Dead PlayStation 3 Save Data File Retrieval

[djandy76]

Hi everyone,

First things first, I know that this issue has been discussed to death on the internet, so I'm not going to dispute these facts, but have a couple of questions nonetheless.

Here's the story. My old UK PlayStation 3 (original model) has died and I have no way to retrieve the save data left on the hard drive. Under normal circumstances, I guess I'd just give up and begin my games all over again. However, something occurred to me and I wanted to put it to the people here before doing something I might regret. I have access to a PlayStation 3 Test unit and was wondering whether it suffers the same hard-drive restrictions that a retail one does, that is to say, once the drive is removed then re-inserted, it will need to be formatted before it can be used. If this is indeed the case, then I guess I can happily give up on getting my saves back and move on. If, however, hot-swapping drives on such a unit is possible, I suppose extracting the necessary save-data files could also be done, right? If any knows the definitive answer to this, I'd very much like to hear from you.

As an auxiliary question, can anything be done with the hard drive of a dead PlayStation 3 via one of the custom firmware packages available nowadays? I also have access to a unit with CFW installed and thought that that could also be a good place to start. As above though, if it's not even remotely possible, I'll stop considering it as an option.

Last of all, and this is something I definitely don't have access to, but just out of curiosity would like to ask, is hard-drive swapping doable on a PlayStation 3 Reference Tool? I seem to recall that early units allowed for dual drives to be installed, but don't know the details.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

[HEX1GON]

Save games are on the HDD, just swap the drives over into another PS3...

[InsaneNutter]

Save games are on the HDD, just swap the drives over into another PS3...

If you put the hard drive in another PS3 it will force you to format it... stupid i know.

Unfortunately i've not heard of any way around this.

[djandy76]

I think InsaneNutter's right here. While the majority of save data files can be copied straight from the PS3's HDD via the XMB, if the console itself no longer works then you have a problem. That's pretty much where I am at the moment and was throwing this out to the people here to see if any combination of PS3 Test and retail HDD might do the trick.

[Vosse]

I too have this problem with one of my busted PS3s... Fucking Sony.

[APE]

Make a copy of the drive and sit tight until someone finds a way to extract them from the file system.

[geluda]

Is repairing the PS3 not an option?

[djandy76]

Hi geluda

I guess having the unit repaired is an option, but I was concerned that this would automatically result in the HDD being wiped. Judging by the age of the unit, I doubt it's covered by any sort of warranty from Sony, so it'd either need to be sent to an independent repair service or do it myself.

[Lum]

As long as the repairs aren't so extensive the HDD becomes viewed from a different console.

[djandy76]

From the looks of things it's completely dead so I'm guessing the repairs would be pretty extensive. No sounds, lights or anything when the power is turned on. I've read about fixes for the dreaded YLOD involving heat guns and such, but I thought that would involve removing the HDD at least, so I'd lose the save data that way too.

[Lum]

I don't think there's a mechanism to detect HDD removal when off. The interface is largely ordinary SATA.

[HEX1GON]

If you put the hard drive in another PS3 it will force you to format it... stupid i know.

Unfortunately i've not heard of any way around this.

I had no idea about that, I was told you were able to... Well guess I shouldn't take people's word for it, but it was years ago lol.

[djandy76]

Okay, thanks for helping me look into this everyone. I guess I'll just keep the unit as it is for now and either play my games again on a new system, or wait until somebody discovers a way to mount and extract these files. With the future in mind, I think I'll make backups of my save data more often now!

[geluda]

Okay, thanks for helping me look into this everyone. I guess I'll just keep the unit as it is for now and either play my games again on a new system, or wait until somebody discovers a way to mount and extract these files. With the future in mind, I think I'll make backups of my save data more often now!

Give Sony a ring, they will do the repairs for you you'll just have to pay for it. If they can recover your data (which they most likely will be able to using some sort of jig+software combo) they will tell you and give you a quote for the service.

[djandy76]

Yeah, that's probably the simplest way to deal with this problem. I'm a little concerned about how much they might charge for it though. Nevertheless, if they give me a quote, I'll post it here in case anyone's interested in knowing what the going rate is for such fixes.

[geluda]

My rough guestimate is around $60 - $120.

[Tokimemofan]

That could be a bad power supply, try replacing that if you want to fix it yourself.

[Vosse]

If it doesn't power on that probably is the problem.
My PS3 turns on, but after 2 seconds it beeps with a yellow light and then you have to press the power switch to turn it off. Can't force eject the game that is stuck in there either.

I'd take it apart to get it out, but I don't have a Torx screwdriver with a security pin.

[djandy76]

All in all, it seems like quite a lot to pay just to reclaim my save files... Obviously, having my old PS3 working again is good, but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before it sops working again. Replacing the PSU sounds like an option as well, but I'm afraid I don't really have the skills and I'd be worried about causing more damage than good to be honest!

Going back to the original post, and just to satisfy my curiosity. Do PS3 Test units suffer from the same problem regarding this as retail ones? I mean, if a Test broken down and I removed the HDD and inserted it into a working unit, would it force me format it? I feels like the sort of safety measure Sony would implement on retail hardware, but not stuff used in development.

[Lum]

All you have to worry about, is making sure any repair process doesn't change the system's internal identifier telling the HDD which unit it's connected to. That's it.

Removing then replacing the drive when unplugged and powered down, doesn't seem likely it'd be detected.