Replacing a PS3 Hard Drive is super easy

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With the endless stream of free PlayStation Plus games, it may be time for you to upgrade your PS3’s hard drive. The hard drives are fairly cheap and the process is much easier than you’d think.

Step 1: Buying a new hard drive (HDD)

  • Type: There are two main type of hard drives available: 3.5″ (Desktop) and 2.5″ (Laptop). The PlayStation 3 holds the 2.5″ HDD.
  • Size: At the minimum 500GB, this size should be able to hold all of the free PS+ games as of August 2013. This will also allow a bit of room for purchased games. However, if you want room to grow, I would suggest 750GB or 1TB.
  • Specs: Generally speaking, there are two other features you should look for in an HDD: Cache and RPM. Though the difference is slight, the higher each number is the faster load times will be. A safe call will be 16MB Cache and 7,200 RPM. For some cost savings, you can go with 8MB Cache and 5,400 RPM.
  • Sites: Amazon and Newegg are great sites to help you find the right hard drive. There should be plenty of PS3 reviews on each site.

Step 2: Backing up your info

  • If you have PS+, you should make sure that you’ve uploaded all game saves to the PS3 cloud. In the main PS3 browser, navigate to each game and press triangle. Then select Saved Data Auto-Upload, then select On.
  • To speed up the replacement process, you should delete all game data. You can download this all again later easily via PSN.
  • Grab your largest flash drive and format it to FAT32. Warning: Formatting will delete all info currently on the flash drive.
  • On the same flash drive, you need to add the latest PS3 firmware. First, create a folder on the flash drive that says: PS3. Inside this folder, create another folder titled: UPDATE.
  • Download the latest firmware here. Once complete, add this file (PS3UPDAT.PUP) into the UPDATE folder on the flash drive.
  • Insert the flash drive into your PlayStation 3’s USB port.
  • Go into the Settings section of your PS3 and select Backup Utility. Follow the instructions to backup your PS3 data to your flash drive.

Step 3: Replacing the Hard Drive

  • Turn off your Playstation and remove all cords.
  • Follow these instructions, based on your particular PS3 model. This should take less than 5 minutes.
  • Plug in your PS3, plug in the flash drive  and start the system.

Step 4: Formatting and Startup

  • After starting up your PS3, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your new HDD.
  • You will want to install the latest firmware via your flash drive
  • You will also want to run Backup Utility based off of your flash drive backup data.

Step 5: Enjoying the Space

  • Now it’s time to go buckwild and fill up the HDD. Log into PSN and navigate to the Downloads section.
  • Download all of the games you’d like on your system. Since you’ve purchased these already, you should not be charged for anything.
  • The download and install process will likely be the longest part of the HDD replacement process. Try queuing up a couple downloads at all times and you’ll be complete before you know it!

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