DescentBB

how does one format a 2.5" PS3 hard drive to a FAT32 or NTFS file system?

I appreciate the feedback as other forums lead me nowhere.

you plug it into your computer(its a sata drive) and format it.

you may brick your PS3 in doing so, depending on the model, however.

i have the PS3 slim. I'm really trying to avoid sending it to sony to be repaired.

the error shows up as "HHD failed, press X for system restore" over and over.
apparently it's a common problem and formatting it seems to fix the issue.

the slims store part of their firmware on the harddrive.

you probably need a new HD, and an image of a good drive that used in the slim.

oh bubblin boobies.. =[

You Might want to read this

http://www.examiner.com/playstation-in- ... 3-slim-101

how about a $ dd if=/dev/sd(?) of=lol.iso
type command from the ps3? don't those boot linux? Once you have the image it should be safe to experiment on the ps3 drive.

all you have to do is reformat the hdd using your own pc. once you plug it back in, you hook up the PS3 to your network and it will download the necessary firmware to the hard drive.

as stated previously, the PS3 Slim stores part of the firmware on the drive, format it and the PS3 stops working.

Once you format it, then just follow any guide on how to upgrade the PS3 Slim's hard drive (like this), except you'll just be putting back in your old one. Or you might think about upgrading it while you're at it too, especially if you think it is failing.