Ps3 storage issue

Fat_Tony

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Hi folks

I'm not a newbie to consoles but having a load of hassle with a ps3 I picked up from cex for my kids.

They only have minecraft and I think time crisis installed, but when I try and install star wars force unleashed it says not enough room.

It's only a 12gb ps3, something I didn't know when I picked it up. The storage says it's got 4 gb available but the game only needs about half that, yet still won't install.

Any tips or is it just not much use?

Thanks
 
You might consider upgrading it with a hard drive, not very hard to do, but you will need to get the drive caddy too since the 12GB PS3 doesn't have one.
 
Thanks, we have a few options but its just a bit of a pain. They can probably swap it with the PS3 they keep at there Nana's as they only play Minecraft there whereas at home they play a few other games.

I wouldn't be confident trying to change hard drives, probably just return it to CEX and pay the difference to get a bigger storage model.

I get the operating system requires storage space, like on all gadgets but its annoying it states we have more than enough free space, but it wont actually let us use it.
 
I think the 12GB PS3 was introduced so that users could put larger hard drives in such as a 1TB. Folk were putting in the larger hard drives even when their console came with say 320GB. It made sense for them to bring out a cheeper 12gb model.

You just remove a few screws, take out the existing hard drive, and fit something like this 1TB hard drive

Samsung M8 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm SATA 3Gpbs Internal Hard Drive -PS3/PS4 Compatible: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the new hard drive to fit you will also need this..

Sony PlayStation 3 Replacement Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Mounting Bracket: Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

But before you do that, you'll need to download the operating system onto a USB drive via your computer, there are guides on here on how to do it, its really not difficult.
 
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It's ridiculously easy to upgrade the hard drive. You don't even need the mounting bracket really
Eg


p.s the reason why you can't install the game is because you need double the amount of storage to install what you're trying to install
Eg you're trying to install a 4gb game- the game installation files need to be copied to the PS3 first (ie 4gb), & then to actually install the files you need another 4gb spare or how else can you install the data? Only once it has finished installing, then the original 4gb of installation files are deleted.
 
Done this, it really is simple, five minute job. Lots of cheap 2.5mm hard drives cheap on eBay £20 + mounting bracket.
Once the new drive is installed it prompts to copy over and use new drive.
 
YouTube is full of videos on how to do it and there's a long thread on here.

Back up game saves to a USB.

Download the system software to a USB.

Look on Amazon for a PS3 compatible hard drive. Get 500Gb or larger.

Hard drive comes, undo a few screws, put in hard drive, do up screws.

Format hard drive, install system software. The PS3 will walk you through it.

Install games and game saves.

I bought a 1Tb drive and have the PS3 full of music and videos as well. I think the largest you can go to at present is 2TB.

Difficulty level is along the lines of wiring a plug. If you have problems you can post on here.
 
Thanks very much for all the info
 
You can look here.

Amazon.co.uk: ps3 compatible hard drives

Essentially it needs to be a 2.5" drive.

500Gb is about £30. 2Tb is about £70.

With the PS3 I fitted a 1Tb drive, added about 200Gb of music, about 300Gb of video and the remaining 500ish was for the PS3 and for games. Now if I was using it for holding media I might go for 2Tb.

The great thing about the PS3 for me is you can use it as a media hub so it tends to get used like a giant MP3 player feeding music out through an amp and speakers. My PS3 is currently in the bedroom connected to a Cambridge Audio stereo and a TV. A HDMI goes from the PS3 to the TV and all the sound from the TV goes from an optical audio socket on the TV to the Cambridge Audio stereo.

With the PS4 you can only use the internal drive for gaming. So I took out the PS4's internal 500Gb drive and put that in a caddy. I then put in a 1TB hybrid drive inside the PS4. The drive in the caddy is now plugged into a USB in the PS4 and again it holds music. The PS4 is in the living room.

Another how to guide.

How to upgrade your PS3 hard drive

We're going to go through the process step-by-step. You only need to set a half-hour or so aside: it really is that simple.

What you'll need:
  • 1x PS3
  • 1x Phillips screwdriver
  • 1x 2.5-inch SATA HDD
  • 1x USB stick (8GB preferred) or 1x FAT32 USB HDD
  • 1x laptop or PC with internet
  • 1x PS3 controller
  • 1x miniUSB cable
Step one: buying the HDD
What hard drive can you use in your PS3? You need to make sure it's a 2.5-inch serial ATA drive of 9.5mm height or less.

Sony makes it as easy as possible and practically encourages you to fit a big hard drive.
 
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This is where the PS3 has an advantage over the PS4, the ability to store video files on the internal hard drive. I copy my camcorder footage to my PS3 and I like that I can watch the footage at any time without having to get out of my chair. The PS4 requires them to be stored on an external hard drive that I have to connect when I want to watch them.

Do the 2TB HD's definitely work on the PS3? At one point I think the 1TB was the maximum?
 
Nope they don't work. 21 pages of lies posted here...
Upgrading the hard disk
;)

That's the PS4 thread, he's asking about PS3.

This is where the PS3 has an advantage over the PS4, the ability to store video files on the internal hard drive. I copy my camcorder footage to my PS3 and I like that I can watch the footage at any time without having to get out of my chair. The PS4 requires them to be stored on an external hard drive that I have to connect when I want to watch them.

Do the 2TB HD's definitely work on the PS3? At one point I think the 1TB was the maximum?

No they do not definitely work.

Whilst theoretically any 2.5" 9mm drive should fit in the PS3, there are only sporadic reports of people getting actually getting 1.5 or 2Tb drives to work in the PS3.

It is suggested, bit not confirmed, that the PS3 OS doesn't support greater than 1Tb.
 
That's the PS4 thread, he's asking about PS3.



No they do not definitely work.

Whilst theoretically any 2.5" 9mm drive should fit in the PS3, there are only sporadic reports of people getting actually getting 1.5 or 2Tb drives to work in the PS3.

It is suggested, bit not confirmed, that the PS3 OS doesn't support greater than 1Tb.
Ah PS3! :facepalm::blush:
 
Most important is to ensure you have backed-up all the gamesaves and media you want to keep to either a USB stick, or to PS Plus cloud.
 
warning not all save games move to usb because some are copy protected and can only be copied to the cloud storage
 

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