Hard Drive Failure - Simply Replace The Drive?

Question

I'm curious if anyone has had a hard drive failure, and the PS3 could not restore it. I'd like to know whether or not you can just buy a new hard drive for the console, and it will work fine from that point.

The reason I'm asking is that I might be able to buy a used PS3 with a failed hard drive really cheap, then stick a hard drive in it and have a perfectly fine PS3 for only about $100.

I figure that in most cases, this would work fine, but I'd like to see if anyone had this issue with their PS3 and how they handled it. I realize that there could be a problem with the console, and that is causing it to be unable to restore the drive. If so, the console is pretty much useless.

Answer 1

Only way to know for sure is to ask them what exactly happened to produce the error. If it is something that cropped up during a firmware download, or other normal use, chances are the firmware just needs to be re-downloaded. If they say it stopped working after they dropped it down the stairs, could be a bit more than just the hard drive. Maybe the controller or other PCB components are wrecked which would make it a bad investment.

Ask them if they tried to fix it, and if so, how. If they say they tried switching to a wiped hard drive and re-downloading, you'll know it probably won't work, or else they're dumb and did it wrong. If on the other hand they sound clueless and never bothered to try another hard drive, it could be worth a gamble. And don't ask them specifically if they tried it, because they might go do it and decide not to sell.