have to pay. Don't take my word for it, just read what Cesar Berardini, the editor at Team Xbox has to say on the subject.

However, the fact is many do pay, and it's MS right to be able to charge for something that people are willing to pay for. Truly it's as simple as that. Granted, MS does have a captive audience, thus like their accessories and add ons, MS monopolizing the market of Xbox users such that if you own a 360 and want to play online your only choice is to pay to play.

Don't get me wrong though I'm not saying there is anything wrong with XBL, and I totally understand why many people continue to pay for it. At the end of the day, that's there only choice if they want to play online with their 360.

However, despite the rumors you may have been told, not only can you achieve extremely fast download times from the PSN, but for some games, Sony even has massive banks of dedicated servers so that unlike 360 games that require the players host the game (which can cause all sorts of lag issues and drop outs even with only a handful of players), games like Warhawk even with up to 32 online players are rock solid.

997953862_656ca51475_o.jpg



The upcoming game, M.A.G. is supposedly going to even support a total of 256 online players in a single game. :eek:


Please understand though, I'm definitely not saying anyone who pays for XBL is an idiot. Far from it. I completely understand why many continue to pay for it. I just wanted to make sure you and anyone else reading this that may have been misled by others regarding the PSN and trophies understands the truth.

I also want to add how much I appreciate the fact that we are having a meaningful and civil discussion about the differences and similarities between XBL and PSN without it breaking out into a flame war over formats, which you can see happen so often at other forums... yet another reminder on why I enjoy the time I spend here at GTP. 👍
 
Great post. I hate it when people think that the PSN somehow limits their download speed. And isn't it a shame that with our free PSN service, we get dedicated servers, and 360 gamers have to pay to host games on their own? Tisk Tisk. Still, I wish I had a 360 too.
 
Dead_Poetic
Guys, is it possible to sign into your psn id on someone else's console????
Click to expand...

Yes, and it's really quite easy to do.

Simply create a new User Account on the PS3 you want access to your PSN ID on. You can give it any name you like, it makes no difference at all.

Then go to the PSN menu bar in the XMB and click on Sign Up for PSN.

Instead of creating a new PSN account, simply select "Use an Existing Account".

Now all you have to do is put in the email address and password of the account you want access to on that PS3, and voila, you're done.

I've done this when we are visiting friends and family who have PS3 and want to access my PSN mail or play under my PSN account.

You'll also have access to your PSN store download lists, so it's possible to download games you have purchased to their PS3 and play them. Just remember to delete your User Account before you leave.
 
Digital-Nitrate
Yes, and it's really quite easy to do.

Simply create a new User Account on the PS3 you want access to your PSN ID on. You can give it any name you like, it makes no difference at all.

Then go to the PSN menu bar in the XMB and click on Sign Up for PSN.

Instead of creating a new PSN account, simply select "Use an Existing Account".

Now all you have to do is put in the email address and password of the account you want access to on that PS3, and voila, you're done.

I've done this when we are visiting friends and family who have PS3 and want to access my PSN mail or play under my PSN account.

You'll also have access to your PSN store download lists, so it's possible to download games you have purchased to their PS3 and play them. Just remember to delete your User Account before you leave.
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Ooooh. That makes sense, thanks for the quick and informative answer. Now, when you delete your account, does it delete what you have downloaded onto their PS3?
 
Dead_Poetic
Ooooh. That makes sense, thanks for the quick and informative answer. Now, when you delete your account, does it delete what you have downloaded onto their PS3?
Click to expand...

No, but if a game is copy protected, then it will not be playable if the account that purchased it is not on their PS3.
 
Do NOT just delete the account. You have to physically go into Account Management and deactivate that system, otherwise you will use one of your 5 allowed authorizations on that console.

You are allowed 5 console authorizations to have access to your playable content. After you have activated 5 systems, you will be limited to using your content on one of those systems. If your system breaks, and you buy a new one, you will not be able to use any of your content for the new system without calling Sony to request they rest everything for you (which can be a hassle).

It is best if you just deactivate it from the start.
 
Have to give a +rep to D-N for his post, good stuff and I have to agree in regard to down-load speeds off PSN, I have no speed issues at all with them.

One difference that is worth pointing out is that 360 updates are add-on patches, while a PS3 update is the full OS being downloaded again. Given the size difference, the PS3 one is going to take longer, but it is also the safer option as well.

On a Trophy related note I got a LBP one earlier today that has me hovering on the brink of rank 6, I'm currently Rank 5 - 99% :)

Got to 6 - thanks to a session on LBP and COD:WaW 👍


Scaff
 
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Digital-Nitrate
Like the trophy info you may have been told, you have also been extremely misled by someone regarding this so-called "extremely slow download times" on the PS3... which is utter nonsense... not that you are to be blamed for it, just that who ever told you that, you should never count on them for accurate information any longer.

First of all, you mentioned you can DL an HD movie over 1 gig in less than 30 min, and 1+ gig demos in less than 30 min... I do the same thing with my PS3 only about three times faster than what you are getting and I'm doing it wirelessly through a WiFi router. It takes me between 10-20 minutes to download 1 GB files from the PSN to my PS3, whether they be HD movies or demos.

The limit to how fast you can transfer anything from anywhere is first based on the bandwidth your ISP gives you. If you are using a router, especially a WiFi router, then you can also lose bandwidth if it is not properly set up and communicating accurately with the WiFi adapters with access to your network. Then, and only then are you limited by the traffic on a server that you are downloading files from.

Seeing as I regularly am able to download files from the PSN at a transfer rate between 6,000 kb/s and 15,000 kb/s clearly it is wrong to even suggest that the PS3 has extremely slow download times, and in this case at least, my speeds appear to be faster than what you are getting from XBL servers... but that's likely do to how much bandwidth your ISP gives you, and not the fault of XBL servers, but I wouldn't know.

Look, there are plenty of reasons why even hardcore XBL users are not happy that they have to pay. Don't take my word for it, just read what Cesar Berardini, the editor at Team Xbox has to say on the subject.

However, the fact is many do pay, and it's MS right to be able to charge for something that people are willing to pay for. Truly it's as simple as that. Granted, MS does have a captive audience, thus like their accessories and add ons, MS monopolizing the market of Xbox users such that if you own a 360 and want to play online your only choice is to pay to play.

Don't get me wrong though I'm not saying there is anything wrong with XBL, and I totally understand why many people continue to pay for it. At the end of the day, that's there only choice if they want to play online with their 360.

However, despite the rumors you may have been told, not only can you achieve extremely fast download times from the PSN, but for some games, Sony even has massive banks of dedicated servers so that unlike 360 games that require the players host the game (which can cause all sorts of lag issues and drop outs even with only a handful of players), games like Warhawk even with up to 32 online players are rock solid.

997953862_656ca51475_o.jpg



The upcoming game, M.A.G. is supposedly going to even support a total of 256 online players in a single game. :eek:


Please understand though, I'm definitely not saying anyone who pays for XBL is an idiot. Far from it. I completely understand why many continue to pay for it. I just wanted to make sure you and anyone else reading this that may have been misled by others regarding the PSN and trophies understands the truth.

I also want to add how much I appreciate the fact that we are having a meaningful and civil discussion about the differences and similarities between XBL and PSN without it breaking out into a flame war over formats, which you can see happen so often at other forums... yet another reminder on why I enjoy the time I spend here at GTP. 👍
Click to expand...

Hey Scaff, I know we have ventured off topic here so if you would like to move the post to a PSN discusion thread it would be very appreicated.

Now Nitrate, I think you may be misunderstanding me. No one told me the PSN was slow at downloading system/game updates etc., that has been my experience. I have opened specific ports that Sony has posted on the GT site to try to resolve my issues to no avail. I ran a speedtest.net on my PC and got around 9,000 kbs down and 1500 kbs up, but when I ran the same speedtest through the PS3 it only showed a 3,000 kbs down and 1200 kbs up.

To be fair the long downloads are only 1% of the time that I use the PS3, they are just always at the wrong time, usually when I only have an hour to play and half of it is spent on downloading and installing a System Update.

I also have a 10 down 1 up service from Comcast, and have my PS3 going through the same router as my Wii and 360. When I bought my 360 all I had to do for 10 sec system updates was plug it in, so far with the PS3 I have researched until I found the specific ports, opened them and still slow downloading. If you can help please do, this is really my biggest gripe with my PS3. Also, Thank you for the civil discussion that only happens here at GTPlanet.👍
 
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Scaff
Have to give a +rep to D-N for his post, good stuff and I have to agree in regard to down-load speeds off PSN, I have no speed issues at all with them.

One difference that is worth pointing out is that 360 updates are add-on patches, while a PS3 update is the full OS being downloaded again. Given the size difference, the PS3 one is going to take longer, but it is also the safer option as well.



Scaff
Click to expand...

That makes sense Scaff, thanks for the info.
 
So I beat Dark Sector, Its an awesome game. I wish it was more popular to spawn a sequel. Great graphics good controllers and the after touch sixaxis glaive controls are decent and useable. Its short but well worth the $16 I paid for it. It really gets me in the mood for Dead Space. The combat and action in Dark Sector can get intense and when u have to face 3 of 4 guys at once with no ammo its a rush. Sadly you have to play for hours before unlocking the cool abilities that dont carry over to the next game. Its worth playing over again to find different ways of dismantling the enemies. The Boss battles are some of the best I've had and figuring out how to beat the Stalker without using the guide was fun but there is no way to replay a section of the game. It would have been cool to have a boss rush mode like the castlevainia games. There are some annoying parts to the game like the sections where you use some Goliath battle armor thing. The game really could have been great if it had a deeper story and maybe 4 more chapters with abilities carrying over to the next game. The melee combat is useless and could have been more dynamic deeper melee combat. The stealth element does not exist until you get the camo but it really turns the game into a stealthy game.

Overall I'd give Dark Sector a 8.5/10

Pros:
Controls and the abilty to finish guys different ways.
Graphics, lighting and normal maps are good shadows are high detail. aliasing does not bother me.
Gameplay has a short learning curve but u may forget about some of your powers when u need them.
I did not try multiplayer.
Boss Battle are interesting and
Running out of ammo is not really a bad thing.

Cons:
Short game less than 10 hours to beat
No Special abilities carry over to the next game.
Not enough going on most of the game, world feels dead and lifeless.
 
ChadSpeed
I have opened specific ports that Sony has posted on the GT site to try to resolve my issues to no avail. I ran a speedtest.net on my PC and got around 9,000 kbs down and 1500 kbs up, but when I ran the same speedtest through the PS3 it only showed a 3,000 kbs down and 1200 kbs up.
Click to expand...
Sounds like an issue with your router. What router are you using, and how many devices do you have that have access to it, and how are they connected (Ethernet or WiFi).

Unless you bought the WiFi adapter, I assume your 360 is connected via Ethernet as well as your Wii. Unfortunately, as far as I know, without having a browser, there is no way of accurately measuring the transfer speeds, but at least with your PC and PS3 you can.

If you are using the router's WiFi to connect to the PS3 but not your PC, for testing purposes, you may want to connect the PS3 via Ethernet and run speedtest that way.

Things that can cause problems for one device and not others using the same router can often be traced to the router settings, firewalls, and even the quality of the WiFi transmitter in the router.

There are so many variables to diagnosing network related issues that impact transfer speeds, so the trick is to isolate each one as best as possible.

I'm certainly no network expert, so you may find much better advice and assistance posting in the Computers & Web Design sub forum, and maybe some other technical forum specifically about trouble shooting networks.

Although if the problem is only happening about 1% of the time, it may not be worth the effort.
 
Digital-Nitrate
Sounds like an issue with your router. What router are you using, and how many devices do you have that have access to it, and how are they connected (Ethernet or WiFi).

Unless you bought the WiFi adapter, I assume your 360 is connected via Ethernet as well as your Wii. Unfortunately, as far as I know, without having a browser, there is no way of accurately measuring the transfer speeds, but at least with your PC and PS3 you can.

If you are using the router's WiFi to connect to the PS3 but not your PC, for testing purposes, you may want to connect the PS3 via Ethernet and run speedtest that way.

Things that can cause problems for one device and not others using the same router can often be traced to the router settings, firewalls, and even the quality of the WiFi transmitter in the router.

There are so many variables to diagnosing network related issues that impact transfer speeds, so the trick is to isolate each one as best as possible.

I'm certainly no network expert, so you may find much better advice and assistance posting in the Computers & Web Design sub forum, and maybe some other technical forum specifically about trouble shooting networks.

Although if the problem is only happening about 1% of the time, it may not be worth the effort.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help D_N, when I said 1%, I meant that only 1% of my PS3's time is spent downloading, the rest playing games, Blu-Rays. My router is a Linksys 4 port router, everything is hooked up ala Ethernet cable. I'll try posting in that forum and see what happens, thanks again.:)
 

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