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

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, but so far no one has been able to confirm that, only to debunk it as fake. 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  • In some newer PS3 models (like CECH-40xxA 12GB) the internal harddrive has been replaced by a Flash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
tracks latency read write startup idle read write
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)

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
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
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
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
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
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
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

See also:

For PS3, see also HV SCSI Commands and LV2 sys_storage_Syscalls

Not much specific to hdd temperature on ps3 in gameos documented yet

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

Format Utility

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/formatutility.html

Backup Utility

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/backuputility.html

About not-backuped files

Savegames in PS3 format and trophies are linked to the console/user by using his PARAM.SFO... if you look in this table Requirements for HDD contents in his respective columns, the critical param_keys that needs to be taken in consideation when importing/exporting to another account or console are: ACCOUNTID, ACCOUNT_ID, PARAMS, and SAVEDATA_LIST_PARAM There are several scenarios for importing exporting in the same or other console, between accounts, between registered and not registered PSN accounts, etc... One scenario that deserves a mention because the simplicity is when you replace the HDD, your account is not registered in PSN, and your PS3 uses a NOR flash

PS3 accounts not registered in PSN uses an account id filled with zeroes (thats normal, and is taken as a real number by the system), and trophies are only linked to ACCOUNTID !!!. If your source and target accounts are not registered in PSN you can simply paste the old trophy folders in the new account (dev_hdd0/home/<any_user_id_here>) in your new HDD and "rebuild database", thats all. You can use the same "trick" to transfer trophies between accounts in the same or other console if none of them are registered in PSN (yes, all the PS3 CFW users of the world not registered in PSN can share his trophies just by copypasting files)

For gamesaves the ACCOUNT_ID is also used, but like explained above (because in this example the source and target accounts are not registered in PSN) this is not a problem, the problem here are the contents of PARAMS and SAVEDATA_LIST_PARAM

Actually, are not a problem in all cases because chances are high that all values matches, but usually what changes is the "User ID" assigned to the account the first time it was created (you know... this 00000001 folder that was assiged to the first user you created inside dev_hdd0/home/<user_id_here>/), This number is a counter that always increases (even when you erase users it will not decrease) is stored inside xregistry.sys, and inside the gamesaves in the PARAMS

Probably you need to change this number to match the new account, so after replacing the HDD and creating a new account is a good moment to keep this account number 00000001 and modify all the saves to match the 00000001 inside his PARAM. The other known values inside PARAM doesnt need to be changed (because we are importing/exporting in the same console, so "PS3 console ID" is the same)... only is needed to change this when moving the save to another console

All this tasks are simple edits in the PARAM.SFO file... you could even make it with a hexeditor if you are used to .SFO format, to simplify it you can use some .SFO editor (one that allows to change this values) or one gamesave editor

Trophies and PS3 saves are protected by .PFD files so in case you modifyed one of the .SFO then you need to "update" the list of protected files inside the .PFD (because PARAM.SFO is always in the list). When you update the .PFD the new PARAM.SFO is added to the list and this makes the whole gamesave folder/files "valid" and ready to be copyed in PS3. Is also needed to use the option "rebuild database" at the end of the process

The PFD "update" is one of the commands inside "flatz pfd tools", it returns some info about the protected files inside the table with an "OK" at the end of each line when everything is fine.


  • Notes
    • Part of the contents of PARAMS and SAVEDATA_LIST_PARAM are still unknown, (is awesome how some people that uses/codes savegame cheat apps are still ignoring this... and im not talking about flatz, his purpose was to break the .pfd security to unlocking/transfering protected user files between legit offline accounts and no cheating purposes) --Sandungas (talk) 02:40, 28 January 2014 (EST)
    • About NAND or NOR consoles... xregistry.sys contains "Account ID" and "User ID"
      • Is PS3's with NOR xregistry.sys is stored in "Virtual flash" (a partition in HDD)
      • In the case of NOR when replacing/formatting the HDD you are deleting the file, so is generated at next boot (and filled with the user info the first time you create a new user, that will be assigned the "account id" 00000001). This is not bad, actually is a good way to "cleanup" the xregistry.sys because the PS3 will generate a "fresh one" from scratch (usually xregistry.sys contains lot of areas marked as "not used" from old users that was erased, other old data, the annoying user counter that always increases, and even errors)
      • Is PS3's with NAND xregistry.sys is stored in "NAND flash"
      • In the case of NAND when replacing/formatting the HDD you keep the file with the old users info, the user counter increasing, etc... i dont know a good/efective/simple way to regenerate it --Sandungas (talk) 02:15, 28 January 2014 (EST)

Data Transfer Utility

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/transferutility.html

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
  1. 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
  2. If you wish to transfer your installed games, savedata, DLC/PSN, /Photo, /Music, /Video, bookmarks 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)
  3. Disconnect the LAN/UTP cable and remove all discs from the BD-drive, to disable the possibility that another firmware gets downloaded/installed
  4. 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.
  5. 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).
  6. 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.


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 prominently 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

    CECH-4000B only : Internal harddrive

  • Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket CECH-ZCD1

    Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket
    CECH-ZCD1

  • Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket - box 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

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


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