Ps3 Hd Upgrade - Help?

[Roland1919]

Hey gang, I am preparing to upgrade my PS3 60G to 500GB but first I have a few questions/concerns. I've done a ton of research and have noticed, as one will when doing research, that there are varying opinions. So I want to get some "facts". Please offer fact that you know proven to be true. I want this upgrade to go right.

1. OK, first research I did was backing up my saved game data. Is it true that you only need to save the game's "saved data" and not the "game data" itself. My understanding is that you can fit all the save data on the thumb drive but saving everything would take a bit more room which essentially would not fit on a thumb drive. I understand that the rest of the material you can reload later like themes, PS HOME, game data, music, etc.

2. Some game save info will not transfer if you change PSN ID's. Is this true?

3. I've read opinions that you should not upgrade more than 2X the HD already installed. In other words if you have a 60GB PS3 than you should not upgrade to over 120 because of heating/noise issues? Is this true?

These are just a few questions I can think of. Installation seems simple but again I want to make sure that once I take the drive out and format a new one that it was done right. According to what I'm reading once you format and install a new HD that it you can never go back to the old one even for reference without reformatting it.

Thanks for any help.

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by Roland1919

Hey gang, I am preparing to upgrade my PS3 60G to 500GB but first I have a few questions/concerns. I've done a ton of research and have noticed, as one will when doing research, that there are varying opinions. So I want to get some "facts". Please offer fact that you know proven to be true. I want this upgrade to go right.

1. OK, first research I did was backing up my saved game data. Is it true that you only need to save the game's "saved data" and not the "game data" itself. My understanding is that you can fit all the save data on the thumb drive but saving everything would take a bit more room which essentially would not fit on a thumb drive. I understand that the rest of the material you can reload later like themes, PS HOME, game data, music, etc.

2. Some game save info will not transfer if you change PSN ID's. Is this true?

3. I've read opinions that you should not upgrade more than 2X the HD already installed. In other words if you have a 60GB PS3 than you should not upgrade to over 120 because of heating/noise issues? Is this true?

These are just a few questions I can think of. Installation seems simple but again I want to make sure that once I take the drive out and format a new one that it was done right. According to what I'm reading once you format and install a new HD that it you can never go back to the old one even for reference without reformatting it.

Thanks for any help.

1. Ya, you only need to back up the SAVE DATA. Game data is what's installed when you put in the disc for the first time, so you'll just re-install it/update when you first play the game again.

2. I believe so, some games that have online components may not work with different PSN ID's. I've never tried personally, but I've heard this before as well.

3. No that's not true. You can upgrade to whatever size you want. Heat may become an issue when upgrading the SPEED that the HdD spins at (ie: standard 5400rpm or the faster 7200rpm), but even then many people have used 7200rpm hard drives in their PS3 without any problem. Size doesn't make a difference though.

[Septimus Prime]

Originally Posted by Rike255

1. Ya, you only need to back up the SAVE DATA. Game data is what's installed when you put in the disc for the first time, so you'll just re-install it/update when you first play the game again.

That's not always the case. DLC is stored in game data, so you should take note of that if you have games like LBP, Dead Space, or Rock Band, which use game data.

I would highly recommend you use the backup utility on the PS3 to back up your stuff. You'll need an external drive formatted in FAT32, though.

[jg14]

If you can get a big enough external drive, I would and do the backup/restore option. Though I have to say, I had a problem restoring mine when I swapped it and lost most of my save/game data.

Some games it doesn't matter to and others it does. My Little Big Planet and Prince of Persia data could not be used, while some other games such as Pixeljunk Monsters and Tekken5 worked fine. The ID is the key, as long as you keep it the same when you install the new drive the save data should be fine. It is not your PSN id, it is your user account on the machine itself.

I went with a 5400 RPM because I got it cheap (Seagate 250, $65). Going with a 7200 essentially just gets you somewhat faster access, but significant benefits are minimal. Just get a QUALITY drive and you won't have issues.

[Roland1919]

Originally Posted by jg14

I went with a 5400 RPM because I got it cheap (Seagate 250, $65). Going with a 7200 essentially just gets you somewhat faster access, but significant benefits are minimal. Just get a QUALITY drive and you won't have issues.

OK Good thats what I have been reading that 5400 RPM is perfect and that anything more is a waste. I'm eyeing the 500GB SAMSUNG Spinpoint for $125 on AMAZOn but i have to read a few more reviews.

Still can't believe how much room PS HOME TAKES up. I had to erase some game data to make space for it.

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by Septimus Prime

That's not always the case. DLC is stored in game data, so you should take note of that if you have games like LBP, Dead Space, or Rock Band, which use game data.

I would highly recommend you use the backup utility on the PS3 to back up your stuff. You'll need an external drive formatted in FAT32, though.

That's why I said he'll have to update again later. You can redownload all DLC that you've purchased/downloaded in the past on your new HDD.
In fact, I may be wrong but I think that you cannot copy game data from an external HDD to an internal one, that would make for a very easy way to share DLC otherwise.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by Roland1919

OK Good thats what I have been reading that 5400 RPM is perfect and that anything more is a waste. I'm eyeing the 500GB SAMSUNG Spinpoint for $125 on AMAZOn but i have to read a few more reviews.

Still can't believe how much room PS HOME TAKES up. I had to erase some game data to make space for it.

Errr uhmmm.. Samsung...

I would personally stick to Seagate. Their 5 year warranty (longest in the industry) is an excellent and credible signal of quality. And this may be anecdotal evidence, but I've had nothing but good experiences with them in 10 years of building computers, raid configurations and all.

Western Digital is pretty good too, although I got a DOA drive from them once.

Remember hard drives, because of their moving parts, are the most likely thing to break in computers.

Try www.newegg.com sometimes they're cheaper than amazon

[Septimus Prime]

Originally Posted by Rike255

That's why I said he'll have to update again later. You can redownload all DLC that you've purchased/downloaded in the past on your new HDD.
In fact, I may be wrong but I think that you cannot copy game data from an external HDD to an internal one, that would make for a very easy way to share DLC otherwise.

The backup utility will copy game data for you, but you can't just copy it from the game data utility.

And yes, you can redownload all your stuff, but that's a waste of time if you have the means to just make backups.

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by Seeking_Alpha

Errr uhmmm.. Samsung...

I would personally stick to Seagate. Their 5 year warranty (longest in the industry) is an excellent and credible signal of quality. And this may be anecdotal evidence, but I've had nothing but good experiences with them in 10 years of building computers, raid configurations and all.

Western Digital is pretty good too, although I got a DOA drive from them once.

Remember hard drives, because of their moving parts, are the most likely thing to break in computers.

That is a very good point to bring up as some people forget that Hard Drives do not last forever. Probably one of the reasons why Sony made the PS3 so easy to swap out a HD.

(waits for a PS3 laser joke)

[Rike255]

<Insert PS3 laser joke here>

[DaMexiRican]

LOL Thankfully I haven't had a single problem with my 60gb launch ps3 I swapped out the HD for a 160gb for more space though.

[Toptube]

Worst case scenario a 7200RPM drive will only increase heat 2 or 3 degrees which is almost nothing. Especially considering the heat tolerance of the PS3. Most situations though will not see much if any difference at all. Noise depends on the brand and the model.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

That is a very good point to bring up as some people forget that Hard Drives do not last forever. Probably one of the reasons why Sony made the PS3 so easy to swap out a HD.

(waits for a PS3 laser joke)

Truth be told, case fans often break too, but nobody ever remembers that because they're dirt cheap and you don't lose data

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by Seeking_Alpha

Truth be told, case fans often break too, but nobody ever remembers that because they're dirt cheap and you don't lose data

Oh you hear the whine. Oh god I remember the days of fans going out vividly. But it's one of those things that get replaced VERY quickly.

[penatrASIAN]

i have a quick question, if your current drive is a 80 gig and you fill it almost all the way up. to do a "complete" backup of my drive do i need to buy another 80 gig? to do the restore before i take out my 80gig that's in my ps3 that's going to be replaced?

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by penatrASIAN

i have a quick question, if your current drive is a 80 gig and you fill it almost all the way up. to do a "complete" backup of my drive do i need to buy another 80 gig? to do the restore before i take out my 80gig that's in my ps3 that's going to be replaced?

It will pretty much take 80gb to do a backup. It's best to be on the safe side and get a backup drive that's a little too big then it is to get one that's too small. Check best buy, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com for cheap external drives. You can also look for cheap regular drives and a case for them. If you go the route of a regular drive, you can just throw it in you computer when you are done with it if you don't want to do regular backups of your PS3 data (it's a good recomendation though to do regular backups of your saved games).

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by penatrASIAN

i have a quick question, if your current drive is a 80 gig and you fill it almost all the way up. to do a "complete" backup of my drive do i need to buy another 80 gig? to do the restore before i take out my 80gig that's in my ps3 that's going to be replaced?

Not necessarily. If you don't have a large enough External Drive or USB Thumbstick, then I recommend calculating how much room you'll have left over after deleting demos and 'Game Data' (NOT Save Game Data). The 'Game Data' will be your biggest culprit for taking up space.

OR

Just copy over your Saved Games manually and redownload/install everything.

[partridge]

upgraded mine to a 320Gb drive recently using the system backup option onto an external drive then restored it once I'd put the new drive in.

Everything was fine, all accounts in place, etc, except I appear to have lost all trophies. They appear when I do a comparison against another gamer but if I click the Trophy icon on the XMB all I get is the ones gained since the new drive went in. Not a big issue but I don't understand where they went when the Sony servers clearly have them all stored?

[remmers33]

Originally Posted by partridge

upgraded mine to a 320Gb drive recently using the system backup option onto an external drive then restored it once I'd put the new drive in.

Everything was fine, all accounts in place, etc, except I appear to have lost all trophies. They appear when I do a comparison against another gamer but if I click the Trophy icon on the XMB all I get is the ones gained since the new drive went in. Not a big issue but I don't understand where they went when the Sony servers clearly have them all stored?

I upgraded too - 30 minute job including the whole backup/restore.

The trophies will re-appear when you play the games again. If you have trophies for games you no longer have, they will only ever appear when you compare to other players

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by remmers33

I upgraded too - 30 minute job including the whole backup/restore.

The trophies will re-appear when you play the games again. If you have trophies for games you no longer have, they will only ever appear when you compare to other players

Just to add to this, just select to synch with the server by hitting on the trophy folder. I had a similar issue when I restored my hard drive and the trophys were gone. It tooks approx. 20 minutes at the time.