By: James Yu |

It doesn't matter if you have the 20GB, 60GB, or even the new 80GB PlayStation 3--you can always use more storage space. All that available hard-disk space quickly disappears once you start downloading games, demos, and HD videos. Fortunately, Sony has designed the PS3 to allow console owners to perform their own hard-drive upgrades. You can go out and select your own hard drive instead of being forced to buy an official first-party hard-disk accessory. However, giving console owners that freedom means that aspiring upgraders will need to know how to select the right hard-drive upgrade and the proper installation technique.

The first step to replacing the hard disk is going to the store or visiting an online retailer to pick up a new hard disk. The PS3 is compatible with just about any 2.5-inch SATA notebook hard disk. Both 5400- and 7200-RPM drives should work fine. The physical size of the hard disk is important because it has to fit the PS3's 2.5-inch drive tray. As far as storage capacity goes, it doesn't make sense to go through the trouble of upgrading unless you go big: We're talkin' 120GB, 160GB, or even 250GB.

Hard-disk manufacturer Seagate supplied us with a 160GB Momentus 5400.3 for our upgrade.

Once you have your upgrade drive, the next step is to back up the data on your current PS3 hard drive to an external storage unit. You can skip this step if you aren't attached to your music, videos, and game saves, but most of us will probably want to save all that information. The PS3 has a built-in software backup utility that can copy the PS3's hard-drive contents to an external storage device, such as a USB thumb drive or a memory stick. The removable storage device must use the FAT32 file system in order for the PS3 to recognize it. If you have an external hard drive that's formatted in NTFS, you can use the Disk Management utility in Windows to reformat the drive, but you'll need to create partitions on large external hard drives because Windows can only do FAT32 on drives 32GB or smaller.

Save your data using the PS3's backup utility.

If your storage device isn't large enough to handle a full system backup, you can selectively copy data over through the various music, photo, and game menus in the XMB. Your PlayStation Network login and system settings will remain safe on the system during the entire process. After you have your data safely backed up, you can move on to the actual hard-drive swap.

You will need a Phillips-head screwdriver to complete this part of the installation process. The PS3 owner's manual also includes step-by-step details on how to replace the hard drive, in case you need more instructions.

Turn off and unplug the system. Remove the plastic HD side-panel, and remove the blue screw.

Open the metal latch, move the drive tray to the right, and slide out the drive.

Remove the four screws that hold the hard drive to the tray. Use a screwdriver that fits snugly because the screws are extremely tight and easy to strip.

Swap in the new drive, and replace the screws.

Put the drive tray back into the system and slide it into place. Then replace the blue screw and snap the side panel back onto the system.

Turn on the console and let the system format the new drive. Then load up the PS3 backup utility to restore data from your external storage device back onto the PS3 hard drive.

At this point you should have a newly upgraded PS3 and the leftover hard drive. You could try selling the old drive, but small-capacity used drives might not fetch enough money to be worth the hassle of finding a buyer. If you still want to make the drive useful, you can buy an external drive enclosure to make it into a portable storage device.

Are you ready to upgrade your PlayStation 3 hard drive, or have you already upgraded it? Share your tips or concerns in the comments below!

756 Comments

  • tigerous

    Posted Dec 20, 2009 2:57 pm PT

    According to the Playstation support website, it will not work with PATA drives. You can only update with SATA drives.

  • kobelakers

    Posted Dec 18, 2009 11:07 pm PT

    captnpete208:

    Not sure as to the answer to your question... it's best to stick with knowing exactly what does work (safe route) use a SATA HDD for upgrading ur HDD in ur ps3...

    sorry if i can't be more helpful...

  • captnpete208

    Posted Dec 18, 2009 3:50 pm PT

    What's the difference between SATA and PATA? Can you use a PATA Hard drive?

  • kobelakers

    Posted Dec 18, 2009 9:04 am PT

    just did the install... removing the screws are a pain!!! make sure to have a 5 inch mini plyers ready just in case... only had about 41 GBs to backup (since my system was only 60 GB) the hard drive of choice was a seagate 640 GB HDD for about 100 bucks off ebay... have any questions feel free to ask...

  • kobelakers

    Posted Dec 14, 2009 8:23 am PT

    zenko1:

    1) yes, your system would have to be turned off (light in front is red, and unplug the power cord...) 2) the ps3 only reads/formats window format FAT 32 instead of NTFS, so first you would have to backup your files onto a FAT32 drive, then take out your old HDD from ps3, then install the new HDD into ps3, format it into FAT32 (haven't done it yet, not sure which steps come first) then restore your files onto the new HDD...

    p.s. you would have to sync with server to save your trophies... hope this helps...

  • zenko1

    Posted Dec 13, 2009 2:50 pm PT

    i want to upgrade now but my question is when i remove the old hard disk do i turn the system off or replace it while it working, and if while its off how the new one will work and i hv a new hard drive that no contain ps3 system files ????

  • kobelakers

    Posted Dec 6, 2009 12:19 am PT

    @Colintaylor

    thanks for your feedback... anyone else?

  • drlove1023

    Posted Dec 5, 2009 9:39 am PT

    @nickery123

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822242002

    80GB external HDD for $36.99 USD with a default format of fat32

  • ColinTaylor

    Posted Dec 5, 2009 8:28 am PT

    @kobelakers

    Back in April I put in a Western Digital WD1600BEVS 160GB 5400rpm Scorpio Blue.

    At the time it was best GB per £ and I didn't/don't need anything bigger. By now you should be able to get something a lot bigger for the same price. I bought the WD Scorpio Blue because it was known to be compatible with the PS3. It's quiet, fast and cool.

    Don't get hung up over 5400 vs 7200 rpm. In the real world it makes no difference. If you've got a game that takes ages to load, with a 7200rpm you might shave a couple of seconds off, but really, who cares.

    The thing about 7200's being slower in PS3's is a myth.

  • kobelakers

    Posted Dec 4, 2009 11:30 pm PT

    To those who already did the hard drive swap with back up data:

    1) what is the drive you chose for this install? why did u choose it?

    2) I've read it somewhere that by using 7200rpm over 5400, it can decrease the speed in which the ps3 reads the information since the ps3 was made a little while back and old system sometimes fails to take advantage of new technology? does it matter? I'm trying to see for myself as to which drive to get... the main one i'm looking at is WD Scorpio blue 640GB... feedback are needed cause i want to make the best decision possible

    thanks guys...

  • Cillerboy

    Posted Dec 4, 2009 8:38 am PT

    ah ok i got it sorry =P

  • Cillerboy

    Posted Dec 4, 2009 8:35 am PT

    so all the data that was on the ps3's original harddrive will be lost when u put in the new one?

  • takahirosama

    Posted Dec 3, 2009 6:41 pm PT

    i put mine 500 GB and i think that good enough, really.

  • Trick933

    Posted Dec 3, 2009 2:49 pm PT

    Awesome and easy. Read the article and was prepared the whole thing only took me about 25 mins.

  • dhandle76

    Posted Dec 3, 2009 8:12 am PT

    @trd_matrix000 Why did it cost you almost $400 for a 500gig hard drive??? That seems like a ripoff.

  • nickery123

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 3:20 pm PT

    you guys recomend a specific drive to back it up your data on that you know has FAT32 format?

  • TWilliamz

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 3:18 pm PT

    @Hobbitslayer18
    Sony has caught on to ppl sharing games, so those rules have changed.

  • The_Sackman

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 12:14 pm PT

    PS3 have a nice HDD upgrade system, since they use SATA HDDs

    shame on X360 and that crappy microsoft HDD...

  • Leori_7

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 5:53 am PT

    i guess the phat PS3, has its "advantage" after after all.....upon the launch of PS3 slim...hahah

  • AlfaxD_Centauro

    Posted Dec 1, 2009 7:44 pm PT

    PS3 is a Limited PC. Not like other consoles.

    Even you can install 2 Terabytes for the PS3 =).

  • Nobri

    Posted Dec 1, 2009 6:34 pm PT

    The "Getting Started" guide for PS3 and 360 look recycled. It says you have to buy a $40 PlayOn thing to get Netflix on the PS3, where you just have to get a free disc from Netflix (until next year, where it will be in the XMB), and it has pictures of the old 360 UI (those weird, gray blade things).
    Please fix this Gamespot. Also, in FF (3.6b4), the text on the intro page is screwed up...

  • bradocki

    Posted Nov 30, 2009 6:43 pm PT

    Just upgraded my 80gig to a 500gb Seagate Momentum that i grabbed at special black friday price $59.99. Sweet install, gamespot just forgot to say you need to have the last or newer version of the Sony PS3 firmware because if you installed any firmware newer than what came originally in your system, it won't format the new HD for use. You can download it from the playstation official website and burn it to a cd or put in a thumbdrive
    or your PSP.

  • hotshot331

    Posted Nov 30, 2009 8:19 am PT

    I didn't get the backing up thing. Do you just copy it over to a USB storage device, take it out, change drive, put the USB in again and save evrything? Or is it more complicated? Please PM me, or else i won't see the answear.

  • Mcdonar

    Posted Nov 27, 2009 12:51 pm PT

    Thanks Gamespot for making this so dam easy :-) Picked up a 120GB Samsung HD for less then 50 euro on eBay and its working fine. Happened to be in a Sony Center a while back and I asked one of the staff is it possible to upgrade the hard drive in a PS3 and she said no! They might want to review their hiring policy as this is easier then changing a hard drive on a laptop.

    @SlAMMIN23 - Freecom external hard drives are usually formatted in FAT32, got a 400GB one right here, picked this one up on good old eBay. Any decent PC store should have them.

  • _Ben99_

    Posted Nov 25, 2009 8:51 pm PT

    waht about the slim ?

  • SLAMMIN23

    Posted Nov 22, 2009 9:56 pm PT

    where can u get fat32 external hardrives

  • jar288

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 11:21 pm PT

    i know there is a minumum rpm but is there a maximum rpm?

  • GoHaNtJeeh

    Posted Oct 31, 2009 9:30 am PT

    HI, i wonder, i have a 250 gig installed. Is it true that your ps3 will go slower when you reach 100 gig of videos, images and stuff? or is this just a joke?

  • raptor400k

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 9:16 am PT

    Really, I liked that feature and saved me from completely hating, but I agree with the guy who said Sony should have sold PS3s with backwards compatibility and less space. That really got me pissed off with the PS3 for a while and its sad that its hard to find a 60GB.

  • RvanS80

    Posted Oct 27, 2009 5:58 am PT

    I just upgraded mine to a 500GB Momentus Seagate HD. For anyone attempting this I would suggest the following:
    1. Backup your data.
    2. Have a pair of pliers handy. I can't stress how tight the four little screws were and I unded up stripping the one screw. A quick twist with the plier at the beginning would have saved the screw that got stripped.
    All in all, the exercise took about 3 hours, including going out to pick up the pliers and a tripple shot skinny late from Starbucks!

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Oct 17, 2009 11:51 pm PT

    So any 2.5 inch SATA notebook drive will work? SInce I have the new TV now, I can see a time where I will want to get movies off of PSN, the 60GB is just not cutting it (just had to dump a ton of old demos when I noticed my freespace was under 1G.)

  • trd_matrix000

    Posted Oct 15, 2009 3:18 pm PT

    Can't wait to put a Fujitsu 7200 rpm 500 Gb in my new PS3 slim! Total cost= $390. Take that, new 250 gb slim! Guess I'd better do it now rather than later...seems pretty straight forward. Any tips on how to format the "backup" storage on a mac? I think mac uses FAT 32 as a default, so it should be pretty easy i guess.

  • hotfiree

    Posted Oct 14, 2009 12:25 am PT

    Hey will 250gb be enough for my ps3 needs>?

  • Hanzoadam

    Posted Oct 13, 2009 6:36 am PT

    Thanks for the tips I was dreeding that blue screw it was preaty simple with the right screw driver people were telling me about it I was kinda put off the idea but I needed memory,

  • Hobbitslayer18

    Posted Oct 5, 2009 12:11 pm PT

    "Once you have your upgrade drive, the next step is to back up the data on your current PS3 hard drive to an external storage unit. You can skip this step if you aren't attached to your music, videos, and game saves, but most of us will probably want to save all that information."

    Duno if this is completely true, a friend of me said he had to back up some info regarding the latest software patch 3.01

  • rystaman22

    Posted Oct 5, 2009 11:14 am PT

    can someone have a look for me plz

  • Hobbitslayer18

    Posted Oct 5, 2009 10:44 am PT

    @codewhitedragon

    I heard that you can just redownload them, with a maximum of 5 times.

  • rystaman22

    Posted Oct 3, 2009 3:17 pm PT

    I was looking at this one http://bit.ly/R24mo is this ok ???? i have got a 20gb PS3

  • coolguy681

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 12:53 pm PT

    Upgrading my PS3 20gb PS3 Hard drive right now. I backed all my data on an external hard drive and had to change the NTFS format to an FAT32 format. So right now just waiting for my PS3 to cool down before i swap my 20gb in for a 320gb hard drive. Anyways i guess ill do my work for college while im waiting lol.
    Any questions please feel free to ask. I delayed this project for 8 months and finally im confident enough to do it.

  • Game-Hog

    Posted Sep 27, 2009 12:53 pm PT

    For my 60 gig PS3 I picked out a Seagate SATA 2.5 inch 5400 rpm Momentus 500 gig at Best Buy. I had two problems. The first was when I tried to remove the 60 gig seagate HDD that Sony initially installed. One of the screws holding the HDD together was on the other side of the enclosure thereby forcing me to yank on the HDD until the screw for the 60 gig HDD was stripped out of it before I could remove it to swap it out with the 500 gig HDD. That screw is still stuck on the other side of the HDD enclosure. The second problem was the data transfer rate of the new seagate was 3.0 gig per second. After researching it online I determined my PS3 had a 1.5 gig per second data transfer rate so after swapping it I got an error that said "Correct hard disk not found." I had to contact Seagate who sent me a schematic showing me how to use a jumper shunt (get them at a computer parts store mine needed a size 2mm) on the new seagate HDD to change the data transfer rate from 3.0 to 1.5 and that made my error go away. It has worked great ever since. One odd thing is even though I installed 500 gig you only have a maximum storage of 465 gig. All in all I'm glad I made the upgrade but the blue screw everyone mentions is kind of aggravating if you don't have the right kind of screwdriver but is minimal compared to the aggravation of deleting your downloads (you have to do this so your restore process will work due to Sony not having a backup process that handles DLC proprietary rights and causes the back up and the restore to lock up - they blame the DLC publishers) just redownload them after you finish restoring your necessary saved info. This whole HDD swap process took me about 6 to 8 hours to do from start to finish

  • mnizinski

    Posted Sep 26, 2009 10:23 pm PT

    You may have to update your system software before ANYTHING can happen. I have a 40gb model and after the switch it told me that it couldn't run the system software and that it would need to be restored. So you may want to have a copy of it on hand. You can find a post about it at:

    http://coderetard.com/2008/06/18/ps3-harddrive-swap-system-software-cannot-be-run-correctly-how-to-obtain-storage-media-230-or-later/

  • Hobbitslayer18

    Posted Sep 25, 2009 3:10 pm PT

    So which is better, Seagate or Western Digital ? Just asking because WD is a lot cheaper than seagate, and you also get a lot more GB for that price.

    + Does it have to be 5400/7200-rpm, or may it also be 5400/7200-tpm ?

  • codewhitedragon

    Posted Sep 24, 2009 11:46 am PT

    Only just found this tutorial .. what happens to my download games that I have got of the PSN don't want to loose my Wipeout HD and FF7 as I don't really want to have to buy them again ..

  • chrisandjess

    Posted Sep 13, 2009 3:51 am PT

    I own the 80 GB CECHE01 PS3, that came bundled with metal Gear Solid 4. My backwards compatability is software based. It doesn't have the Emotion Enigine. Would upgrading my Hard Drive cause me to lose my Backwards Compatability? Older PS3 models are getting expensive, so I'd prefer not to have to buy one and I'm not going to waste shelf space by purchasing a PS2. Nor will I throw out perfectly good PS2 games, that I still enjoy playing.

  • rystaman22

    Posted Sep 1, 2009 11:40 am PT

    @Uzaair this is what i was on about and please can someone answer this question plz Does SATAII Make any difference !? Looking at this drive i live in UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Notebook-Hard-Drive-160GB/dp/B000OUJUN4

  • TristanH12

    Posted Aug 31, 2009 8:58 am PT

    I seem to have been required to download an firmware update before it recognized the harddrive. OTher than that it was smooth. THe blue screw is annoying to get out and the HDD cover is hard to push back into place.

    Upgraded from 40GB to 320GB

  • Uzaair

    Posted Aug 25, 2009 7:11 am PT

    @rystaman22 doesn't it need to be 5400 rpm? the hard drive you're looking at is 5200 rpm. or does it not matter?

  • ultralesus

    Posted Aug 23, 2009 6:30 am PT

    I'm upgrading my PS3 to the new model, and I figured I might aswell upgrade the hard drive before I use it... so does anyone know if its the same hard drive? Is the same 2.5" ATA? Is there a limit? I want to get 500GB or 1TB.

  • Fz1994

    Posted Aug 21, 2009 7:39 am PT

    thnx

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How to upgrade your PlayStation 3 hard drive

Find out how to upgrade the hard drive on your PlayStation 3.

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