How to Upgrade Your PS3 Hard Drive - CFW & PS3HEN HDD Replacement Guide

[@SlypDisc]

HAHA! I tried putting a 2tb SSD in last week and found out you kinda can't, then you upload this video. Good timing xD

[@MrMario2011]

Enjoy!

[@jordanrayo2425]

A secret most don’t know you can resize the hard drive to 1.6 tb and it’ll read it the ps3 max size it can take is 1.6tb and they also make 1.6 tb hard drives and use a 2 tb hdd external😅 that’s about 3.2tb when all said and done.

[@jordanrayo2425]

Also a hybrid sata drive is much more convenient than a ssd. I find the hybrid drive much better and the reason for the ps3 and Xbox one x is the sata 3 connector the Xbox one x will read the 2b drive but automatically format the drive to 1.6

[@KevinTwiner]

❤

[@johnDingoFoxVelocity]

The limit is 1.0 terabytes. Let me explain if you go above that limit.What will happen is blu ray playback will freeze when returning to the main menu of the disc after watching the movie.

[@Teknishun]

I like that youre super passionate about what you do and you take time to show and teach. Truly a gem among the elitist console mod community ❤

[@jackmyowl]

agreed, sometimes I just put him on to fall asleep to, such a calm voice.

[@StarmenRock]

Dude has not only been saving us, but doing a VERY good job at it for several years. A real trooper and a legend.

[@MrMario2011]

Truly appreciate y'all 🥹

[@brkbtjunkie]

Hey buddy!

[@txkzt]

Supposedly the guy who made evilnet Custom firmware plans on employment a few things where we could be able to use a two terabyte but don't know for sure

[@DT-Nicky]

I'm glad I went to a 1TB SSD from the start. Although I'm more into using my PS4 with it's 4TB SSD for more games. Great tutorial on how to do PS3 modding step by step.

[@josephcepi5510]

Thanks for the nice cherry on top at 35:00 with the +8%. I haven't been paying much attention to the PS3 modding scene for quite a few years now and didn't even know this was a thing! Yet another exceptionally well put together tutorial from Mr Mario.

[@MrMario2011]

Super kind, thank you 🙂

[@L319HV]

I litrerally just got a 1 terabyte hdd this morning to upgrade my 160gb slim to back up my games. this video really came in clutch thanks.

[@MrMario2011]

Enjoy that extra space!

[@SynthRider1]

THANK YOU!!! I asked this question in a previous video of yours, and ive been out of the loop for a while.

[@MrMario2011]

So many people asked over the years, hope this delivers 🙂

[@Cold_Media]

Mario, I cannot stress enough how much your videos help. I legitimately just ran into this exact issue recently and you uploaded this today! Keep up the good work legend 🔥

[@MrMario2011]

Glad it helped!

[@xpavpushka]

Thank you for this guide. Thinking about replacing my old 120gb HDD by 1tb SSD so this vid is just in time!

[@MrMario2011]

Good choice!

[@ringbling420]

I found this out myself last week like a previous commentor also found - and am using a fanxiang 500 gb ssd from amazon and a 2tb on the usb. Since its so easy and cheap to also mod a ps2 - im doing a 512 on that cause games like hot shots golf among others i want just play like crap on emulation. Fantastic information your work has helped me a lot!

[@MrMario2011]

Glad it helped!

[@mueihn2267]

Awesome. I had this new SSD laying around for some months now and was just too lazy to look up the exact replacement procedure. Looks like you uploaded the right video at the right time. 🙃

[@MrMario2011]

Have fun!

[@mueihn2267]

Thanks. It was fun. 😊 But, somehow, I could not manage to take over my existing trophies from the old HDD. At first, after the DB rebuild, they seemed to be properly shown in the XMB. But as soon as I start one of the corresponding games, it crashes at the first attempt with a message referring to the trophies. Afterwards, the trophy collection just displays ‘invalid data’ for each previous game with trophies. If I try again to start the same game, it works but creates a fresh and empty trophy set for that game. Some fiddling around with apollo save tool did also not help. Think that I will leave behind my trophy data as I do not care that much about it, never synced it to PSN anyway, and left it behind multiple times before, so it is not complete anyway. 😅

[@xpavpushka]

@@mueihn2267 Thanks for the report

[@Chris_0299]

Nice to see this PS3 Update. Have it done also and easy enough with the PS3 update. After that these days a new password is needed for the same PS3 and renew the license for going online on the PlayStation Store. Nice to see it has some PS3 games still. I've to download everything and the way this video to do at home is great.

[@PlainRubbish]

just in time, was about to jailbreak my ps3

[@MrMario2011]

Have fun!

[@CH4MP10N18]

I was too early😭, had to install new SSD without any of my old data

[@ISAK.M]

Banger

[@MrMario2011]

Appreciated!

[@PhoenixNewMoon]

9 days ago? Damn man perfect timing

[@juanyanez755]

Omg thank you yessss i neeeded this

[@MrMario2011]

Enjoy!

[@stephensweeney5167]

Great Video, I used this to change out my 320 GB drive for a 960GB SSD. Here are some of the issues I ran into, and what I did to fix some of them. Let me preface this with, I am new to PS3 modding, but have years in Retro and electronics and software in general. The "game" directory was a nightmare to backup, and I seemed to have lost some of my savedata from a pkg installed ps2 game even though all the directories were properly backed up for that. GT6 was impossible to backup from the HD. If I were doing this again.... and I may start from scratch. I would like to have all my games as ISO's, and I plan to convert them all to that.... much easier to deal with. Use the savegame utility in XMB to backup all your saves and progress. After doing all of this, I am having a lot of issues with starting homebrew software... it is a 50/50 change it will start or freeze, and this is with all the homebrew. Before the upgrade it was only the occational mmcm freeze... So this is the biggest driver to start from scratch. I am just going to rebuild, add Hen, and start each ISO so it can rebuild its cache and update, then restore savedata. Hope this makes it more stable.

[@MrMario2011]

For the savedata, Apollo Save Tool might be the better/best option since some saves could be have limitations like not allowing copying.

[@TheSliderW]

I believe 1.6tb is safe. I formated two 2tb SSDs to 1.6tb following a guide about a year ago and other than some issues starting the console from cold boot (which I'm not sure what causes that but I remember people talking about some clock RNG) it has been working quite fine. Did that on two ps3 using CFW thanks to your original video.

[@myretronation]

Been using a 1.5TB HDD for awhile Thankfully no problems yetm🙏

[@MrMario2011]

A rarity to find one! 😂

[@myretronation]

@@MrMario2011 shucked it from an external Seagate USB drive 😬

[@legendofswords]

Good to know about the Internal Hard drive limitations for later. Its way easier to upgrade the drive when you have no data or CFW on the system. I got my hands on 2 A0(Japanese) Backwards compatible model PS3s 1 has the GLOD (prime Frankenstein mod material) and the current one im using had less than 5 days of use

[@MrMario2011]

Absolutely! Usually I don't care to migrate over data, if you're in that boat it takes about 5 minutes to set up a new drive.

[@DiscordLOCYT]

thats easy and pain free! thanks for this helped alot

[@MrMario2011]

Glad to demystify it!

[@jamestorgersen2183]

lost on how to get my theams now like but everthing else went smooth thanks man

[@MrMario2011]

I've never messed with themes on the PS3, but did they not come back after a transfer and database rebuild?

[@kevinogorman7561]

Mr. Mario, my man, you were super helpful getting my ps3 jailbroken. I think you should do an updated video for transferring files from external HDDs to internal HDDs using Irisman. After a lot of playing around, it hands down has the best exfat support out of the box for transferring large files and isos. It will also execute larger pkg files. Anyways thanks for your content.

[@MrMario2011]

What's made it better than webMAN MOD or ManaGunZ? Genuinely asking as I just covered it with ManaGunZ for PKG installs, but from what I've seen the only way to install from an exFAT drive is using webMAN MOD

[@onkartare]

Brilliant ❤

[@MrMario2011]

Hope this helps!

[@iamyashraj]

my ps3 got broken near the power button module (pcb is fine), it is the same area where your power button area plastic got broken. I think its fragile near that part of the console.

[@MrMario2011]

I have no idea how it happened, I bought the console like that 😂

[@iamyashraj]

@@MrMario2011 mine got broke during the transit.

[@mrmaxime]

I followed your video to put PS3 hen on my system about 2 years ago. That worked but I couldnt figure out how to swap the drive past the firmware part. I just followed your video on switching to CFW last night and spent way too long backing up my HDD. I read that the backup utility works fine, but I also did FTP as a 2nd backup. I only have about 30gb used on my PS3 and WinSCP was just an absolute pain. So many files would fail and Id get multiple disconnects. Both my PC and PS3 are connected to the router with ethernet. I couldnt trust that the files had transferred correctly because checking the properties of the PS3 folder against my copy and they didnt match. I ended up using FileZilla instead. I didnt have to babysit it and click "retry" or "reconnect" over and over. At the end, I added the failed transfers back in the queue to download.

[@mrmaxime]

Oh, I do want to make it clear that your videos have been super helpful and easy to follow but winscp was just a pain lol

[@freddy2072]

All I did was when I jail broke my p.S three fat i dropped a Brand knew hard drive into the p s three fat and slim I downloaded the custom firmware onto a thumb drive.And install the custom firm where just fine without having to use any of that stuff online to upgrade the hard drive space

[@MrMario2011]

Yep, if you don't care about your data at all, it's like a 5-minute process.

[@freddy2072]

@@MrMario2011 The? Funny thing is all the stuff that I put on there before. I drop the new hard drive in. Like all the homebrew apps and games, they were still on there. All I did was just drop the hard drive in blank. And install the custom former and booted right up

[@buas7]

i need help mine wont update or detect the harddrive how do i recover the ps3 \

[@Kenny-o1b]

Heya, just wanna ask a question Ssds are faster and more powerful then a hdd, but I heard they die more faster then a hdd on the ps3, Should I stick with hdd or is it safe to use ssds?

[@grimAXE27]

I have a question regarding this whole process. Under Settings > system > backup utility On OFW you can backup your content, save data, trophies, user profile with settings, and custom themes. Even though you’re limited to USB2 speeds, is it advised NOT to use that utility with CFW/HFW? And if so how come?

[@MrMario2011]

This method is faster and gives you more granular control, plus the stock option does not back up everything such as saves or trophies to my knowledge.

[@grimAXE27]

@@MrMario2011 with all the times I’ve done back up and restores swapping hard drives on OFW, I believe it does back up save data utility and trophies. However, I’m not so certain on CFW. I do plan to upgrade one of my units and I’ll try both methods and get back to you.

[@jellyman85]

Thank you very much for this. But if I just installed custom firmware with multi-man and that's the only thing I want to carry over what are the steps I can skip? I haven't added any games or save data and I don't care about my profile

[@xpavpushka]

I'm pretty sure you'll have to install multiman again. If you don't care about games, saves, trophies, then just put a new hard drive and install cfw on it + multiman. You won't have to restore anything. Guys please correct me if I'm wrong here

[@jackmyowl]

i still wish it would be possible to use a M.2 drive for super longevity 😅

[@MrMario2011]

I feel like it could be as long as it fits? M.2 to SATA interface?

[@Skipperrr1]

Thanks for this i was confused on why my slim wasnt taking the Hdd from my super slim that died lol its a 500GB and my slim is a 120GB 3000 model

[@MrMario2011]

They're locked per console, can't swap them between systems like you can on the Xbox 360

[@Skipperrr1]

@@MrMario2011 yeah i figured that awhile back lmao if only the ps3 was more simple modding compared to the 360 but at least i have both modded lol

[@Skipperrr1]

Alright so after doing this it checks the hard drive and says theres a serious technical issue contact support and i know this hard drive is good

[@Skipperrr1]

Error (8002F281)

[@1touchproduction]

Error 8002F147. Ps3 superslim, any help??? . Updating from safe mode.

[@Skipperrr1]

Hey you forgot to mention that you have to partition the hard drive on windows for it to work

[@MrMario2011]

Not needed, the PS3 formats it with its own file system.

[@hassansyed4135]

I just got a 1TB hard drive to upgrade the storage, unfortunately I got some games like god of war 1 and 2 alongside many ps2 iso in my internal drive, so its taking a long while to back them up into my computer, and just as long to transfer it back. Guess I should have done this earlier...

[@MrMario2011]

It's so much easier when you have only a small bit of content.

[@hassansyed4135]

@@MrMario2011 The death of Olympus calls for me

[@davedm6345]

Ok what if i want to change ps3? and keep my hdd?

[@jessejones1783]

hi idk which CFW i have running on my PS3 because i want to upgrade the drive

[@MrMario2011]

Covered it all in the video.

[@jessejones1783]

@MrMario2011 i keep forgetting like that i never swapped out the drive in my Ps3 before

[@ciaranhughes45]

If i deleted the software from USB. Got a new harddrive to upgrade. Would i need to start fresh or can i use the newest software release ie beta 14? I used Beta 12 i believe.....

[@MrMario2011]

Covered it all in the video.

[@ciaranhughes45]

​@@MrMario2011 indeed you did. I confused myself! Thank you very much for this guide. I appreciate it my man

[@ferdinandmartinjr.511]

After formmating my PS3 says "Cannot Start The appropriate system storage was not found" what could be the reason? need help pls. I just bought 1TB samsung SSD 870 Evo

[@MrMario2011]

Reinstall firmware, or if you can't you might need to reformat the drive externally again and then retry on the PS3.

[@ferdinandmartinjr.511]

@@MrMario2011 i already done it many times. but i tried other Sata Drive 320 GB (mechanical) it work's just like on your tutorial. maybe ill try other brands of SSD. thank you so much for your reply and for your AWESOME tutorials!!

[@kaitoraiga]

36:38 I have question, after we reclaim the space, should we keep the program or can we uninstall it?

[@MrMario2011]

Up to you.

[@kaitoraiga]

@@MrMario2011 thank you for this video, i literally planning to upgrade my PS3 storage week ago, and boom, you make this video, what w chance

[@vegetablunt5663]

Is it necessary to backup data even tho I have nothing important on the hdd?

[@MrMario2011]

Up to you.

[@danielvincett8450]

Do you need to reinstall cfw on a fat ps3 or is it stored on a chip with that model?

[@MrMario2011]

You have to if it's NOR

[@danielvincett8450]

Great thanks

[@cursedknot]

I dont remember exactly what rebug cfw i got but can i install whatever i want or there will be issues?

[@MrMario2011]

Recommendations explained in the video.

[@timhouston8007]

What SSD did you use? The make and model?

[@MrMario2011]

Amazon Affiliate link, but here's the exact one I used: geni.us/XrL4

[@LouisZezeran]

A PS3 wont use the full capabilities of almost any modern SSD, so any SSD will work here. Just buy one to your size / budget

[@user-oj8dr4di3z]

why can you not just clone the drive from old drive to new drive ?

[@MrMario2011]

Doesn't work like that for PS3.

[@nintendogametuber]

Any chance the 1.5TB limit will be passed someday? Or any way to bypass it?

[@MrMario2011]

Evilnat is testing it!

[@JzLyfe]

Somebody made a comment on this video they are using a 1.5TB drive. He doesn't say how but has been using it. Maybe try and message him

[@iamyashraj]

what if i install original firmware instead of hfw (hfw was previously installed) after installing the new hdd. will this cause any issues?

[@MrMario2011]

It would be a waste of time since you'd still need HFW to reinstall PS3HEN

[@iamyashraj]

@@MrMario2011 apart from this, is there any issue which i may encounter? because i have already done the process of installing both og firmware and hfw

[@andersonocardoso2524]

Would be good if we could simply clone the drive to a new one instead to do it from scratch. But i doubt this is possible due to the security nature of PS3 system? Not really sure tho.

[@MrMario2011]

Exactly that, it would be a good idea but it isn't possible like that.

[@trismtheprism7186]

Is there a way that I can do this without an FTP?

[@MrMario2011]

USB using something like ManaGunZ To handle large files.

[@trismtheprism7186]

@@MrMario2011Hey! I was also wondering if I am able to use a usb to sata adapter to plug into my newly bought 1tb hdd to my ps3, and use multiman’s backup feature. Could that transfer over all my data safely? I have PS3HEN, so I assume I would also have to re-download that.

[@trismtheprism7186]

@@MrMario2011Or could I copy the necessary ISO and other files from my ps3 to the new drive through ManaGunZ?

[@jimthor1850]

can anyone recommend a 1.5 tb HDD that wont run into issues the wiki page is hard for me to understand

[@MrMario2011]

Better rewatch! If you understood it, you would not be asking for a recommendation.

[@jimthor1850]

@@MrMario2011 i did the issue is i need a 1.5 tb and one online retailers states 2.5 inc but they are slightly bigger yeah for the 1tb i can get that anywhere its a common problem with ps4 users also having the same issue when replacing hdd

[@keke0_o-x]

so if i do all this will be able to keep all my users and their saves?

[@MrMario2011]

Yeah

[@demondms]

Can i delete the hdd space pkg after i get more storage?

[@MrMario2011]

Up to you

[@demondms]

@@MrMario2011 it won't put the storage back on the hard drive?

[@MSBabyAliveOSReklam7000]

yes, i cool based is playstation

[@MrMario2011]

based

[@DUDEBroHey]

Is this a reupload?

[@MrMario2011]

Nope!

[@thiaga470]

I changed cfw fat ps3 without knowing this and end up in red screen of death. Totally wasted as I can't access ps3 because it have sone corrected and keep on showing in start up and I almost spend 5 hrs to rebuild data and didn't fully finish. After changed hdd and installing new firmware to went into red screen of death. If any one knows how to fix plz share

[@MrMario2011]

Sounds like an unfortunate coincidence. There's a RSOD fix you can run on Evilnat if you can boot using the old HDD

[@thiaga470]

Who can i do that, as i install latest firmware on new hard disk and will it be ok to insert old hdd, i thought only solution is to flash nand​@MrMario2011

[@HBSpartanIV]

I swapped my PS3 slim's HDD with an SSD but it died after few months, I thought it was the SSD that might have had a defect so I replaced it with another SSD but the same happened so a question that I have is since the PS3 doesn't have support for TRIM is that something that might kill an SSD in the long run 🤔other wise I put in a new HDD and it's working fine now

[@MrMario2011]

Could also be the brand of SSD used or the type of flash? PS3 doesn't have TRIM support, but flash types are not the same across SSDs. I've personally had a 128 GB SSD in my Super Slim for at least 5 years, strictly used as a guinea pig and has been subjected to plenty of testing for my videos. It's still chugging along with no issues!

[@markcollins2704]

Only 1tb kinda brutal I use 2tb for the PS2 lol

[@MrMario2011]

I get it 😂 at least we have external drive access!

[@acciid]

I keep all my PS3 Isos on an external HDD connected to a raspberry pi running samba. It's quick enough over ethernet. Some games need to be installed though so the 320gb drive I have in the PS3 does run out of space. I rebuilt when putting that one in but I might have a go at a 1TB and using this method to transfer my installs.

[@Beanszo]

Saw a guy mention this on a reddit thread about the storage, specifically about ssd swaps for the ps3. Might be good info for people who arent sure about ssd vs hdd. "this is older thread but all these people that said put an ssd are wrong. ps3 does not support ssd properly and your ssd will die faster then normal because the ps3 does not support TRIM and sata speeds on the ps3 will limit your speeds. better to just put a good hdd"

[@MrMario2011]

That's also what I believed, although after so many years and having my own experiences plus secondhand experiences, it's fine. Using it in a PS3 is much different than using it as a Windows Drive for example, so there'll be much less write cycles than you would expect. Most of my PS3 videos are recorded on my PS3 Super Slim which has had a budget SSD in it for at least 5 years that I've used and abused, still going strong! At this point my recommendation is that an SSD is fine if you can justify the cost, just don't get a bottom tier drive and expect it to be as reliable as a Samsung Evo.

[@Beanszo]

@@MrMario2011 Ohhhh okay, thanks for the clarification man! Definitely helps!

[@TheNedleyRogers]

Huge fan but SSDs aren't worth it with this generational tech.

[@MrMario2011]

That's what I thought as well until I used them extensively!

[@mccalejk2]

A PS 3 HDD video in 2024…. Why?

[@MrMario2011]

Because you still clicked in 2024