I'm thinking of upgrading the HDD does all 2 1/2" hard drives work on the ps3 .
what HDD are working for you? Looking for something around 120 gb - 200 gb
Thanks

Someone else posted this on another thread a while back. I know a few people that ordered the 160GB drive (including my brother) and have been very happy with it. I ordered mine yesterday. The consensus is not to get a 7200 rpm drive due to heat generation issues and no noticeable performance difference.

A 60 GB SATA 2.5 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152506


A 80 GB SATA 2.5 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152507


A 100 GB SATA 2.5 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152506


A 120 GB SATA 2.5 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149057


A 160 GB SATA 2.5 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136071

Is there a way to transfer all your data from your original 20/60gb PS3 HDD to the upgrade HDD? I would love to go with a 160gb drive but don't want to lose any of my game saves etc...

You can back your saves up to a USN drive/stick.

there are also a 200GB drives you coudl use - unless 160 is the max that PS3 will support?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149059

I have not read anything about a 200GB drive not working. The PS3 handles larger external drives just fine, so I can't think why an internal would be a problem. In fact, some users have a cable that plugs into the internal slot to then connect to a large external drive. Those seemed to work just fine.

160GB should be plenty for me for now. :D

Is there a way to transfer all your data from your original 20/60gb PS3 HDD to the upgrade HDD? I would love to go with a 160gb drive but don't want to lose any of my game saves etc...
Yes, you can transfer saved game data to a flash drive, but all games don't work that way. For the Godfather game it doesn't let you and you can't backup PS2 saves. What you can do is use the backup utility to back up your hard drive to something else. My brother used his iPod. You will need free space on the backup device for everything on your hard drive. I say this because if you're having trouble with space, you can delete music, photos, movies, etc. that can be easily retransferred later. Once my bro made a backup of the old drive, he put in the new one and told it to restore fro the iPod. Everything was just as it was on the old drive. Even his saved game of the Godfather.

I ordered the hard drive case to allow it to be external. I figured the 60GB PS3 drive would be handy to transfer pictures to on my upcoming travels. Here's how I plan to work my swap, since I don't have an iPod or anything with a large enough capacity. I'm going to put the 160GB hard drive in the case, then backup the 60GB current drive to it. Then, I'll download the backup file to my computer and delete it off the 160GB drive. The 160 GB drive will then go in the PS3 and the 60GB drive in the case. Transfer the backup file to the 60GB drive in the case. Then use the restore backup function on the PS3 to get everything on the new 160GB drive. Make sense?

Point is, you don't have to lose anything with a hard drive swap. The backup and restore feature on the PS3 works great as long as you have a drive or media large enough to create a backup file.

Do the drives that you connect via USB have to be FAT32? I have an external USB 200GB drive that I could backup my PS3 to but it is NTFS...no go, right?

yes it must be fat32

you can format with this... there are a lot of sites to help you format, but this one made the most sense to me.

http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm

remove 60gb ps3 hdd without backing up
place 60 gb drive into external enclosure
add 160gb hdd to ps3
connect old 60 gb drive to ps3 via usb
restore files from old drive to new drive?

remove 60gb ps3 hdd without backing up
place 60 gb drive into external enclosure
add 160gb hdd to ps3
connect old 60 gb drive to ps3 via usb
restore files from old drive to new drive?

No, the internal drives are not USB. Maybe you can use something like this to attach it:

http://www.cooldrives.com/seatatousb20.html

But I don't think you could copy files from the PS3 formatted drive. A "PS3 backup" to a USB fat32 drive seems to be the only option to restore data properly.

No, the internal drives are not USB. Maybe you can use something like this to attach it:

http://www.cooldrives.com/seatatousb20.html

But I don't think you could copy files from the PS3 formatted drive. A "PS3 backup" to a USB fat32 drive seems to be the only option to restore data properly.

It's not that they aren't USB...you can get a USB enclosure for them. The problem is that the internal drives are formatted using a Sony proprietary file system and USB drives hooked up to the PS3 must use FAT32 file system.

Yes, you can transfer saved game data to a flash drive, but all games don't work that way. For the Godfather game it doesn't let you and you can't backup PS2 saves. What you can do is use the backup utility to back up your hard drive to something else. My brother used his iPod. You will need free space on the backup device for everything on your hard drive. I say this because if you're having trouble with space, you can delete music, photos, movies, etc. that can be easily retransferred later. Once my bro made a backup of the old drive, he put in the new one and told it to restore fro the iPod. Everything was just as it was on the old drive. Even his saved game of the Godfather.

I ordered the hard drive case to allow it to be external. I figured the 60GB PS3 drive would be handy to transfer pictures to on my upcoming travels. Here's how I plan to work my swap, since I don't have an iPod or anything with a large enough capacity. I'm going to put the 160GB hard drive in the case, then backup the 60GB current drive to it. Then, I'll download the backup file to my computer and delete it off the 160GB drive. The 160 GB drive will then go in the PS3 and the 60GB drive in the case. Transfer the backup file to the 60GB drive in the case. Then use the restore backup function on the PS3 to get everything on the new 160GB drive. Make sense?

Point is, you don't have to lose anything with a hard drive swap. The backup and restore feature on the PS3 works great as long as you have a drive or media large enough to create a backup file.

What about downloaded content like Movie trailers, games & demos. That's honestly my biggest concern. I have a ton of trailers and demos along with purchased games like Warhawk, Mortal Kombat & Tekken.

What about downloaded content like Movie trailers, games & demos. That's honestly my biggest concern. I have a ton of trailers and demos along with purchased games like Warhawk, Mortal Kombat & Tekken.


Use the backup utility to another drive (USB) and it will back all those things up. Then use the restore utility and load it all back on, after you install the new HDD

Use the backup utility to another drive (USB) and it will back all those things up. Then use the restore utility and load it all back on, after you install the new HDD

Yes, it's a pretty sweet feature. You new HDD will look exactly like the old one, except for the extra free space.

What usb 2.0 cheap enclosure do you guys prefer? I'm going with the 200 or 250gb SATA.

I already own the 60gb.