Harddrive

Most of the system software is on the harddrive, without one you get this error instead of XMB

File:No-HDD-on-NOR-consoles-Cannot start. The appropriate system storage was not found.jpg

No-HDD on NOR-consoles - Cannot start. The appropriate system storage was not found.

PS3 % Reserved Area
(system files {dev_flash}; {dev_flash2}; {dev_flash3}, game data {dev_hdd0}, system cache {dev_hdd1} etc

Internal harddrive

All HDD models used in PS3's are 2.5" size and 9.5 milimeters height max, with 1 platter (and 1 or 2 heads), the platter has a rotational speed of 5.400 rpm and 512 bytes per sector

The maximum capacity supported by PS3 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. See/use the talk page for discussions/testreports

Is connected internally to South Bridge wich contains ENCDEC device to manage AES-CBC-128/AES-CBC-192/XTS-AES-128 encryption/decryption, and a SATA-150 controller with a maximum transfer speed of 1.5 Gb/s.

GameOS partition
- Is an UFS2 256-bit file system with a sectorsize of 512 bytes (4096 bits).
- Because 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/write data out in Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac OS X its needed to use the specific perconsole "ATA tweak" and "ATA data" keys. See Harddrive encryption and HDD_Encryption

In some newer PS3 models (like CECH-40xxA 12GB) the internal harddrive has been replaced by a Flash

Harddrive Model info

The data in this table has been copied from manufacturer documents (datasheets or productsheets) availables at his support webs. See links at bottom of the page

A collection of productsheets/datasheets of the HDD models used in PS3, renamed by manufacturer/series: [Download] (fujitsu series are missing)


Brand	Series	Model	Capacity	Rotation Speed (Platters/Heads)	Buffer	Interface	Seek Speeds				Power Requirements				Operating Temp.	Noise Max	Used in PS3 Models
Brand	Series	Model	Capacity	Rotation Speed (Platters/Heads)	Buffer	Interface	tracks	latency	read	write	startup	idle	read	write	Operating Temp.	Noise Max	Used in PS3 Models

Fujitsu	MHW	MHW2040BH	40 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-150	1.5 ms	5.56 ms	12 ms	14 ms	1.0 A	0.60 W	1.9 W	1.9 W	55 ºC	2.0 bels	CECHJxx
	MHZ	MHZ2080BH	80 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-300	1.5 ms	5.56 ms	12 ms	14 ms	1.0 A	0.60 W	1.9 W	1.9 W	55 ºC	2.4 bels	CECHKxx, CECHLxx
	MHZ	MHZ2160BH	160 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	1.5 ms	?.?? ms	?? ms	?? ms	1.0 A	0.60 W	2.1 W	2.1 W	55 ºC	2.0 bels	CECHPxx, CECHQxx

Hitachi	Travelstar 5K160	HTS541640J9SA00	40 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-150	2.2 ms	5.50 ms	14 ms	15 ms	1.0 A	0.85 W	1.8 W	1.8 W	55 ºC	2.7 bels	CECHHxx
	Travelstar 5K250	HTS542580K9SA00	80 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-150	2.2 ms	5.50 ms	14 ms	15 ms	1.0 A	0.85 W	1.8 W	1.8 W	55 ºC	2.7 bels	CECHLxx
	Travelstar 5K500	HTS545012B9SA00	120 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-150	2.2 ms	5.50 ms	14 ms	15 ms	0.9 A	0.80 W	1.4 W	1.4 W	55 ºC	2.9 bels	CECH-20xxA
	Travelstar Z5K500	HTS545050A7E380	500 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.2 ms	5.50 ms	13 ms	13 ms	0.9 A	0.55 W	1.6 W	1.6 W	60 ºC	2.1 bels	CECH-40xxC

Seagate	Momentus 5400.2	ST96812AS	60 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-150	1.5 ms	5.56 ms	12 ms	14 ms	1.1 A	0.99 W	1.9 W	2.3 W	55 ºC	3.1 bels	CECHAxx, CECHCxx
	Momentus 5400.3	ST980811AS	80 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-150	1.5 ms	5.56 ms	11 ms	13 ms	1.0 A	0.75 W	1.9 W	1.8 W	60 ºC	3.2 bels	CECHExx
	LD25 SATA	ST920217AS	20 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	2 MB	SATA-150	2.0 ms	5.60 ms	16 ms	16 ms	1.0 A	?.?? W	2.3 W	2.3 W	55 ºC	2.7 bels	CECHBxx
	LD25 SATA	ST9402115AS	40 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	2 MB	SATA-150	2.0 ms	5.60 ms	16 ms	16 ms	1.0 A	2.00 W	2.3 W	2.3 W	55 ºC	2.7 bels	CECHGxx, CECHHxx
	LD25 5400.2	ST940210AS	40 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	2 MB	SATA-150	1.5 ms	5.60 ms	15 ms	15 ms	1.0 A	2.50 W	2.3 W	2.3 W	60 ºC	2.6 bels	CECHJxx

Toshiba	MKxx52GSX	MK8052GSX	80 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	?.?? ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.85 W	2.0 W	2.0 W	55 ºC	25 dBA	CECHLxx
	MKxx52GSX	MK1652GSX	160 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	?.?? ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.85 W	2.0 W	2.0 W	55 ºC	25 dBA	CECHPxx
	MKxx55GSX	MK1255GSX	120 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	5.55 ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.85 W	1.4 W	1.4 W	55 ºC	2.0 bels	CECH-20xxA
	MKxx55GSX	MK2555GSX	250 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	5.55 ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.85 W	1.4 W	1.4 W	55 ºC	2.0 bels	CECH-20xxB
	MKxx65GSX	MK1665GSX	160 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	?.?? ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.75 W	1.5 W	1.5 W	55 ºC	20 dBA	CECH-25xxA
	MKxx65GSX	MK3265GSX	320 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	?.?? ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.75 W	1.5 W	1.5 W	55 ºC	20 dBA	CECH-25xxB
	MKxx76GSX	MK1676GSX	160 GB	5400rpm (1/1)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	5.55 ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.55 W	1.5 W	1.5 W	55 ºC	20 dBA	CECH-30xxA
	MKxx76GSX	MK3276GSX	320 GB	5400rpm (1/2)	8 MB	SATA-300	2.0 ms	5.55 ms	12 ms	12 ms	0.9 A	0.55 W	1.5 W	1.5 W	55 ºC	20 dBA	CECH-30xxB

Meassure units conversions:
- Watts = Amps * volts (or... Amps = Watts / Volts)
- There is no conversion formula between "bels" (sound power) and "dBA" (sound pressure)... are different meassure concepts and cant be compared

Temporal notes (this is missing info that needs to be moved to the table)

PS3 models missing in the table:
- CECHMxx 80GB <--- Toshiba MK8052GSX, or fujitsu MHZ2080BH, or hitachi HTS542580K9SA00 ?
- CECH-21xxA 120GB <--- toshiba MK1255GSX ?
- CECH-21xxB 250GB <--- toshiba MK2555GSX ?
- CECH-25xxA 120GB <--- toshiba MK1255GSX ?
- CECH-25xxB 250GB <--- toshiba MK2555GSX ?
- CECH-40xxA 12GB <---- internal flash storage (no HDD)
- CECH-40xxB 250GB <--- hitachi Travelstar (Z5K500 series) - HTS545025A7E380 (1 head), or toshiba MK2555GSX (old) ?

Harddrive Speed Tests

This speed tests are only orientative because was made in PC's with different motherboards, and the results can be different in a PS3

Speed Tests (PC)
Brand	Series	Model	Windows															Linux
			[HDtune]						[HDtach]				[ATTO]			[PassMark]		[hdparm -Tt]
			Min. ^(MB/s)	Max. ^(MB/s)	Average ^(MB/s)	Access ^(ms)	Burst ^(MB/s)	Link	Average ^(MB/s)	Burst ^(MB/s)	Access ^(ms)	Link	Write ^(MB/s)	Read ^(MB/s)	Link	Score ^(rating)	Link	Cache read ^(MB/s)	Disk read ^(MB/s)	Link

Fujitsu	MHW	MHW2040BH	14.3	46.1	34.3	17.7	100	[1]	28.2	28.5	21.8	[1]			N/A	215	[1]			N/A
	MHZ	MHZ2080BH	13.6	61.8	46.0	18.3	72.2	?				N/A			N/A	324	[1]			N/A
	MHZ	MHZ2160BH	33.4 20.6 15.4 31.7 6.7	68.2 26.2 63.4 63.1 63.5	54.3 24.9 50.4 50.5 46.1	17.2 17.9 17.4 17.3 19.3	75.2 20.5 75.7 75.2 71.5	[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]	57.3	77.3	17.3	[1]	66444	64450	[1]	337	[1]			N/A

Hitachi	Travelstar 5K160	HTS541640J9SA00	15.2	48.7	38.8	17.1	91.3	[1]	40.5	116.3	17.1	[1]			N/A	254	[1]			N/A
	Travelstar 5K250	HTS542580K9SA00	22.1	44.3	34.4	17.4	77.0	?	36.0	?	16.9	?			N/A	247	[1]			N/A
	Travelstar 5K500	HTS545012B9SA00	36.5	79.2	62.0	20.2	99.9	?				N/A			N/A	377	[1]			N/A
	Travelstar Z5K500	HTS545050A7E380	45.6	103.5	80	19.9	137.7	[1]				N/A			N/A	646	[1]			N/A

Seagate	Momentus 5400.2	ST96812AS	12.9	40.2	32.2	15.8	83.4	[1]				N/A			N/A	235	[1]			N/A
	Momentus 5400.3	ST980811AS	20.9	41.8	33.1	15.9	89.4	[1]				N/A			N/A	236	[1]			N/A
	LD25 SATA	ST920217AS	2.0	30.9	23,9	21.0	100.9	[1]				N/A			N/A	167	[1]			N/A
	LD25 SATA	ST9402115AS						N/A				N/A			N/A	186	[1]			N/A
	LD25 5400.2	ST940210AS	21.0	30.6	27.2	18.5	22.8	?				N/A			N/A	230	[1]			N/A

Toshiba	MKxx52GSX	MK8052GSX	6.6 9.7	61.2 27.5	46.0 24.3	18.1 19.1	87.3 24.7	[1] [2]				N/A			N/A	323	[1]			N/A
	MKxx52GSX	MK1652GSX	16.9 31.2 20.5	61.8 61.8 61.8	49.5 50.2 47.2	18.1 18.7 18.1	73.0 73.3 76.7	[1] [2] ?	50.6	151.8	18.1	?	57604	61077	?	326	[1]			N/A
	MKxx55GSX	MK1255GSX	24.8	72.4	52.9	17.6	74.3	[1]				N/A			N/A	458	[1]			N/A
	MKxx55GSX	MK2555GSX	26.3	76.4	40.9	19.5	116.5	[1]				N/A			N/A	402	[1]			N/A
	MKxx65GSX	MK1665GSX	45.9	93.8	74.6	16.8	203.6	[1]	77.3	242.6	16.7	[1]	97969	97259	[1]	518	[1]			N/A
	MKxx65GSX	MK3265GSX	43.5	88.0	67.8	17.1	184.5	[1]				N/A	88446	76586	[1]	476	[1]			N/A
	MKxx76GSX	MK1676GSX	46.0	96.7	76.6	16.2	206.6	?				N/A			N/A	514	[1]			N/A
	MKxx76GSX	MK3276GSX	23.7	87.7	65.3	17.6	89.2	[1]				N/A			N/A	519	[1]			N/A

There is no HDD speed test tool for PS3 GameOS, in PS3 OtherOS/linux hdparm can be used for a simple speed test
There is a Speed Tests (PS3) table in Talk Page ready to include this speed tests made in PS3, feel free to add your results or/and copy the whole table here when needed

Harddrive info From software

Harddrive info in Flash

In NOR flash

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  ................

In GameOS

See DeviceID ext_nor_flash

Harddrive info in xregistry.sys

In path: dev_flash2/etc/XRegistry.sys

The entry: setting/system/hddSerial contains the "HDD model" + "HDD Serial"

PC tools: PS3Utils in linux or xRegistry.sys Editor 0.75 in windows

Harddrive info from SCSI/atapi commands in GameOS

Normally on PC, you would use:

sg_logs SCSI LOG SENSE -t command

Harddrive encryption

PS3 uses XTS-AES-128 to encrypt the internal HDD drive on SLIM consoles and AES-CBC-128/AES-CBC-192 on PHAT consoles.

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. HDD keys are NOT stored in EID4.. On PHAT consoles the only data key is used with zeroed IV.

Currently i'm able to decrypt my PS3 HDD on PC and i can also talk to the ENCDEC device without isolated SPU modules.

To be able to talk to the ENCDEC device, you have to extract 2 AES-CBC keys and one magic e.g. from sb_iso_spu_module.self . First, the 2 AES-CBC are used to establish a secure session between the host and the ENCDEC device. The host and the ENCDEC device exchange 2 random numbers and derive a session key from these random numbers. The session key is then used to encrypt the actual command sent to the ENCDEC device from the host. A command can e.g. set ATA keys.

Dumping ATA keys (128bit tweak and 128bit data key) is easy, i did it on PS3 Linux with my spuisofs driver and a modified version of sb_iso_spu_module.self. ATA keys are passed as parameters to this module and i just copied them with MFC DMA to PPU memory and stopped the execution of the SPU.

Firmware harddrive tools

Harddrive replacements, modifications, expansion parts

Replacing the internal harddrive

For compatibility, if you have a SATA-300 (sometimes called SATA-II or SATA2) or SATA-600 (sometimes called SATA-III or SATA3) 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 / 6Gb/s of SATA-600.

Step-by-step guide

Download the FULL version of FW you currently have on the old harddrive and put it on a USB Mass Storage Device formatted with FAT32 in \PS3\UPDATE\PS3UPDAT.PUP
If you wish to transfer your installed games, DLC/PSN etc. you can use Backup / Restore BEFORE you exchange the harddrive. 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 and remove all discs from the BD-drive, to disable the possibility that another firmware gets downloaded/installed
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 Knowledge Centre: Can I upgrade the hard disk drive (HDD) inside my PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system?
Note: Savegames and Trophies are not copied!

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.

Note

There is even report of SDD's sometimes having a negative impact on performance, compared to the original PS3 harddrive. Example: Corsair CSSD F240GBGT BK - which seem to have 4KB sectors (cause?)

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

Original vs Replacement Drives speed comparison
Harddrive	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

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	-

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

CECH-40xx : External harddrive expansion for internal storage

Vertical Stand with Storage attachement (CECH-4000A only)
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket (CECH-ZHD1)
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket including 250GB drive (CECH-ZS1)

CECH-4000B only : Internal harddrive

5400rpm Hitachi hard drive

CECH-4000B only : Internal harddrive
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket
CECH-ZCD1
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket - box
CECH-ZCD1

External storage

The PS3 also supports external harddrives connected to the USB port (identified as USB Mass Storage device) using only FAT12/16/32 file systems format. File 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.

*FAT32 restrictions:

max amount of files: 268,173,300
max filesize: 4,294,967,295 Bytes
max cluster size: 32K practical, 64K with high incompatibility (PS3 and Xbox360 will accept it, but most applications will not).
max sector size: 512 Bytes (4096 sectorsize is not compatible)
max amount of clusters per volume: 268,435,445 (2^28)
max volume size because of cluster limit: 8,796,093,022,208 Bytes (~8TB)
max volume size because of compatibility: 2TB-1 @ 512B sectors, 32KB allocation unit or 4TB-1 @ 512B sectors, 64KB allocation unit (not recommended) / absolute limit would be 16 TB for 4096 byte sectors, which is incompatible with PS3

performance consideration: with a 8TB volumesize, the file allocation table itself will be 1GB, not really practical (it is 256MB at a 2TB volumesize, which is still a lot larger than ps3 memory thus negatively impacting on performance).

Tools, HDD manufacturers support webs, Documentation, etc...

Diagram of Hard Disk Drive Manufacturer Consolidation
List of defunct hard disk manufacturers

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.

Low level diagnostic tools

- Seagate SeaTools (also Samsung)
- Maxtor PowerMax (currently Seagate)
- Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic
- Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (currently Western Digital)

Some of this wikipage is also in User Manual (e.g. Page 36 and further: CECH-2001A_2001B-2.85_2.pdf)

HDD Manufacturers support and info webs

Fujitsu

http://storage.toshiba.eu/cms/en/support_services/faq.html (fujistsu storage products model numbers)

M=fujitsu, H=HNfamily, Z=series, 2=2.5", 040=40GB, BH=interface

Hitachi

http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/newnum.htm

http://www.hgst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/pages/main?OpenDocument

http://www.hgst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/productfamilies/Travelstar

H=HGST, T=Travelstar, S = Standard, 54=5400rpm, 16 =topcapacity, 40=model capacity, J=Generation, 9=9mm form factor, SA=sata150 (or E3 = SATA 3Gb/s), 8=Feature code (8MB cache), 0=Unique code

Seagate

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/204763en#notebook

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/206431en?language=en_US

http://www.seagate.com/support/internal-hard-drives/consumer-electronics/ld25-series/

http://www.seagate.com/support/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/momentus-laptop/

ST=brand(seagate) 9=form factor(2.5") 6=size(60GB) 8=cache(8mb) 12=identifier AS=interface(SATA)

Toshiba

Toshiba Europe Products - Client Hard Disk Drives: http://storage.toshiba.eu/cms/en/hdd/hard_disk_drives/index.jsp#

http://storage.toshiba.com/storage-services-support/documentation/data-sheets

http://storage.toshiba.eu/export/sites/toshiba-sdd/media/products/datasheets/mk****gsx_datasheet.pdf

Template:Models

Harddrive

Contents