soxfan849 : Sony builds their PS3s to encode hard drives with a special formatting for the PS3's data structure. Not only is the formatting unique to the PS3 as a console, but to each individual PS3... in other words, each actual machine has its own special coding. This prevents users from copying transferring save data from their PS3 to a friend's PS3 as well. Which is stupid. Sony wants to prevent you from doing as you please with your save data.

They also use special encoding when you convert PS2 and PS1 memory card data to the virtual memory cards on the system. In this way, you can't easily transfer PS1/PS2 save data from a computer to the PS3 system since those files won't have the special encoding. They build it so you HAVE to buy their special memory card reader and HAVE to have the data on a valid memory card.

In additional, Sony doesn't want you to be able to take hard drives and manipulate the data off the system before putting it back in, so they make it sure that only PS3s can even read the data and a system won't accept a hard drive that's formatted for a different PS3.

It's just a bunch of controlling BS that Sony likes to pull.

My data is basically gone forever since I can't get it off myself and Sony won't give it to me in any way and their system of doing things prevents me from keeping the hard drive and recovering on a new PS3.

Crazy Li : Yeah that is pretty much how they play it. I make no bones about it that I think that what they did with that firmware update was a conspiracy to drive up their sales. I’m surprised seeing as it doesn’t void any warranty getting a new HDD and installing it yourself that Sony themselves don’t sell them on the market retail. You’d think they’d look at something like that as a means of making even more money.

It’s sad that you really can’t trust anything in this world anymore without at least thinking twice about it. It does kind of make me wish that Nintendo was still a power and was able to compete with Sony adequately. In my experience Nintendo’s consoles have never broken down on me and have always been reliable. The Wii and what ever updated version of Wii they have now looks cute for what it is but imagine if Nintendo had the capability to compete with Sony and Microsoft in the same way they competed with Sega. I think at minimum it would give people another option if they don’t want to deal with the hit or miss routine that you have to deal with, with Sony and Microsoft.

As for me I’m probably going to get a new HDD in a week or two. Hopefully there won’t be any problems.