PS3 storage issues... what's my best option?

JTVK

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I have an original 60GB at PS3, continues to run great. But today I just purchased Ultra Street Fighter 4 from the PS Store and when I went to download it, I received a lovely message stating "Not enough space on system storage."

That's it. It didn't tell me anything useful such as how much space I actually needed or anything, just not enough.

On the PS store page, it says the game is 18.3 GB in size, and I even rounded-up to 19 GB, and made sure that I have 24 GB available, but it's still not enough.

I have deleted every game that I don't currently play, and am not willing to delete the others because I am still actively playing them. I have read that downloads require double the listed space, which would mean I would need to have a whopping 38 GB free to install a 19 GB game... the only way to do that would be to delete every single thing on my system. Not an option.

Here's the thing
I would like to upgrade the PS3 HD, but I have purchased movies from the PS store. Everything I read online tells me that the movies can not be successfully restored using the backup utility, nor can they be re-downloaded from the store either.

So I am beginning to think I have been seriously taken-advantage of at this point and am looking for the best option here.

Is there any way for me to not lose my movies or the game?

Thanks.
 
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Thanks for that, but it only allows gamesaves and "backing up" of digital content. The content can not actually be used from the external disk.

I did perform a full system backup in preparation for upgrading the hard-disk.

Earlier today I had a chat with Sony Support and the rep told me that I would not lose my movies when upgrading the disk. So I am planning to stick a 500GB Western Digital in there when it arrives tomorrow. Then re-download all the games I deleted too.

I'll keep this thread updated with the progress. If you know of any extra pitfalls or gotcha's to avoid that the guides don't mention, please share! :D
 
Not sure where you got the idea you would lose your movies, you won't lose anything but you will have to download them again as well as any games you downloaded via PSN as they won't copy over from a backup.

Can you not imagine the shitstorm that would ensue, if people lost things they paid for in this case? I know I would be on the phone with my lawyer...
 
I've never messed with DL'ing movies to the PS3, so I can't speak to that.

I do know that swapping the internal HD is stupid easy. Like, 30 seconds including the time to find the right screw driver easy.
 
Not sure where you got the idea you would lose your movies, you won't lose anything but you will have to download them again as well as any games you downloaded via PSN as they won't copy over from a backup.

Can you not imagine the shitstorm that would ensue, if people lost things they paid for in this case? I know I would be on the phone with my lawyer...

I got the idea after reading these sources:

http://www.psu.com/forums/showthread.php/153431-PS3-HDD-Back-Up-Purchased-Video-Content-Question

http://community.us.playstation.com...d-purchased-movies-and-tv-shows/td-p/14182330

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/09/playstation-3-video-drm-two-strikes-and-youre-out/

The PS3 itself also warns you that "protected content" can not be backed-up or restored, and the movies are protected content from what I can tell.
 
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Backed up or restored is a lot different than "can never be downloaded again"...it's just that they're encrypted, along with trophy's/certain game saves.

Fear not, you won't lose anything you've purchased, you'll just have to wait on it to download all over again.
 
500GB Western Digital

Do yourself a favor man, at least get a 2TB WD Black. If you're going to replace the HDD, do it for the last time in that machine's foreseeable service life, ever.
 
Do yourself a favor man, at least get a 2TB WD Black. If you're going to replace the HDD, do it for the last time in that machine's foreseeable service life, ever.

Urrgh, I already bought the 500GB, which arrived today. I was told that 2 TB is outside what FAT32 can support.

Oh well, since the disk is here -- time for the adventure to begin. I have my system backup, and the firmware on my thumb drive.

I read that the screws are made of butter and very easy to strip. :bigeyes: we'll see...
 
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New Hard Disk is installed and the restore process is at 90% with 6 minutes estimated time remaining.

Interesting to note that the firmware was retained even after the Disk Swap, so I didn't even need the file on the Thumb Drive.
The only real area of frustration so far has been the Impossible Blue Screw™
That little bugger stripped at the slightest touch from any driver head. Had to dremel it.

Next will be seeing how easy it is to get my protected DRM media back.
 
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SUCCESS! :5:

Not only is everything restored but it even transferred my movies without having to download.

I was a little worried because when I first tried to access the PS Store, it hung at a black screen. But after a reboot everything is working and I can download the games I didn't have space for before.

This new disk also seems quieter and less heat-generating. All in all, very happy.

383 GB available/free. Even with the overhead of FAT32 and the system OS, still more than I will ever use on my PS3. I still prefer physical discs over downloading.
 
SUCCESS! :5:

383 GB available/free. Even with the overhead of FAT32 and the system OS, still more than I will ever use on my PS3. I still prefer physical discs over downloading.

Sweet! Glad to hear it worked out. And I learned something... never knew about the 1TB limit. I wonder how absurd it would be to put a beefy SSD in there. hehe but seriously yeah I'm glad that worked out for you.
 
Sweet! Glad to hear it worked out. And I learned something... never knew about the 1TB limit. I wonder how absurd it would be to put a beefy SSD in there. hehe but seriously yeah I'm glad that worked out for you.
thats kinda sad cause the original xbox has a 2tb limit
 
I thought about a SSD , but the write-wear issues and the fact that the PS3 is only SATA 1 compatible makes it a rather useless waste of money, considering how SSD's are still near double the price of regular disks for the same storage space.

P.S. I now have Ultra SF4 installed, so if anyone wants to play against someone who just got the game and hasn't played a street fighter since SF3: 3rd Strike, I'm available. :D

Looking forward to seeing what's new and dust off my Dudley.
 
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