New PS3 with old HDD - Blu-ray Forum

Drew664 · 11-24-2013, 09:18 PM

Question for those that either know or have done this before.

My OG 60GB PS3 died last week, and I am looking at getting another PS3 over the next week or so. I had upgraded the HDD way back when, I just need to know a few things.

1.) Are all PS3 HDD's universal? I want to use the old HDD in a new PS3 model.

2.) Will all of my password/log on info be saved on the old HDD? I had an email account/password that I don't fully remember, and I'd rather not have to start fresh considering I have about $50 in games attached to the account.

3.) Is it best to even before I turn on the new PS3, install the old HDD?

Thanks, and I did a quick search before posting, but couldn't find anything relevant.

Snake_XRS · 11-25-2013, 01:35 PM

I wasn't able to put the 320Gb hard drive that I had in my fat PS3 into the slim that I had bought. My original PS3 died with the 320Gb hard drive in it, and when I tried to put it into the new PS3 the system kept saying that this drive is connected to a different PS3. It wouldn't give me the option to format the drive over again so I basically have a dud drive.

Seeing that your unit died too I think you're in the same boat I was in.

But to answer your question you cannot just put the drive in a new PS3 and continue using whatever was saved on it.

Drew664 · 11-25-2013, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snake_XRS

I wasn't able to put the 320Gb hard drive that I had in my fat PS3 into the slim that I had bought. My original PS3 died with the 320Gb hard drive in it, and when I tried to put it into the new PS3 the system kept saying that this drive is connected to a different PS3. It wouldn't give me the option to format the drive over again so I basically have a dud drive.

Seeing that your unit died too I think you're in the same boat I was in.

But to answer your question you cannot just put the drive in a new PS3 and continue using whatever was saved on it.

Well that is the exact HDD I had upgraded to on my fatty. Looks like I will be starting from scratch.

Thank you for your response.

awongus · 11-25-2013, 04:00 PM

What if ur "old" PS3 doesn't die, and ur just upgrading to a newer model (like super slim)? Can u still use the "old" HDD? If so, what are the steps to take before installing on the "new" PS3?

I'm thinking of taking advantage of the BF PS3 deal this year, and porting over my 500GB HDD from the phatty to super slim.

GeneticMutation · 11-25-2013, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awongus

What if ur "old" PS3 doesn't die, and ur just upgrading to a newer model (like super slim)? Can u still use the "old" HDD? If so, what are the steps to take before installing on the "new" PS3?

I'm thinking of taking advantage of the BF PS3 deal this year, and porting over my 500GB HDD from the phatty to super slim.

When putting a new or old(from another PS3) HDD into a PS3 the PS3 will want to format it everytime! Anything on the HDD will be erased!

Pelican170 · 11-25-2013, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneticMutation

When putting a new or old(from another PS3) HDD into a PS3 the PS3 will want to format it everytime! Anything on the HDD will be erased!

Correct! You wont be able to get anything on that. Your best bet is to backup what you can onto an external HDD and then transfer after. Not all game save data will transfer though...

shinseiRomeo · 11-25-2013, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneticMutation

When putting a new or old(from another PS3) HDD into a PS3 the PS3 will want to format it everytime! Anything on the HDD will be erased!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pelican170

Correct! You wont be able to get anything on that. Your best bet is to backup what you can onto an external HDD and then transfer after. Not all game save data will transfer though...

This happened to me over the summer. Sony intentionally and willfully manufactured the PS3 with a shelf life due to the cheap thermal paste used on the components. It is not a question of if the system will die, it's when.

Now putting that out there, the Genetic and Pelican are correct Drew. You cannot just take the hard drive out of one PS3 and put it into another. If you do that, everything will be formatted and erased. The ONLY option is to repair the PS3 with the original hard drive.

When my system got the YLOD two monthd agomy heart sank. Seven years of gaming gone, everything I've ever done on the PS3. I mailed it away to a company who repairs them and after a couple weeks it was back to normal. At that point I had to go buy an external 500GB HD for a backup since I upgraded my PS3 HD as well. All good so far, but I know the system will fail again at some point.

awongus · 11-26-2013, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneticMutation

When putting a new or old(from another PS3) HDD into a PS3 the PS3 will want to format it everytime! Anything on the HDD will be erased!

Ahhh, OK. Got it. Thx.

Sknyfs · 11-29-2013, 08:19 PM

the system writes an ID on the HDD so it will only work with that system.. Anything else requires formatting. But after the format it will work fine ...

I would suggest you have ps+ and copy all saves to the cloud (1G is alot).
All of your store purchases can easily be redownloaded ... (but can be time consuming)

Toptube · 12-06-2013, 08:35 AM

is the old PS3 completely dead? or is it just a dead optical/blu-ray drive?

If the system is completely dead, you will probably not be able to retrieve any of the data, as PS3 HDDs are very well encrypted.

If your PS3 works enough to run for a couple of hours, get a large external HDD or thumbdrive, use a computer to format it to "fat32" and then run the PS3 backup utility.

You can use the backed up data to restore to the new PS3. Since it is a new PS3 and not the same PS3 from which the backup was made, any copy protected data will not transfer. So this means some game saves (although not that many games copy protect their saves), and probably anything downloaded from PSN.

If the old PS3 is completely dead, You can use the old drive in it if it is larger than the new PS3's drive. But you will have to reformat the HDD first. if the new PS3 won't do it for you, you can wipe the drive on a computer and then format it to Fat32.

Regardless of what the outcome is, you will probably have to call Sony to get the old PS3 deactivated from your PSN account (normally you deactivate yourself, through the XMB. but you can't do that if the PS3 is dead!). Thus restoring uses of digital content that you have purchased.

*and to anyone reading this thread: Just like important computer data, your important PS3 data should be backed up regularly. If you game a lot, once a month is a good schedule. If you don't game often, running a PS3 backup every two or three months will still give you acceptable retainability on your data!

Petra_Kalbrain · 12-06-2013, 10:50 AM

Another option IF THE OLD PS3 IS STILL FUNCTIONAL (optical disc drive failure) is to do a data transfer. This involves connecting both PS3s directly to one another with a network cable. The old PS3 can move all data to the new PS3. However, that limits you to whatever manufacturer drive is inside the new PS3, but it gets ALL of your data (even copyright protected data which doesn't transfer to a different hard drive through the external hard drive backup procedure) is safe and functional on the new PS3. DO NOTE HOWEVER that this data transfer between 2 PS3s MOVES all data. It DOES NOT COPY all data. Afterwards, the original hard drive will be empty!

11-24-2013, 09:18 PM	#1
Drew664 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:South Dakota Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:68	New PS3 with old HDD Question for those that either know or have done this before. My OG 60GB PS3 died last week, and I am looking at getting another PS3 over the next week or so. I had upgraded the HDD way back when, I just need to know a few things. 1.) Are all PS3 HDD's universal? I want to use the old HDD in a new PS3 model. 2.) Will all of my password/log on info be saved on the old HDD? I had an email account/password that I don't fully remember, and I'd rather not have to start fresh considering I have about $50 in games attached to the account. 3.) Is it best to even before I turn on the new PS3, install the old HDD? Thanks, and I did a quick search before posting, but couldn't find anything relevant.

11-25-2013, 01:35 PM	#2
Snake_XRS Blu-ray Guru Member since:May 2009 Location:Chicago	I wasn't able to put the 320Gb hard drive that I had in my fat PS3 into the slim that I had bought. My original PS3 died with the 320Gb hard drive in it, and when I tried to put it into the new PS3 the system kept saying that this drive is connected to a different PS3. It wouldn't give me the option to format the drive over again so I basically have a dud drive. Seeing that your unit died too I think you're in the same boat I was in. But to answer your question you cannot just put the drive in a new PS3 and continue using whatever was saved on it. Last edited by Snake_XRS; 11-25-2013 at 01:37 PM.

12-06-2013, 08:35 AM	#10
Toptube Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray collection:52	is the old PS3 completely dead? or is it just a dead optical/blu-ray drive? If the system is completely dead, you will probably not be able to retrieve any of the data, as PS3 HDDs are very well encrypted. If your PS3 works enough to run for a couple of hours, get a large external HDD or thumbdrive, use a computer to format it to "fat32" and then run the PS3 backup utility. You can use the backed up data to restore to the new PS3. Since it is a new PS3 and not the same PS3 from which the backup was made, any copy protected data will not transfer. So this means some game saves (although not that many games copy protect their saves), and probably anything downloaded from PSN. If the old PS3 is completely dead, You can use the old drive in it if it is larger than the new PS3's drive. But you will have to reformat the HDD first. if the new PS3 won't do it for you, you can wipe the drive on a computer and then format it to Fat32. Regardless of what the outcome is, you will probably have to call Sony to get the old PS3 deactivated from your PSN account (normally you deactivate yourself, through the XMB. but you can't do that if the PS3 is dead!). Thus restoring uses of digital content that you have purchased. and to anyone reading this thread: Just like important computer data, your important PS3 data should be backed up regularly. If you game a lot, once a month is a good schedule. If you don't game often, running a PS3 backup every two or three months will still give you acceptable retainability on your data! Last edited by Toptube; 12-06-2013 at 08:39 AM.*

11-25-2013, 04:00 PM	#4
awongus Expert Member Member since:Oct 2009 Blu-ray collection:540 DVD collection:240	What if ur "old" PS3 doesn't die, and ur just upgrading to a newer model (like super slim)? Can u still use the "old" HDD? If so, what are the steps to take before installing on the "new" PS3? I'm thinking of taking advantage of the BF PS3 deal this year, and porting over my 500GB HDD from the phatty to super slim.

11-29-2013, 08:19 PM	#9
Sknyfs Member Member since:Sep 2011 Blu-ray collection:372 DVD collection:491	the system writes an ID on the HDD so it will only work with that system.. Anything else requires formatting. But after the format it will work fine ... I would suggest you have ps+ and copy all saves to the cloud (1G is alot). All of your store purchases can easily be redownloaded ... (but can be time consuming)

12-06-2013, 10:50 AM	#11
Petra_Kalbrain Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Vancouver, BC 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:561 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:20	Another option IF THE OLD PS3 IS STILL FUNCTIONAL (optical disc drive failure) is to do a data transfer. This involves connecting both PS3s directly to one another with a network cable. The old PS3 can move all data to the new PS3. However, that limits you to whatever manufacturer drive is inside the new PS3, but it gets ALL of your data (even copyright protected data which doesn't transfer to a different hard drive through the external hard drive backup procedure) is safe and functional on the new PS3. DO NOTE HOWEVER that this data transfer between 2 PS3s MOVES all data. It DOES NOT COPY all data. Afterwards, the original hard drive will be empty!

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