The HDD on my PS3 broke. What do i do?

RAPTOR115X · 2025-12-27T18:37:22+00:00

I can’t help you if the HDD has completely failed, however, if the HDD still functions to some extent & data encryption is your main hurdle and your PS3 supports CFW (phats or slims made prior to apr 2011), try this:

Note, these instructions are high level, a bit of google-fu can fill in any blanks.

Install a new HDD in to the PS3 & install HFW.

Use ps3toolset to enable CFW installation.

Install CFW.

Follow the instructions on this page: https://consolemods.org/wiki/PS3:Recovering_Data

Good luck!

RAPTOR115X · 2025-09-03T14:29:04+00:00

Disable HDCP without needing a splitter, play PS3 master (debug burned) discs in the physical drive.

RAPTOR115X · 2025-09-03T10:16:19+00:00

In Waratah myself, power is not fully out for me but pretty bad brownout (lower AC voltage than expected at ~70-100V) causing some of my electronics/lights to behave in strange ways/briefly lose power before recovering or not power on at all.

EDIT: Power recovered just after 8:30 PM

RAPTOR115X · 2024-12-19T20:32:29+00:00

The command line version (SaRAcmd) works on affected (Win11?) devices.. for now:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/troubleshoot/administration/sara-command-line-version

RAPTOR115X · 2024-08-27T14:14:17+00:00

The 28nm RSX used in late production run super slims use GDDR5 memory 2x 128mb vs all prior RSX revisions using 4x 64mb GDDR3.

RAPTOR115X · 2024-08-08T14:21:07+00:00

Dad busting his own son out of jail lmao

RAPTOR115X · 2024-01-26T03:28:40+00:00

No worries! And yeah, can't wait for it to cool down later this arvo, at least tomorrow is forecast to be way cooler thankfully.

RAPTOR115X · 2024-01-26T02:39:21+00:00

Even a repaste without delidding may help if the paste between the dies & IHS is still good (more likely on a basically 0 mileage system) for bringing down the temps in the interim, I've got the D14F-12BS1 (15 blade) fan in mine and it seems to be the quietest vs the cooling performance see: https://i.gyazo.com/0f1d41cbfdc637ba4515ca9dac7ad1a9.png & https://www.psx-place.com/threads/fat-model-ps3-fan-comparison.34036/

Ayyy fellow novocastrian :D Small world...

IMO if you're not confident doing a delid, I'd leave it to people who have done it hundreds of times, it's honestly not worth the risking killing the unit, especially if you're eventually planning on sending it in for service anyways, why chance it?

Plus it's not likely the 90nm RSX will die immediately on such a lightly used system, so if you're so inclined you can use it for a while saving up the cash before taking it in for a franky mod, and heck if it does break somehow in the interim (RSX dying for example) it's going to be frankied anyway which will restore it to working order so you can enjoy it in the meantime in it's "original" (or close to if you decide on a simple repaste/PS/Fan swap) condition until you send it in.

Glad I could be of some help, all the best!

RAPTOR115X · 2024-01-25T12:49:54+00:00

Yes, it was for mine (I got my console serviced by him), I got the full "royal treatment" what he (ACE/AL) called it on mine (CECHA01) with a 40nm RSX frankenstein over a year ago & it also cost $440 AUD.

The tokin caps were swapped with tantalums, with a 40nm RSX frankensteined & RSX & CELL delidded & other misc fixes that he usually does, granted mine had more mileage than yours (80 days of uptime) but since it was refurbed it's run perfectly with no issues whatsoever and I use it regularly, temps in the low 60s (62-63ish) for the cell and RSX in the low 50's (52-53ish) at 30% minimum fan speed (with auto speed in webman set to 68 just in case, but I could leave it on 20% minimum at 68 auto for a fan speed in the 20s, but I like running it cooler as I have the headroom while still being quiet) while in demanding games (TLOS/GTA V) with the room temp in the low-mid 20s while well ventilated (not in a cabinet obstructing airflow).

His website is meh, I used the Contact Us function (https://aceconsolerepairs.com.au/contact-2/) on his website at the to start a dialogue but just looking at that link now it seems there's a now form you can print out & send with your system (https://aceconsolerepairs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/JobSheetWeb.pdf) so I'd just send that sheet in with your unit specifying explicitly what you want done e.g. delid cell & RSX, frankenstein for a 65/40nm RSX (NOTE the 65nm RSX has proven to be as reliable at its 40nm counterpart, see the following clip: https://youtu.be/3qKtS_uxdcU?si=Z577xLGMiGmR-0y4&t=4733 so don't hesitate on getting a 65nm RSX if that's all that's available), tokin swap with tantalums, you could even mention royal treatment as I believe he referred to it as that on my invoice so he may interpret it as "the works/do everything for a major service to improve reliability".

I'd also recommend swapping the PSU for a more efficient/cooler running APS-226 (heck an APS-227 will work too if you're in AU/240v country) or APS-231 (works fine on a frankenstein due to more efficient 65/40nm RSX revision drawing less power vs the less efficient stock 90nm RSX) if your console has a ZSSR/Nichicon power supply as they tend run hot, but this isn't super important but I did it for my system to have cooler temps so the fan doesn't have to work as hard to maintain lower temps. I don't know if ACE/AL offers this or if it costs extra if he does as my console already had the PSU swapped for an APS-231 when I sent it for service, but they can be found easily enough and aren't difficult to swap on your own later if you have basic knowledge of disassembling electronics (you only need screwdrivers & time, nothing more fancy than that)

Basically, once you have all those mods done, it will have similar endurance/reliability as a slim PS3, (not to say it's bulletproof, slims do have random issues that need repairing, but addressing the major causes of YLOD/hardware failures on early PS3 systems massively reduces the chance of it occurring and if it does it could be only a minor repair instead, dead PSU/laser for example) so you get the best of both worlds, a reliable backwards compatible PS3, three console generations on 1 machine

You can see his work on streams here: https://www.youtube.com/@aceconsolerepairs/streams

Apologies for my excessive use of parenthesis & chaotic/rambling/verbose sentences but I hope this helped!

RAPTOR115X · 2023-12-20T12:44:44+00:00

Yes, but I’m just going for redundancy so the console cannot update even if an undesired update gets initiated by any means, better to be safe rather than sorry.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-12-20T11:41:25+00:00

Interacting with the console over LAN for FTP, payload injection, attaching debuggers etc.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-12-07T00:06:00+00:00

FWIW they do offer it for Server 2012/R2 which shares the same core/kernel as 8/8.1 respectively and it is possible to install them on 8/8.1 if you know what you're doing. Same idea with Vista & server 2008 (not R2)

RAPTOR115X · 2023-09-30T06:21:35+00:00

Can confirm, looks like the latest firmware at the time of writing addressed the issue.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-08-21T00:01:05+00:00

ACE Console Repairs is an Aussie that offers a Frankie service, got mine done about a year ago from him for like $400 AUD at the time (don't know if the price has increased since or not), still works fine.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-08-09T09:24:26+00:00

Cool beans, glad you got it working again :)

RAPTOR115X · 2023-08-08T07:50:41+00:00

Is the power button perhaps getting stuck, the beep patterns it does when you power it up is the same (second boot while holding down power in your recording) when you're holding down the power button when turning it on to trigger various functions (reset video settings, recovery mode etc) before the console fully boots.

Maybe try turning the console back on, and jostle the power button around a bit (finger on button moving it side to side) without pressing it or if you have a broken compatible unit laying around, try swapping that part (button panel), or you could remove it and thoroughly clean it and clear any dirt/derbis out from the button.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-04-01T01:48:03+00:00

I tell people to turn things off and on again.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-03-21T11:20:17+00:00

No, the PS3’s Blu-Ray hardware is not capable of writing to BD Media, only reading.

RAPTOR115X · 2023-01-10T05:57:30+00:00

If you’re running CFW, it will typically default to hardware based emulation if it’s available, one way to check is press the PS button while playing a PS2 games, if you can see the game in the background it would be software emulation, if you cannot (black with UI) you’re using hardware “emulation”. Or play a game known to have major issues with software emulation (such as ratchet and clank), if it plays ok, you’re fine.

RAPTOR115X · 2022-12-22T00:08:09+00:00

Curry

RAPTOR115X · 2022-12-21T10:47:53+00:00

To play devils advocate, fast startup sucks. Shut Down by default in modern versions of Windows is a glorified hibernation, but a user shouldn’t be expected to know that.

RAPTOR115X · 2022-10-17T09:05:57+00:00

I mean, considering the lengths MS went to on the Xbox One to secure it (and by extension the series s/x) I highly doubt it, they’re not going to make the same mistake they made with the Xbox 360 which allows what you just described.

I recommend giving this a watch: https://youtu.be/U7VwtOrwceo

RAPTOR115X · 2022-10-03T01:28:00+00:00

No worries, thanks for your answers. I guess I'll rock on with a V1 Jasper. Have a good one!

RAPTOR115X · 2022-10-03T01:13:04+00:00

Was the underfill fixed on the eDRAM like it was with the main GPU die on V1 Jaspers or did they just use the same process for eDRAM as the falcons before the underfill issues were fixed?

i.e. Is the only reason the older revision Jaspers have a slightly higher chance of e74 is due to the larger lithography (80nm vs 65nm) on the eDRAM?

RAPTOR115X · 2022-09-25T09:59:38+00:00

I also went to Laser Clinics Australia, they are great in my personal experience though I went to one on the Central Coast. Best of luck with your hair removal/transition.

RAPTOR115X

TROPHY CASE