Harddrive
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File:CECHC04 NAND-system.jpg.JPG
Most of the system software is on the harddrive, without one you get this error instead of XMB
Harddrive
- Internal : 2.5" SATA with several partitions
- External: USB Mass Storage device, supporting officialy only FAT12/16/32.
Internal harddrive
The PS3 uses a SATA (SATA-150) controller that has a maximum transfer speed of 1.5 Gb/s. All current PS3 models come with 5400RPM drives. The GameOS partition is an UFS2 256-bit AES-CBC/AES-XTS encrypted file system with a sectorsize of 512 bytes (4096 bits).
Because the GameOS partition is perconsole encrypted, it is not possible:
- to read out the data on it with another console (it will just ask to reformat it, to set it to its own perconsole encryption, hence emptying the drive)
- to read data out in Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac OS X (there are ways to mount it readonly, but it would still be encrypted and bruteforcing all 2^256 keys would take more time then your lifetime).
Model info
| SKU | Manufacturer | Model | Size | Seek | Cache | Transfer Speed | Interface | Passmark | HDtune | HDtach | ATTO | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CECHAxx | Seagate | Momentus ST96812AS | 60GB | 12.5ms | 8MB | 31.2 MB/s | SATA-150 | 236 | min:19.7 MB/s, max:39.0 MB/s, average:31.2 MB/s, accestime:16.9 ms, burst:90.5 MB/s, CPU usage:3.7% | |||
| CECHBxx | Seagate | LD25 Series ST920217AS | 20GB | 16ms | 2MB | 23.9 MB/s | SATA-150 | 171 | min:2.0 MB/s, max 30.9 MB/s, average:23,9 MB/s, accestime:21.0 ms, burst:100.9 MB/s, CPU usage:0.8% | |||
| CECHCxx | Seagate | Momentus ST96812AS | 60GB | 12.5ms | 8MB | 31.2 MB/s | SATA-150 | 236 | min:19.7 MB/s, max:39.0 MB/s, average:31.2 MB/s, accestime:16.9 ms, burst:90.5 MB/s, CPU usage:3.7% | |||
| CECHExx | Seagate | Momentus ST980811AS | 80GB | - | 8MB | 41.4MB/s | SATA-150 | 240 | min:23.6 MB/s, max:53.2MB/s, average: 41,4 MB/s, accesstime:12.5 ms, burst:96.4 MB/s, CPU usage:10.7% | |||
| CECHGxx | Seagate | LD25 Series ST9402115AS | 40GB | 16ms | 2MB | - | SATA-150 | 182 | ||||
| CECHHxx | Seagate | LD25 Series ST9402115AS | 40GB | 16ms | 2MB | - | SATA-150 | 182 | ||||
| CECHHxx | Hitachi | Travelstar 5K160 HTS541640J9SA00 | 40GB | 11ms | 8MB | 38.8 MB/s | SATA-150 | 261 | min:15.2 MB/s, max:48.7 MB/s, average:38.8 MB/s, accesstime:17.1 ms, burst:91.3 MB/s, CPU usage:2.0% | average read:40.5 MB/s, burst read: 116.3 MB/s, accesstime:17.1 ms, CPU utilisation:7% | ||
| CECHJxx | Seagate | ST940210AS | 40GB | 14ms | 2MB | 27.2 MB/s | SATA-150 | 234 | min:21.0 MB/s, max:30.6 MB/s, average: 27.2 MB/s, accesstime:18.5ms, burst:22.8 MB/s, CPU usage:10.5% / read speed:34.8 MB/s accesstime:16.6 ms, burst:88.1 MB/s | |||
| CECHJxx | Fujitsu | MHW2040BH | 40GB | 12ms | 8MB | 30.0 MB/s | SATA-150 | 214 | max:38 MB/s, min:18 MB/s, average:30 MB/s | average read: 28.2 MB/s, burst read:28.5MB/s, accesstime:21.8ms, CPU utilisation:3% | ||
| CECHKxx | Fujitsu | MHZ2080BH | 80GB | 12ms | 8MB | 46.0 MB/s | SATA-300, PMR | 311 | max:61.8 MB/s, min:13.6 MB/s, average:46.0 MB/s, accesstime:18.3ms, burst:72.2 MB/s, CPU usage:5.2% | |||
| CECHLxx | Fujitsu | MHZ2080BH | 80GB | 12ms | 8MB | 46.0 MB/s | SATA-300, PMR | 311 | max:61.8 MB/s, min:13.6 MB/s, average:46.0 MB/s, accesstime:18.3ms, burst:72.2 MB/s, CPU usage:5.2% | |||
| CECHLxx | Hitachi | Travelstar 5K250 HTS542580K9SA00 | 80GB | 12ms | 8MB | 34.4 MB/s | SATA-150 | 226 | min:22.1 MB/s, max:44.3 MB/s, average: 34.4 MB/s, accesstime:17.4ms, burst:77.0 MB/s, CPU usage:1.2% | average read:36.0 MB/s, accesstime:16.9ms | ||
| CECHLxx | Toshiba | MK8052GSX | 80GB | 12ms | 8MB | 46.0 MB/s | - | 326 | min:6.6 MB/s, max:61.2 MB/s, average: 46.0 MB/s, accesstime:18.1ms, burst:87.3 MB/s, CPU usage:15.0% / min:9.7 MB/s, max:27.5 MB/s, average: 24.3 MB/s, accesstime:19.1ms, burst:24.7 MB/s, CPU usage:4.9% | |||
| CECHMxx | - | - | 80GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECHPxx | Fujitsu | MHZ2160BH | 160GB | 12ms | 8MB | 46.1 MB/s | SATA-300 PMR | 245 | min:33.4 MB/s, max:68.2, average:54.3 MB/s, accesstime:17.2ms, burst:75.2 MB/s, CPU usage:1% / min:15.4 MB/s, max:63.4 MB/s, average:50.4 MB/s, accesstime:17.4ms, burst:75.7 MB/s, CPU usage:10.0% / min:31.7 MB/s, max:63.1 MB/s, average:50.5 MB/s, accesstime:17.3ms, burst:75.2 MB/s, CPU usage:3.8% / min:6.7 MB/s, max:63.5 MB/s, average:46.1 MB/s, accesstime:19.3ms, burst:71.5 MB/s, CPU usage:8.6.8% / min:29.3 MB/s, max:60.2 MB/s, average:46.4 MB/s, accesstime:21.9ms, burst:81.1 MB/s, CPU usage:2.4% / min:27.8 MB/s, max:60.2 MB/s, average:46.9 MB/s, accesstime:17.4ms, burst:66.3 MB/s, CPU usage:1.3% | average read:57.3 MB/s, burst read:77.3 MB/s, accesstime:17.3ms, CPU utilisation:6% | 66444 KB/s / 64450 KB/s | |
| CECHPxx | Toshiba | MK1652GSX | 160GB | 12ms | 8MB | 48.7 MB/s | SATA-300 PMR | 341 | min:16.9 MB/s, max:61.8 MB/s, average:49.5 MB/s, accesstime:18.1ms, burst:73.0 MB/s, CPU usage:4.8% / min:20.1 MB/s, max:61.9 MB/s, average:48.7 MB/s, accesstime:18.0ms, burst:72.8 MB/s, CPU usage:4.1% / min:31.2 MB/s, max:61.8 MB/s, average:50.2 MB/s, accesstime:18.7ms, burst:73.3 MB/s, CPU usage:3.9% / min:20.5 MB/s, max:61.8 MB/s, average:47.2 MB/s, accesstime:18.1ms, burst:76.7 MB/s, CPU usage:?% | average read: 50.6 MB/s, burst read: 151.8 MB/s, accesstime:18.1ms | 57604 KB/s / 61077 KB/s | |
| CECHQxx | Fujitsu | MHZ2160BH | 160GB | 12ms | 8MB | 46.1 MB/s | SATA-300 PMR | 245 | min:33.4 MB/s, max:68.2 MB/s, average:54.3 MB/s, accesstime:17.2ms, burst:75.2 MB/s, CPU usage:1% / min:15.4 MB/s, max:63.4 MB/s, average:50.4 MB/s, accesstime:17.4ms, burst:75.7 MB/s, CPU usage:10.0% / min:31.7 MB/s, max:63.1 MB/s, average:50.5 MB/s, accesstime:17.3ms, burst:75.2 MB/s, CPU usage:3.8% / min:6.7 MB/s, max:63.5 MB/s, average:46.1 MB/s, accesstime:19.3ms, burst:71.5 MB/s, CPU usage:8.6.8% / min:29.3 MB/s, max:60.2 MB/s, average:46.4 MB/s, accesstime:21.9ms, burst:81.1 MB/s, CPU usage:2.4% / min:27.8 MB/s, max:60.2 MB/s, average:46.9 MB/s, accesstime:17.4ms, burst:66.3 MB/s, CPU usage:1.3% | average read:57.3 MB/s, burst read:77.3 MB/s, accesstime:17.3ms, CPU utilisation:6% | 66444 KB/s / 64450 KB/s | |
| CECH-20xxA | Toshiba | MK1255GSX | 120GB | 12ms | 8MB | 52.9 MB/s | SATA-300 PMR | 395 | min:24.8 MB/s, max:72.4 MB/s, average:52.9 MB/s, accesstime:17.6ms, burst:74.3 MB/s, CPU usage:8.3% | |||
| CECH-20xxA | Hitachi | 5K500 HTS545012B9SA00 | 120GB | 11ms | 8MB | 62.0 MB/s | SATA-150 | ?363? | min:36.5 MB/s, max:79.2 MB/s, average:62.0 MB/s, accesstime:20.2ms, burst:99.9 MB/s, CPU usage:3.2% | |||
| CECH-20xxB | Toshiba | MK2555GSX | 250GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-21xxA | - | - | 120GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-21xxB | - | - | 250GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxA | - | - | 120GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxA | Toshiba | MK1665GSX | 160GB | 12ms | 8MB | 74.6 MB/s | SATA-300 | min:45.9 MB/s, max:93.8 MB/s, average:74.6 MB/s, accesstime:16.8ms, burst:203.6 MB/s, CPU usage:11.4% | average read:77.3 MB/s, burst read:242.6 MB/s, accesstime:16.7ms, CPU utilisation:1% | 97969 KB/s / 93858 KB/s | ||
| CECH-25xxB | - | - | 250GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxB | Toshiba | MK3276GSX | 320GB | 12ms | 8MB | 68 MB/s | SATA-300 | 516 | min:41.9 MB/s, max:89.6 MB/s, average:68.0 MB/s, accesstime:16.8ms, burst:143.2 MB/s, CPU usage:1% | Crystal: Seq R/W: 88.61/87.61 MB/s, 512K R/W: 33.91/36.79 MB/s, 4K R/W: 0.451/0.987 MB/s, 4K QD32 R/W: 1.043/1.016 MB/s | ||
| CECH-25xxA | - | - | 120GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxB | - | - | 250GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxB | - | - | 320GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxA | - | - | 160GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-25xxB | - | - | 320GB | - | - | - | - | |||||
| CECH-30xxA | Toshiba | MK1676GSX | 160GB | 12ms | 8MB | 72.4MB/s | SATA-300 | min 46.0 MB/s, max: 96.7 MB/s, average: 76.6 MB/s, accesstime:16.2ms, burst206.6 MB/s, CPU usage: 1% | ||||
| CECH-30xxB | Toshiba | MK3276GSX | 320GB | 12ms | 8MB | 68 MB/s | SATA-300 | 516 | min:41.9 MB/s, max:89.6 MB/s, average:68.0 MB/s, accesstime:16.8ms, burst:143.2 MB/s, CPU usage:1% | Crystal: Seq R/W: 88.61/87.61 MB/s, 512K R/W: 33.91/36.79 MB/s, 4K R/W: 0.451/0.987 MB/s, 4K QD32 R/W: 1.043/1.016 MB/s |
The maximum size of the internal harddrive that the PS3 supports is 1TB (TeraBytes)
note: this seems untrue as there are several people posting pictures of their external to internal drive mod with a size of 2TB
Internal SATA to External drive/cradle
You can also convert the internal SATA to an external eSATA port, to which you can connect a eSATA cradle or eSATA harddrive. Example of such a cable : http://www.cutedigi.com/images/sata_2_esata_cable.jpg
More solutions are listed here: Solutions for swapping / externalise the harddrive
Internal Harddrive info in NOR
Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00F201F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00F20200 00 00 00 01 48 69 74 61 63 68 69 20 48 54 53 35 ....Hitachi HTS5
00F20210 34 31 36 34 30 4A 39 53 41 30 30 20 20 20 20 20 41640J9SA00
00F20220 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
00F20230 20 20 53 42 32 41 38 31 53 4B 48 33 4E 36 55 53 SB2A81SKH3N6US
00F20240 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
Replacing the internal harddisk
For compatibility, if you have a SATA-300 (sometimes called SATA-II or SATA2) harddrive, you should sometimes set the harddrive via jumper to enforce the slower SATA-150 speed, instead of default 3 Gb/s of SATA-300.
Step-by-step:
- Download the FULL version of FW you currently have (tip: see here) on the old harddisk and put it on a USB Mass Storage Device formatted with FAT32 in \PS3\UPDATE\PS3UPDAT.PUP
- If you wish to transfer your savegames / installed games, trophies, DLC/PSN etc. you can use Backup / Restore BEFORE you exchange the harddisk. You’ll need a FAT32 formatted External Drive for that (with enough free space). The backups will be stored in \PS3\EXPORT\BACKUP\ in a subfolder with the backupdate/time as name and in there several DAT files (archive.dat, archive_00.dat, archive2.dat and archive2_[4GBSPLITNR].dat etc.) This same drive can be used to store the FW mentioned earlier)
- Disconnect the LAN/UTP cable to disable the possibility that another FW (3.50) gets downloaded
- Power Off the PS3 (disconnect the power cable) and open the HD tray (left/bottom) to exchange the original 2.5″ drive for the newer/larger/faster one (remark: use max. 9.5mm height drives). ** Remark: The screws which are used to mount the internal hardisk in the PS3 HD-tray are made of soft aluminium. Use a good fitting screwdriver, or you’re bound to abuse the “X” bithole and must resort to flat pliers to get the screws out.
- After everything is in place, insert the USB Mass Storage Device you prepared earlier and power ON the PS3. The new HD is detected and the PS3 wants to format it. Select YES and wait until format is finished. After that you can select Update to select the FW on the USB Mass Storage Device (in case it didn’t already do that automaticly after format).
- After succesfull format and installation of the System Software / Firmware, reboot and check in XMB System Information to see which FW is currently used and how much is usable for the XMB.
The above semi-guide is also readable in the PS3 Owners Manual.
TIP(s)
Exchanging the internal drive to a 7200RPM model doesn’t do much for your loading times (shaves off a second or 2) and upgrading to SSD/Flash Drives is almost insane considering the prices you pay per GB. Any modern larger drive is always faster than the older default smaller drive. Some people are argueing that SSD/Flash Drives produce "much less heat" but consider this: a very good/efficient one uses 5V 0.35A 1.75 Watt while a harddrive uses 5V 0.85A 4.25 Watt. A difference of 2.5W less on a total of 225Watt is not something you would see back on your electric bill or thermometer.
Because of the low price/ high storage capacity I personally always go for SATAII/300 7200rpm drives (if internal, maximum height is 9.5mm, 12 or 12.5mm doesn’t fit) and if modified to external via eSATA you can even use cheaper/faster 3.5″ drives (but you’ll need them to have their own powersupply because the internal PS3 powersupply can’t power that safely).
Original vs Replacement Drives speed comparison
| Harddisk | Interface | RPM | Size | Model | Seq.read | Av.Read | Burst.Read | Accestime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original 2.5" | SATA1 150 | 5400 | 60 GB | Seagate Momentus 5400.2 ST96812A S | 25 MB/s | 24.4 MB/s | 28.5 MB/s | 17.4ms |
| New (A) 2.5" | SATA1 150 | 5400 | 160GB | Samsung HM160HI HH100-06 | 70 MB/s | 54.9 MB/s | 115.4 MB/s | 22.4ms |
| New (B) 2.5" | SATA2 300 | 7200 | 500GB | Samsung HM500JI 2AC101C5 | 95 MB/s | 71.5 MB/s | 219.3 MB/s | 21.4ms |
| New (C) 3.5" | SATA2 300 | 7200 | 2TB | Samsung HD203WI 1AN10003 | 115 MB/s | 85.6 MB/s | 252.5 MB/s | 23.6ms |
Replacement Internal HDDs for PS3
| Brand | Model | Size (GB) | Interface | Cache | RPM | Height | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung | Spinpoint M2/HM201JJ | 200 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M2/HM251JJ | 250 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M5/HM121HI | 120 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M5/HM160JI | 160 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M5/HM250JI | 250 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M6/HM251JI | 250 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M6/HM320JI | 320 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M6/HM400LI | 400 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M6/HM500LI | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM120GI | 120 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM161HI | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM250HI | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM320II | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM400JI | 400 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7/HM500JI | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7E/HM251HI | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M7E/HM641JI | 640 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint M8/HN-M101MBB | 1000 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | First 9.50mm 2-platter 1TB |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM080HJ | 80 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM081HJ | 80 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM100JJ | 100 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM101HJ | 100 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM120JJ | 120 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM121HJ | 120 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM160JJ | 160 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM161JJ | 160 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM200JJ | 200 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP2/HM250JJ | 250 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP4/HM250HJ | 250 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP4/HM320HJ | 320 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP4/HM500JJ | 500 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MP4/HM640JJ | 640 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MT2/HM100UI | 1000 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 12.5 mm | will NOT fit without modification! |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MT2/HM750LI | 750 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 12.5 mm | will NOT fit without modification! |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MU-X/HM160HX | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MU-X/HM251JX | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Samsung | Spinpoint MU-X/HM320JX | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9160314AS | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9160412AS | 160 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9250315AS | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9250410AS | 250 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9320325AS | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9320423AS | 320 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9500325AS | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9500420AS | 500 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9640320AS | 640 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9750420AS | 750 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Seagate | ST9750423AS | 750 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD10TEVT | 1000 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5200 | 12.5 mm | will NOT fit without modification! |
| Western Digital | WD10TPVT | 1000 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5200 | 12.5 mm | will NOT fit without modification! |
| Western Digital | WD400BEAS | 40 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD400BEVS | 40 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD600BEAS | 60 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD600BEVS | 60 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD800BEAS | 80 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD800BEVS | 80 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD800BEVT | 80 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1000BEAS | 100 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1000BEVS | 100 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1200BEAS | 120 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1200BEVS | 120 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1200BEVT | 120 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1500BLFS | 150 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 10000 | 26.1 mm | will NOT fit! |
| Western Digital | WD1600BEAS | 160 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1600BEVS | 160 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1600BEVT | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1600BPVT | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1600BEKT | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD1600BJKT | 160 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2000BEAS | 200 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2000BEVS | 200 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BEAS | 250 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BEVS | 250 | SATA-150 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BEVT | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BPVT | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BEKT | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD2500BJKT | 250 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD3000BLFS | 300 | SATA-300 | 16MB | 10000 | 26.1 mm | will NOT fit! |
| Western Digital | WD3200BEVT | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD3200BPVT | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD3200BEKT | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD3200BJKT | 320 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD4000BEVT | 400 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD4500BLHX | 450 | SATA-600 | 32MB | 10000 | 26.1 mm | will NOT fit! |
| Western Digital | WD5000BEVT | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD5000BPVT | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD5000BEKT | 500 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 7200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD6000BLHX | 600 | SATA-600 | 32MB | 10000 | 26.1 mm | will NOT fit! |
| Western Digital | WD6400BEVT | 640 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD6400BPVT | 640 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD7500BPVT | 750 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5400 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD7500KEVT | 750 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5200 | 9.50 mm | - |
| Western Digital | WD7500KPVT | 750 | SATA-300 | 8MB | 5200 | 9.50 mm | - |
Encryption
PS3 uses XTS-AES-128 to encrypt the internal HDD drive.
Good paper about XTS-AES: http://ntnu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:347753/FULLTEXT01
XTS-AES-128 means that there are 2 keys of size 128bit actually, the one for tweak encryption and the other for data encryption. Both keys are different on each PS3 console and can be easily dumped e.g. with modified sb_iso_spu_module.self. These 2 keys are sent to ENCDEC device which performs HDD encryption/decryption.
External storage
The PS3 also supports external harddrives (via the USB port) using the FAT32 file system format. Files systems like UFS/UFS2, EXT3/EXT4, which are natively used on internal harddrive cannot be used on external on a non-modified system. You can format it to any size up to 8TB **, which is the theoretical drive size limit of FAT32. There have been verified success of 2TB external harddrives working with the PS3. The whole drive needs to be formatted into a single 2TB FAT32 partition using special software tools like fat32format.exe that can handle large drives. Note that FAT32 supports a maximum file size of 4GB.
** note: this seems untrue, because when >2TB drives have hit the market, no screenshots of >2TB external storage are known
Low level diagnostic tools
Sometimes you just need to be sure that harddrive is still working in crisp condition. All harddrive manufacturers have special low level diagnostics tool for that purpose.
- Seagate SeaTools (also Samsung)
- Maxtor PowerMax (currently Seagate)
- Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic
- Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (currently Western Digital)
User manual
Some of this wikipage is also in User Manual (e.g. Page 36 and further: CECH-2001A_2001B-2.85_2.pdf) and Knowledge Centre: Can I upgrade the hard disk drive (HDD) inside my PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system?