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New PS3 Firmware Causing HDD Upgrade Problems?

Posted by Soulskill on from the infirm-ware dept.

Channard writes "While there have been occasional reports of previous PS3 firmware upgrades causing system crashes and so forth, Sony's new firmware upgrade for the system, 3.41, is apparently stopping PS3 owners from upgrading their hard disks. This problem has been encountered by many users on Sony's forums and occurs when you try to put a new hard disk into a PS3 that already has the firmware upgrade installed. The general course of action for upgrading a PS3's drive is that you download the latest PS3 firmware onto a memory stick and, after swapping the hard drive in the PS3, plug the stick in, allowing the PS3 to properly prepare the disk for use. But as of upgrade 3.41, the PS3 fails to recognize the firmware on the stick, complaining that it can't proceed until you insert the correct firmware. Repeating the process and re-downloading the firmware does not fix the problem, as I can confirm, having encountered the problem myself. Users can put the old hard disk back in, provided they've not reformatted it for some other purpose, so all is not lost. Sony have apparently told gaming website CVG that 'The information available to our Consumer Services Department does not suggest that this is a problem PlayStation owners are likely to experience when upgrading the HDD with 3.41 update.' This seems to fly in the face of the currently available information — although whether or not this statement was issued by Kevin Butler is unclear. Either way, PS3 owners encountering this problem will likely have to wait a few days for a fix and use their old HDDs for now."

82 comments

  1. Oh God... by boarder8925 · · Score: 0

    Or does this mean that Sony will soon force PS3 owners to upgrade to only "approved" hard drives? (Like Microsoft with the 360, only slightly less obvious.)

    --
    Keep your eyes to the sky.
    1. Re:Oh God... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like that will happen. After having SONY steal my OtherOS feature, the only real upgrade path is a non-SONY product.
      Those fuckers don't belong in an open market.

    2. Re:Oh God... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wasn't Sony. It was Geohot the shithead. You can thank that asshole for ruining Linux on the PS3.

    3. Re:Oh God... by Moryath · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't surprise me.

      They still haven't bothered to fix all the audio glitch/skipping hell that the last couple firmware updates unleashed too.

      Typical $ony. They rushed around to fuck over homebrew, and broke half the machine in the process. It's the PSP all over again.

    4. Re:Oh God... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, fuckup, it wasn't some hacker that took it away, it was SONY that stole it. SONY sold the feature to me, I bought and paid for it, and if they have sn issue with security (even it it just one guy in a country somewhere hacking around), then it is their responsibility to address the security issue AND keep the feature I paid for. They sold the OtherOS feature as an open element, and encouraged anyone to pursue it. If they didn't like the way the open market was taking it, then they are at minimum, obliged to supply the OtherOS.
      What kind of fucking idiot would blame a hacker for a corporation's thieving actions?
      SONY doesn't belong in an open market.

    5. Re:Oh God... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      What audio glitches?

    6. Re:Oh God... by vuffi_raa · · Score: 2, Insightful

      this is a stupid mistake that sony made- normally you have to download the entire firmware, this is the first time that sony has experimented in releasing an incremental update so that the update only takes a couple of minutes instead of the usual half hour- most probably they will either need to make the software request additional components that will need to be on the thumb drive or create a drive formatting in the flash that allows for an incremental upgrade or just allow you to download the entire firmware from the website- I have inched my way up the drivespace ladder with spare drives that I have had sitting around so I went from a 40 to a 60 to a 120 so I have gone through the backup/install/load firmware process a few times now.

    7. Re:Oh God... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look retard, Sony never claimed it was an open console. You purchased the hardware and the feature you paid for is still there, just don't update the damn PS3 and you can happily run the other OS option all you want. If they decide to fix the security issue by eliminating the entire attack vector (by removing other OS) in newer versions of firmware then they can do that. You should have been aware of that fact and Sony's reputation when you bought the console.

      They are not obligated to make their system into some kind of open source hacker's paradise. Sega tried that with the DreamCast and we all know how well it worked for them. The Playstation on the other hand is probably the most successful line of consoles in history.

      I can't just do a default install of RedHat 6 from CD-ROM and openly expose it to the internet. It's not because of coporate scheming by RedHat, it's because it will be rooted in seconds. So yes, it's because of hackers that we lose our freedoms to do such things.

    8. Re:Oh God... by cynyr · · Score: 1

      some of my old rips that played beutifly before the otherOS removal and such now "skip" and "pop" during playback. The files play back just fine in mplayer and vlc.

      --
      All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
    9. Re:Oh God... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sony disabled it... the fact that a hacker had to crack the console, solder in a vector interrupt chip, and then take pot luck as to whether it actually glitched the correct piece of memory is irrelevant.
      The issue is that they now DON'T allow PSN access without the latest firmware.

      DreamCast lost for other reasons.

      but then again, I guess you work for sony. Loser.

    10. Re:Oh God... by Moryath · · Score: 1

      I'm having retail titles - as old as FF13, as new as the new Transformers that came out a couple weeks ago.

      Official response from $ony "tech support" both by phone and online: "oh just turn off 5.1 sound in the dashboard and go down to stereo and it'll be fine." Well WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT OF MY HAVING A 5.1 SURROUND SYSTEM THEN?

      They know about this. They're just too fucking lazy to fix it properly. Seems to be connected to one of the boneheaded ass-tastic new DRM schemes they added in 2-3 updates ago.

  2. What's up with companies lately? by Aladrin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There have been so many companies in denial lately... Customers complain about a legit problem and they say 'It's not a problem. You're doing it wrong.' and try to ignore it. Then it blows up on them and they only respond when faced with hundreds of lawsuits. Seriously guys, start listening to your customers.

    --
    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    1. Re:What's up with companies lately? by Sleepy · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It's a balancing act. if a company REALLY listened to their customers, they would get sued by their shareholders instead. Yes, this does happen...

    2. Re:What's up with companies lately? by westlake · · Score: 1

      There have been so many companies in denial lately...

      There have also been a lot of folks playing for the jackpot in the class-action lawsuit lotto.

    3. Re:What's up with companies lately? by adolf · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's not just "these days." And it's not just mass-market gear.

      I can count on one hand the number of expensive products (think $40,000 to $800,000) that actually worked, as advertised and promised, out of the box. Everything else (I don't think I have enough fingers to count these systems) was broken, even if it'd already been around in production and use for more than a decade.

      Fortunately, these low-volume widgets are usually produced by relatively small companies, and it's not a completely harrowing experience to set up a conference call with their tech support, the engineer who designed it, and a responsible party (CEO or owner).

      But even at this price range, the first suggestion is always "You're doing it wrong." Which, sometimes, I actually am (I'm not perfect). Sometimes it's a software fix that needs put together, other times it's hardware. One time, we had to send a bunch of expensive PTZ cameras back (which were mounted on 100' towers) for fixes because their internal grounding structure was gorfed such that they kept blowing up without provocation.

      In another case, we had engineers from another country on-site for days at a time, fixing real problems that they were initially claimed were impossible. This was successful, thankfully, but once we got it all working correctly they killed the entire (years-old, generally stable, best-of-breed) product line. (WTF?)

      Disclaimer: I work with communications and control systems, not the IT stuff typical of Slashdot. My experience with IT things has been pretty good, but then we don't really ever use any non-mass-market IT stuff since we don't ever need to. I'd be interested in knowing if folks ever have similar problems with (say) low-volume/high-end Cisco or NetApp gear, or if my career is uniquely doomed to consist largely of making companies fix the stuff that they sold us.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    4. Re:What's up with companies lately? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There have been so many companies in denial lately... Customers complain about a legit problem and they say 'It's not a problem. You're doing it wrong.' and try to ignore it.

      It's because large companies hire human resource professionals and public relations firms to tell them how to appear smart. People without a university degree in said courses can't easily make this type of bullshit up.

    5. Re:What's up with companies lately? by amorsen · · Score: 1

      Even mid-range Cisco gear has similar problems. If you care enough, read the cisco-nsp archives, search for 7600... Apparently the high end has its share of interesting issues too, but they don't come up so often on that list, and I haven't had the chance to play with it myself.

      Similarly with the FortiGate 3016B, another mid-range product. Very nice firewall which had some interesting NAT issues. Fortunately FortiNet has fixed the issues I found (pretty good tech support at least compared to e.g. Cisco). I only have one ticket open with them right now, which they promise they'll have fixed in 4.3.

      However, the low end isn't without problems either. Why can't vendors e.g. get DHCP client implementations right? Even when they're running Linux and could just use dhclient instead of making their own?

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    6. Re:What's up with companies lately? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This essentially.
      If they don't listen to their customers, there is a chance that they will end up calling in directly to Sony, costing money to use a service.

      And is unlikely these days that lawsuits will work against them anyway.

    7. Re:What's up with companies lately? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      Sony has never been a customer-oriented company, dating all the way back to Betamax. Their bread-and-butter is professional-level services like TV stations and national production studios. The engineers that work at these places have the patience (and money) to follow Sony's continual upgrade path.

      Customers don't. Customers just want to buy something and keep it for 5-10 years. Customers want it to "just work". But Sony prefers to keep offering new products every year - like releasing Betamax I, then Betamax II, then Betamax Hi-Fi, then SuperBeta..... all incompatible standards. The customers said "forget this" and quit.

      Now it appears Sony is making the same stupid mistake with the PS3 - trying to force a continual, professional-style upgrade path and breaking customers' hardware (or software) in the process. Customers will soon tire of the hassle, and cost, and jump to another console.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    8. Re:What's up with companies lately? by SystematicPsycho · · Score: 1

      Lately? More like always?!

      --
      Analytic & algebraic topology of locally Euclidean meterization of infinitely differentiable Riemmanian manifold
  3. Remember! by Daetrin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The PS3, it only does everything! (Where "everything" does not include all the features removed by hardware or software "upgrades" since the release of the original model.)

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    1. Re:Remember! by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      They had to remove those features to make room for new ones.

      Heh.

  4. Re:You're surprised? by Reapman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or... maybe... it's a bug? Just throwing it out there.

  5. Old problem by phoenix0783 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've had this problem in the past. When I used a usb hdd instead of a thumbdrive, everything worked fine. Don't ask me why, though...

  6. Peanut butter cups by GrumblyStuff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Hey! You got computer upgrade problems in my console!"

    "You got simplified game design and locked down, monetization of normally free extras and support in my computer games!"

    Sigh.

  7. I remember this same conversation. by Yosho-sama · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The day that PSN bugged out on Feb 29.

    I kept reading about how this was Sony's plot to get everyone to upgrade to the new models in order to keep users from having access to the Other OS feature.

    You guys need to chill the fuck out. It's a bug. Sony announced in advance that they were removing the Other OS feature from the firmware. They announce every time they release a firmware removing something. I'm not the Other OS removal wasn't a completely dick move (which it was), but they are always straight forward and have never made any (noticed) stealth changes to the firmware. Besides, I think they have enough Class Action Lawsuits on their plates to go and brick their own product for an unannounced, unreleased proprietary hard drive format.

    --
    My kingdom for a donkey!
    1. Re:I remember this same conversation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong, they have included stealth updates to their firmware (but none of them have removed any features). The firmware patch function (future updates don't need to download the full firmware, just the changed parts) wasn't announced until later. There was also a stealth Flash update as well.

    2. Re:I remember this same conversation. by nacturation · · Score: 1

      I'm really hoping it's a bug because I just got a 500GB drive to replace in my PS3. As my data is getting backed up (1 hour to go) I thought I'd check out what's new on Slashdot. Shit! I'm giving this a try and will update on what happens. My PS3 is the original 60GB model with the very latest firmware.

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    3. Re:I remember this same conversation. by mrmeval · · Score: 1

      Was the root kit announced? No.

      I bought my first television from them. That television was a 19" that cost $749+tax in 1984 dollars. It had the best picture I'd ever seen. It worked flawlessly from 1894 to 1993 when a part failed. I replaced it and it worked until I gave it away in 1999. It worked for it's new owner until 2005 when it needed the same part replaced. The part was no longer available and it went in the garbage.

      In 1999 I'd looked at getting a Sony but nothing they had in the store stood out. I even adjusted every set to my tastes and it was Sharp and Samsung that ruled. This is still the case with their product the last time I looked which was just before bluray was adopted.

      After Sony bribed several companies to get bluray adopted I have no interest in owning any of their products. The crippled psyche of Sony issued bribes to cover the old wound of losing the VHS-Betamax war.

      In the 80s and most of the 90s I was a fan. I had acquired the first B&W TV they'd made and repaired it. I had a Watchman, a Walkman and an alarm clock. I had a two reel-reel tape players. I got rid of all of that, some of it went in a dumpster as no one wanted it, the TVs went to a collector.

      I don't give a damn about them now.

      --
      I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
    4. Re:I remember this same conversation. by Yosho-sama · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's funny that you mention all that, cause all of that has nothing to do with the Sony PS3 firmware bugs, i.e. what this conversation is about.

      --
      My kingdom for a donkey!
    5. Re:I remember this same conversation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Sony announced in advance that they were removing the Other OS feature from the firmware."

      Yeah, and your wife told you in advance she wanted a divorce when she fucked your best friend in front of you on (what had been) your bed.

      Oh, sorry, you being a dick that you are, you were probably the best friend giving the advance notice to someone else, eh.

      Sony announced the Other OS removal the Sunday before the firmware was released on April 1st. 4 days.

      And that was after repeating for months that they would be keeping Other OS.

      I guess that still makes a chill-boy fucker like technically "right," if only due to lack of clarity and detail in your post.

      I still haven't bought a Sony product since. I went back to PC gaming (Steam is great), and Samsung and MSI are probably pleased with Sony's move. That's $4,500 in 3 HDTVs and $1,000 in 2 laptops. And I saved coin. All good. Sony pulled an Apple. You dealt with it your way and compromised, I found out what was really going on and moved up in product lines and didn't give anything back to the assholes.

    6. Re:I remember this same conversation. by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      It worked flawlessly from 1894 to 1993

      Wow, 99 years? That is impressive.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  8. Who Cares? PCs Won The War. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.rahulsood.com/2010/07/console-gamers-get-killed-against-pc.html

  9. Just use a CD - that is the GENERAL way to do it. by gearloos · · Score: 1

    I just have a cd with the firmware on it and the PS3 has NEVER had a hard time loading from the CD. I have tried Mem Sticks before and its a mixed bag of results. I have upgraded both my own old style big PS3 and a few friends new (and old) versions, some on multiple occasions as they went to a different drive for whatever reason.

    --
    "Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
  10. Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Version 3.15 still works fine, and will continue to be working fine for me for the foreseeable future.

    How's that freshly combined class action suit coming along?

    1. Re:Meh by diodegod · · Score: 2, Funny

      Running 3.15 here too, don't want to lose the OtherOS. Do OtherOS-capable PS3s fetch more than regular PS3s? I could sell this and use the money to not buy Sony stuff.

      --
      The beatings will continue until morale improves.
  11. Re:Just use a CD - that is the GENERAL way to do i by ect5150 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No way man... I'm over there in the forums with this problem. I have tried CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, USB Drives, External HDD.. others have tried all sorts of variations, even people that have done this successfully in the past - everything comes up bupkiss for a lot of the new models if you had already installed the new firmware on the old HDD, and are just upgrading or replacing the drive. I'm lucky because my old HDD still works, but others old HDD crapped out - so they are stuck with a paperweight until this is sorted out.

    --
    I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
  12. Okay, this is the easy fix. by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mirror your old drive's contents onto the new drive (Sony even provided a software backup feature IRC for this purpose.)
    Install in PS3.
    Works like a charm.

    Seriously, external media just sucks and is not system-critical to operation. Use system-critical components for the transfer, and you won't have much of an issue.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Okay, this is the easy fix. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A few people have tried that already and it didn't work.

    2. Re:Okay, this is the easy fix. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It backs up the contents of the old drive to IRC? What channel, may I ask? I'm all ears.

  13. Re:You're surprised? by CronoCloud · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Or the person involved didn't format the new drive properly, or follow instructions. There is always some idiot complaining that their firmware bricked their PS3 on slashdot right after a new firmware is announced. Slashdot is a sucker for anti-Sony whining without substantiated claims. Hell I've seen people claiming firmware takes away features that are still in there...just renamed or moved, or that work differently than before, a la:

    "Sony took away my ability to listen to music while web browsing"

    Do you have the new ability to output sound at higher khz on? you can only play music while browsing if output is set to 44.1

    "oops"

    "Sony took away my ability to use my new external hard drive"

    Is it NTFS, if so, won't work.

    "oops"

    "The web browser text input doesn't work right!"

    Earlier you mentioned you had to switch to SDTV because your HD set broke, you do realize that the text input has always worked like that on SD

    "oops"

    Yes, yes, be miffed at SCEA for taking away OtherOS by overestimating Geohot's abilities, but geezus don't automatically assuem the worst every time.

  14. Re:ahhh sony by Tisha_AH · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Thank you Sony, for reminding me that this is not a kick-ass machine, just a gaming platform.

    "I don't know where my head was! I fell for it hook, line and sinker, bought the 80 gig model, purchased 24 different games that I really liked, installed a 300 gig HDD, loaded the machine with Linux, heck, I was right at the point of considering it a "real" computer."

    At least they stopped me from doing something really foolish... like buying more games.

    I will not do any more Sony firmware upgrades out of fear of it trashing my setup. I will not be buying any more games because they will probably insist upon a firmware upgrade to operate correctly. The money that I was spending a the Sony on-line store I can save on that as well.

    So it's a decent BlueRay player and I still have the games I purchased.

    My mind is much clearer now. I had gone with the Sony system a few years ago because they were not Microsoft. The universe is at balance again as I have discovered the Sony is a bunch of dicks... Just like Microsoft

    --
    Tisha Hayes
  15. bug by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    relax it sounds like a bug rather then any kind of denying people to preform hard drive upgrades. and according to people doing it with a cd still works

  16. Only later models by jonabbey · · Score: 3, Informative

    The original PS3 models probably don't suffer from this, as they use on-board flash ram chips to hold the firmware.

    Later versions of the PS3 cut out those flash ram chips as a cost-saving measure, in favor of bootstrapping the firmware from the hard drive. These models store the firmware on the drive, and these are the ones that might have this problem.

    --
    - jon

    Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
    1. Re:Only later models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very interesting. Would this happen to overlap with the models that have other OS? Or the ones with Playstation 2 compatibility? SCE's little strategy of removing features (even when already sold) has me a bit confused. It certainly does mean those models would need no extra space or maintenance for a boot loader, as some have claimed.

    2. Re:Only later models by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      I'm not for certain myself, I know that Slims store at least part of the firmware on their hard drives, and CECHA's and CECHB's (the original 60BG deluxe and 20GB models with full hardware PS2 compatibility) don't. Don't know about CECHE's (That's the 80GB one with the card slots, 4 USB ports and PS2 backwards compatiblity using a partial hardware/software solution)..

    3. Re:Only later models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for the information.

      P.S. Are you also the cronocloud posting in playstation2-linux.com?

    4. Re:Only later models by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Yep, that's me. Still have a spare PS2 HDD with a base Linux install on it...just in case. Started using YDL on my PS3 in 2008, then moved to Fedora on X86 (and then updated my PS3's firmware)

    5. Re:Only later models by faragon · · Score: 1

      Parent comment was mine, I forgot to log in. I'm glad to see you here (I posted as 'aragon' in the PS2 Linux forums). I keep the PS2 Linux kit, but I'm no longer using it (2002-2007), and the PS3 with the last update before the one that banned Linux, as I like exotic CPU architectures (although I'm a long term x86 Linux user, since 1994).

  17. KEVIN BUTLER ISN'T REAL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I was a fan of those commercials until I found out the guy was an actor, tbh I felt misled given they state he is an actual VP at Sony. I thought "wow that's cool they have a real employee doing their marketing".

    1. Re:KEVIN BUTLER ISN'T REAL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      too lazy to find the source but i rerember intel having a commercial of a "real employee/engineer" and it turned out to be a stand in/etc,

      ya know if it wasn't so late and me being tired I'd make it an epic reply and youtube videos and what not but wow my pillow looks really good right now

      damn captcha it's too late for these antics

    2. Re:KEVIN BUTLER ISN'T REAL by grumbel · · Score: 1

      You are likely thinking of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLPHrCQr2I

  18. Re:You're surprised? by kaini · · Score: 0

    frankly surprised SCEE or SCEP fanboys aren't moaning about this post.

    --
    please restate bitrate in libraries of congress per hour.
  19. Re:ahhh sony by dltaylor · · Score: 3, Informative

    >> So it's a decent BlueRay player and I still have the games I purchased.

    Except it also requires software updates to handle newer Blue Ray discs.

  20. What is this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Harddrivegate?

  21. Patch vs Full fw image? by anomaly256 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I notice the usual download for the 3.41 update is a PATCH image not a full image. Perhaps the problem is people aren't putting a FULL 3.41 image on their usb sticks? Just an idea..

  22. Re:You're surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doesn't the PS3 automatically reformat a drive into FAT 32? Just saying, dude.

  23. Update: HD replacement worked perfectly by nacturation · · Score: 3, Informative

    Update: just swapped out the 60GB HD with a 500GB Hitachi HD and zero problems. Swap, boot, format, done. System info is showing 413GB/465GB free. System software: Version 3.41. I don't know if the slim versions only experience this problem, but it worked flawlessly on an original 60GB model. Now off to restore my backup.

    --
    Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  24. it is cheaper by aepervius · · Score: 1

    It depends on the proportion of complaint. A few : ignore them, even if they yell loudly they will be seen as whiner calling for the whambulance by fanboi, which will do your own PR by saiyng "you did it wrong" , "I have no problem here", etc... You know that type of fanboi which write in tech support forum to say for them it works. Above a certain number then they do react and admit error in a round about way, to avoid liability. Once the error is widespread they will do much more PR.

    Basially here this is a step 1 error, so they have no need o recognize anything whatsoever , and tell the customer to go fuck themselves.

    --
    C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
    visit randi.org
  25. Re:You're surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    guy's talking about external hdd connected with USB - has to be FAT32 for sure

  26. Some points.. by Channard · · Score: 1

    Yes, some of the claims that various firmwares have crashed the PS3 that turn up when the firmware is updated are likely a result of coincidence. However, in this case, the problem is definitely real. Here are a few points. This problem occurs whether you have the update on memory stick, or HDD. The update is also in the correct directory, which is PS3\Update - and I've swapped my HD before, with no problem. I myself did use Sony's backup facility. However, how do you get 2 HDs in a PS3? You can't - you have to put a new one in, and then use restore to put the old data back. However, the problem occurs before the PS3 even gets as far as the main menu. The PS3 requires the firmware to prepare the new HD to be used, and this is where the problem crops up. It's not clear if this affects only Slims or Slims and fats. There have at least been one or two apparent reports people with Fat PS3s having the issue. Putting the old HDD back in does mean the PS3 works - but I put the 3.41 firmware on just before I upgraded the HDD. I could kick myself.

    1. Re:Some points.. by Schadrach · · Score: 1

      Q: Does it cause a problem if you have a new HDD installed and working and then upgrade to the new FW, or only if you are running the new FW and install a new drive at that point? I've got a 500GB in mine and haven't grabbed the new FW yet, mostly because I haven't gone to the store yet.

    2. Re:Some points.. by Channard · · Score: 2, Informative

      Apparently not, no.

  27. If this turns out not to be a bug.. by Channard · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... which is highly unlikely, I'd suggest Magicgate.

  28. Re:You're surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The problem is that it is hard to imagine a company that hates its customers more than Sony. It's not just the OtherOS thing - it is their whole attitude dating back to the "get a second job" thing at the very least.

    Your PS3 fails. Want to keep your settings and saved games by swapping your hard drive into the replacement? Tough luck.

    Buy a new game for your PSP and need to update the firmware to play it but aren't near a charger (it is not quite as simple as this - it's some combination of battery level and AC power)? Tough luck!

    And some of your examples above are just silly. Why should a user expect their sound settings to affect their ability to play music in the background? What sort of primitive system is this? Are you seriously telling me that a system that is "so powerful that developers will never utilise it's full power" can't play "high quality" music while browsing the web?

    You've already given them your money so they really don't care about you any more.

  29. Thats just the beginning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Firmware 4.51 will introduce an innovative OS that will prevent PS3 games from running.

    Paraphrasing the guys at Blizzard, 'the technology just isn't there yet'.

    1. Re:Thats just the beginning by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      No, 4.51 will set nearby books on fire so there's no competition to spending your time playing PS3 games.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  30. Re:ahhh sony by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

    yeah, I called it quits on firmware updates because of 3.21 locking out my ability to install linux distros. I figured maybe if they gave me features instead of take them away in the future I'd update, but 3.41 seems to be total fail too. . .

    --
    disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
  31. Re:You're surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or the person involved didn't format the new drive properly, or follow instructions. There is always some idiot complaining that their firmware bricked their PS3 on slashdot right after a new firmware is announced. Slashdot is a sucker for anti-Sony whining without substantiated claims. Hell I've seen people claiming firmware takes away features that are still in there...just renamed or moved, or that work differently than before, a la:

    "Sony took away my ability to listen to music while web browsing"

    Do you have the new ability to output sound at higher khz on? you can only play music while browsing if output is set to 44.1

    "oops"

    "Sony took away my ability to use my new external hard drive"

    Is it NTFS, if so, won't work.

    "oops"

    "The web browser text input doesn't work right!"

    Earlier you mentioned you had to switch to SDTV because your HD set broke, you do realize that the text input has always worked like that on SD

    "oops"

    Yes, yes, be miffed at SCEA for taking away OtherOS by overestimating Geohot's abilities, but geezus don't automatically assuem the worst every time.

    GO read the forum before you assume we're all stupid. Hundreds of users have an identical problem. We've all tested this and the damn update doesn't work.

    The problem is: Anyone who has ALREADY updated their console to 3.41 and then tries to install the new HDD will have the same error, except those who have the original fat consoles, because of the way the firmware was installed. So before you go shooting off your mouth about how we're all idiots or have done something wrong, check your facts. Sheesh.

  32. Re:You're surprised? by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

    First off, this guy says in this post:

    http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1738550&cid=33093222

    that there are apparently two update versions, one is essentially a patch version that isn't the Full version...you'd want the Full version on your storage device. Was your download 167MB?

    This is this the smaller patch version:

    http://dus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/image/us/2010_0727_00c835be718fc3d5f793e130a2b74217/PS3PATCH.PUP

    and this is the full

    http://dus01.ps3.update.playstation.net/update/ps3/image/us/2010_0727_00c835be718fc3d5f793e130a2b74217/PS3UPDAT.PUP

    It's also possible to get a bad download, especially if the servers are busy, happened once with me on the PSP.

  33. Re:You're surprised? by Bungie · · Score: 1

    And some of your examples above are just silly. Why should a user expect their sound settings to affect their ability to play music in the background?

    CD Audio is 16-bit with a sample rate is 44.1KHz. If you have the audio processsor's sound quality set higher (like 48KHz) the audio stream will have to be resampled/upsampled somewhere along the way. This is a problem I've encountered even with audio software on PC's.

    Changing the sample/bit rate of audio on the fly would probably require additional hardware. The PS3 is not for audio work, so it wouldn't be cost effective to include it just for playing audio CD's at a higher sample rate.

    which Sony probaby wouldn't include, because the PS3 isn't an audio editing platform. Including

    --
    The clash of honour calls, to stand when others fall.
  34. Re:You're surprised? by ivan256 · · Score: 1

    The problem is that it is hard to imagine a company that hates its customers more than Sony.

    Comcast?

    Microsoft? (depending on whether you consider their customers to be end-users, or Dell/HP/Developers)

    And some of your examples are just silly. Protecting you from bricking your PSP by preventing you from running out of power mid-flash? Yeah.. That's really anti-customer. How DARE they prevent you from breaking your console.

    Really, why don't you quit making a fool of yourself on the internet and go play your Xbox 360 that prevented you from doing all this stuff you're complaining about Sony having "taking away" in the first place.

  35. DRM anyone by netsuhi.com · · Score: 1

    Could this be something to do with the informous DRM to prevent prople Coping PS3 games to other PS3s? Probabily not but then this is sony.

  36. too often now! by hesaigo999ca · · Score: 1

    Get your sh*t together sony, already...seriously, this should not be happening.!

    I told my dad and uncle that instead of buying a new blu ray dvd player for 250$, they could invest a few bucks more and get a ps3 that plays blu rays, and will be able to play 3d when their patch comes out, and also play games, music, and even avi formatted movies from a usb key....all in all a great purchase, except when I read about these things,....the regular user wont know what the hell is going on, unless they got someone like me to tell them they just got bricked and need to send their ps3 back to sony for fixing....almost regretting it now...

  37. Re:You're surprised? by ranulf · · Score: 1

    Looks like they silently fixed the problem without telling anyone... See here...

  38. Re:You're surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not preventing me from bricking it when I have the damn thing plugged in at the wall. And seriously, it's my godammed hardware. A great big warning would be acceptable And I wouldn't have to flash the thing in the first place if it weren't mandatory to do so to play the game because Sony want to protect me from the evil pirates.

    And don't forget about Sony putting root-kits on audio CDs.

    And hey, Microsoft really suck too - don't you dare lump me in with that lot!

    It's quite funny really - have problems with a product you bought and admit you had problems to the fan-boys and then you must be a troll from the other tribe. The funny thing is that I'm just about the biggest advocate for the PSP you'll meet.