PS3 - Resources, Technical Issues, Troubleshooting, FAQs

CastorTroy

Think I'll go with this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Seagate-inch-5400RPM-Drive/dp/B007NVGWV0/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

I've got a Slim. Would I need one of those brackets or is it just the super slim that uses them?

RangeR

Are you sure? That's 12mm high. I know the fat can only take 9.5mm. Not sure about the slim. Check it.

Try this one.

CastorTroy

I saw the size as well(12cm, maybe a bit too big. ) but then read the reviews where they said it was for their PS3 slim but maybe yours would be a safer bet

Benzino

I'm thinking about getting one of these myself. Recently subscribed to PSN+ and my 60GB has already reached it's limit (still can't download hitman, demons souls and The Last of Us is just around the corner). After reading an article on Eurogamer about HDDs for the PS3, one poster recommended the Travelstar (not exactly the one I've posted above) as it doesn't have any issues with apps such as BBC iPlayer that some other drives do.

Maybe something to bare in mind as I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else:

There are other very important considerations when upgrading to a new drive.

For gaming, the suggestions are all well and good, but the PS3 is much more than a games machine. One of the most used features on my PS3 is BBC iPlayer and a quick search on the internet will reveal hundreds of users who have opted for a cheap WD 500Gb drive, only to find that by 'parking the heads', a feature useful in a laptop, for example, is detrimental to applications such as iPlayer on the PS3; the drive will cause a few millliseconds pause in the video playback every 10 seconds, which, for me, made iPlayer unwatchable.

I started with the WD drive, but returned it when the above happened (arguing that if this happened, the drive is not truly 'PS3 compatible' as advertised on the particular site I got it from). I tried a Seagate 500Gb next as this was the brand of my original stock PS3 drive. Same problem.

Thankfully, after a LOT of research on the net, I found one single thread that suggested a Hitachi Travelstar. This drive has been in my PS3 for almost a year, with excellent results. I haven't tested the install speeds officially, but they are comparable with the 5600 rpm drives tested here and also perform exactly as I'd expect while gaming. Most importantly for me, however, there are NO issues with iPlayer or any other video content. I could only therefore recommend this drive for a PS3 upgrade:

Hitachi - Travelstar 5K500.B HTS545050B9A300 - Hard drive - 500 GB - internal - 2.5'' - SATA-300 - 5400 rpm - buffer: 8 MB

Hope this helps people, like others, I had to spend A LOT of time and effort to arrive at that drive!

ShadowHearth

Got my drive today. Copying save games to usb and online storage. will try a swap next. Wish me luck!

cursai

Ape Lincoln wrote: »

Is it possible to get a video file stored on a Ps3 (eg. Mp4) to display subtitles? I've tried numerous google searches but it seems I'd have to either stream it via Ps3MediaServer or re-encode the file to add the subtitles, would this be correct?

http://aviaddxsubs.blogspot.ie/

ShadowHearth

60gb ps fat, became 500gb ps very fat! :pac:

works perfect and swaping took less then few minutes. downloading Kinddoms of amalur and catherine again!

Benzino

ShadowHearth wrote: »

60gb ps fat, became 500gb ps very fat! :pac:

works perfect and swaping took less then few minutes. downloading Kinddoms of amalur and catherine again!

I have tried watching netflix or BBC iPlayer on it? Just wondering if has any of the issues mentioned above.

ShadowHearth

Benzino wrote: »

I have tried watching netflix or BBC iPlayer on it? Just wondering if has any of the issues mentioned above.

Sorry, can't check it now as I moved yesterday. So ps3 is somewhere in a box in north area of the house and broadband will be activated in 10 days. I'll check when I can and let you know. If it not working, I am not very bothered about it.

Benzino

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Sorry, can't check it now as I moved yesterday. So ps3 is somewhere in a box in north area of the house and broadband will be activated in 10 days. I'll check when I can and let you know. If it not working, I am not very bothered about it.

No worries, just thought I would ask, cheers!

jaxdasher

I was going to change my psn account email online via the Sony website(PSN Store). Wondering if anyone has changed theirs before. How long it took to switch or will you lose anything. I'm pretty sure you wont but just making sure.

RangeR

I changed mine within the past 12 months. It's instant. As in, if you are logged out of PSN on PS3, you must use your new email address to log in.

You don't lose anything.

Radiosonde

I want to get a PS3 for The Last of Us. 12gb version is attractively cheap, given I pretty much just want to play one game. Would 12gb version be ok for this? Do some games require more memory?

Varik

Radiosonde wrote: »

I want to get a PS3 for The Last of Us. 12gb version is attractively cheap, given I pretty much just want to play one game. Would 12gb version be ok for this? Do some games require more memory?

For the disc retail game I don't think there is an install so 12GB is fine for patches and the like.

winston82

Can't access the PS Store. None of the controller buttons work except for the home button. Anyone else have a similar issue?

ShadowHearth

Varik wrote: »

For the disc retail game I don't think there is an install so 12GB is fine for patches and the like.

Some games do install on hdd. Something like GT5 takes almost 5gb of data. Then NIER used 3gb too. There are few games that do install on HDD.

Most likely when they announce 12gb, it will be less then 10gb for actuall your own use. I am not familiar with hdd swaps on 12gb versions, but if you can swap hdd, then you could get 12gb version and if needed put in 500gb hdd yourself for around 50eu.

Varik

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Some games do install on hdd. Something like GT5 takes almost 5gb of data. Then NIER used 3gb too. There are few games that do install on HDD.

He was asking about the last of us, not any other game.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Most likely when they announce 12gb, it will be less then 10gb for actuall your own use. I am not familiar with hdd swaps on 12gb versions, but if you can swap hdd, then you could get 12gb version and if needed put in 500gb hdd yourself for around 50eu.

It's 16GB that's in the Super Slim, the 12GB is actual space.

There's no swapping on the 12GB, you just have to buy the small metal bracket attach it to a HDD and insert with the PS3 copying everything from the 12GB to the new HDD directly; once the drive is inserted the 12GB is no longer accessible.

ShadowHearth

Varik wrote: »

He was asking about the last of us, not any other game.



It's 16GB that's in the Super Slim, the 12GB is actual space.

There's no swapping on the 12GB, you just have to buy the small metal bracket attach it to a HDD and insert with the PS3 copying everything from the 12GB to the new HDD directly; once the drive is inserted the 12GB is no longer accessible.

He asked about one game, but we all know he won't limit himself just by one game on whole platform. So it is handy to know how things work on it.

Jelle1880

http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-Support/Problem-after-update-to-4-45/td-p/40712247

So far it seems like a US problem (update hasn't been released in Europe yet), but apparently a lot of people who have swapped out HDD's in their PS3 consoles are running into problems where their PS3 is bricked after installing the latest update.

Best to be on the safe side and turn off auto-update.

RangeR

Jelle1880 wrote: »

http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-Support/Problem-after-update-to-4-45/td-p/40712247

So far it seems like a US problem (update hasn't been released in Europe yet), but apparently a lot of people who have swapped out HDD's in their PS3 consoles are running into problems where their PS3 is bricked after installing the latest update.

Best to be on the safe side and turn off auto-update.

Holy ****. Good catch. Auto updates off.

Jelle1880

They've pulled it quite fast, so I don't think the issue will appear in this region.

RangeR

My PS3 auto downloaded the update already. It just didn't install it. Damn lucky. You can be sure others in our region aren't so lucky.

Blinked_Missed It

Just wanted to chime in and maybe provide a guide to wifi setups of some form for others. Part of this is copied & pasted from another comment I made on bargain alerts (also outlines use of homeplug/powlerline adapters & reasons never to use a repeater, especially for gaming).

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056828218

Tech Basics: 2 wifi types with 2 frequencies.
Types (there are other types such as bonded mimo g 108, 122, N 150, 450 etc but majority are the types below & the others don't really matter for the PS3)
G: 54mpbs: Slower but reliable and compatible with everything on earth at this stage.
N: 300mpbs: Theoretically faster but not supported by PS3 Fat or Slim (don't know about Super Slim)

2.4ghz: Congested with other devices using it (cordless phones, baby monitors, video senders etc) but better at cutting through walls and human beings (we're 70% moving water)
5ghz: Less congested but has a harder time cutting through walls & humans (not supported on Ps3 Fat or Slim, don't know about Super Slim)

Considering the above a G 54mbps should theoretically be much slower than an N 300mbps but if your G is at 2.4ghz going through walls it may beat the N 300mpbs at 5ghz through the same wall. Testing testing. Don't listen to the marketing. Also a 300mbps N is never ever approx 6 times faster than a 54mbps G, ever. Its BS.

Real life wireless Troubleshooting guidelines
1: 1st off wired is always always faster than wireless. Please understand that. Also incredibly hard to cause interference over a sealed cable, no so with wifi

2: Interference (cordless phones, video senders, baby monitors, microwaves, fridges, modern double glazing with inert gases, old houses with lead construction, mottled glass, it goes on).
Cordless phones: Move the cordless away from the router (cordless phones alter their channels randomly, may cut across your routers channel. Panasonic phones actively combat other wifi sources such as routers). Multiple cordless phones can create a Bermuda triangle effect for other devices. Try disabling 1 by 1 (this includes both base station and handset).
Video sender: Change channel on senders (both). These things can obliterate wifi (have seen laptops pressing against a router but unable to see the network due to a video sender 30ft away. Changed channel = connected)
Microwaves: They stop radiation getting out, they stop wifi going through them. Don't put the router near one.
Fridge: Big block of metal, gases & liquid. The router can't fire through it. Avoid it.
Double Glazing & mottled glass: Modern double glazing contain inert gases, which murders a wifi signal. If your playing on a laptop in the garden, open the window. Mottled glass causes the wifi signal to be refracted. Again open the window. If your router is in a conservatory your wifi signal is getting bounced around like a football before it makes it to the rest of the house.
Old house/New house. Old house = thick walls, possible lead in roof = worse wifi. New house = likely no lead & thinner walls = better wifi but also more interference from the neighbours who may have devices you can't see but interfere.
USB dongles on desktops: Only place into rear ports, the front ones don't get enough power to drive them properly.
Bluetooth: Bluetooth frequencies should avoid wifi but there may be crossover in some cases where devices are trying to switch over (think crossing lanes on a motorway). Our PS3 controllers are BT so if your getting lag check if your getting interference from other BT devices (mouse, headset on a table or ear)

3: Every device is different. My PS3 slim & fat prefer different wireless channels and that changes depending where you are in my apartment. All devices, laptops, ipad, desktops etc are different, they all have different 'preferred' channels. Most routers are set to "AUTO" channel, its useless if you have more than 1 device on wifi. Channel change on your router (especially if not all devices are having problems, they are not all the same, some have more power than others & different chipsets). Get a pen & paper, write 1 to 14 in the margin, change the channel 1 by 1 (don't skip any), wait 2 minutes after each change/router reboot, test in-game on the PS3 (do not use the Sony speedtest, it lies 100% of the time, they say it themselves its not trustworthy. Even if yo find a good channel continue to the next, there may be an even better one. Channel changes for gaming are far more important than for streaming, browsing on laptops. 100ms delay browsing may be ok, in gaming it means you get shot.

4: Better router (or if its a router with external antenna point the antenna in the direction of the devices using it i.e if the router is in the attic point the antenna down or your feeding it to the seagulls). ISP routers are not meant to be feature packed or the best in class but usually the issues relate to interference outlined above (cordless, house construction etc) but if all else fails get a Netgear or similar, not Belkin. Don't spend crazy money if its for the PS3, you won't see a benefit as the PS3 wifi is old tech (remember 54g @ 2.4ghz)

5: Stop downloading huge numbers of torrents over wifi tying down the routers cpu/don't have 20 devices all downloading at the same time while gaming. The Ps3 can't force other devices out of the way, give it space (see below re multiple SSID's).

6: Important for performance: The weakest link setup: If you have 5 devices which support 300mbps and a router that does the same & you attach a device which only supports 54mbps all 5 300mpbs devices will be dragged down to 54mbps.

Solution (btw your ISP won't support this, its not their business so don't bother calling them)

If you have multiple devices and a router that does both G & N and 2.4ghz & 5ghz make sure you create multiple SSID's on the router and connect each device to an SSID's depending on which frequencies/wifi type they support.

EG:
Galaxy S4: Supports N 300mpbs @ 2.4ghz & 5ghz)
Iphone 4 (supports N 300mpbs @ 2.4ghz, not 5ghz)
PS3 (G 54mbps only @ 2.4ghz)

Setup
SSID 1: Max N 300mbps 5ghz
SSID 2: Max N 300ghz 2.4ghz
SSID 3: Max G 54 mpbs 2.4ghz

If you attached all 3 devices to the same SSID (in this case SSID 3) everything operates at 54mpbs 2.4ghz (bad). So separate them, S4 to SSID 1, iPhone 4 to SSID 2, PS3 to SSID 3. That way they all operate at max speed.

Also means no channel suffers congestion due to too many devices and the router uses less CPU time trying to stop them crashing into each other = better performance & lower latency (so put PS3 on a G 54mpbs @ 2.4ghz). (PS DHCP routing should be a minor CPU issue these days but not regards wifi with interference where it can become a CPU drag with multiple devices so the above is likely to apply)

Sorry for the really long post but I thought it better to get it done in one go as this info it spread out across the web. Cheers.

Taltos

Well it finally happened to poor old Slim.

For the last while playing a downloaded game the fan would go mental after maybe 30 minutes, all while I was playing the latest RPG from last months's plus.

However yesterday popped in the Last of Us disk and within 5 minutes sounded like an airplane landing.
Have done the usual - vacuumed the vents. Not that keen on opening it and disassembling to apply the paste with some of the other threads here.

Then thought - sure I'll back it up, it's fine for a good while when there is nothing heavy taxing the graphics - but lo and behold my 1Tb beauty is too big to backup to my 250Gb HDD. Guess I will have to do some cleanup. Might see about getting a Super Slim - seem to be a few good deals out there - just not sure about replacing the HDD with my current 1Tb so may just spend the extra 40 to get the 500Gig.

Ah well - it was a good 3 or 4 years - looking at the HDD - 40 titles downloaded from Plus, and still not all of them played... Ah the days I watched the indicator creep up on my 2Mps line...

Ape Lincoln

Does anyone else have difficulties trying to login to boards via the mobile site while using the PS3 browser?

This browser sucks so much I could throw it at the Sony execs that claimed the PS3 would be a "Media Centre". Yeah right!

Varik

Anyone know a reputable site to get dualshock batteries off.

Anyone having any problems with getting kicked off PSN?

For the last week or so, I sign into PSN but I'm kicked off around 10 mins later and then I cant sign back in?

My BB is working grand with all other devices.

Klair88

Varik wrote: »

Anyone know a reputable site to get dualshock batteries off.

i have a broken controller with the battery in it. Works fine as far as i know. Want that?

Varik

Klair88 wrote: »

i have a broken controller with the battery in it. Works fine as far as i know. Want that?

No that's fine I have a replacement for the one that's gone from an old broken six axis but I'm just looking now for the next time I need one.

danthefan

My PS3 is freezing just as the background for the XMB shows up. No icons appear at all. Could this be due to that firmware update? I was using the damn thing on Saturday and it was fine. I can get into safe mode fine and have tried the file restore thing but no luck.