Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC - Solved!

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Lime
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PostCan't see old PS3 hard drive on PC - Solved!
by Lime » Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:12 pm

Hi All,

I'm trying to re-purpose an old PS3 hard drive in a laptop. Before I can use it I know I need to reformat it, but when I stick it in an external SATA caddy I have hooked up to my Desktop PC, it doesn't show up.

The caddy works, I've used it a lot.

The drive was working in the PS3, and I hear it spinning up, but I can't seem to get to it to format it.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

Last edited by Lime on Tue Nov 08, 2016 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jawafour
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by jawafour » Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:43 pm

Lime, I'm not really a PC buff and hopefully a tech wizard will step in to confirm, but I believe that you access the ability to format the drive via Disk Management. This Video may help.


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Lime
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Lime » Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:58 pm

Thanks Jawa, I took a look at that video and my drive doesn't show up at all via that method... I think it's a lost cause, I can pick up a replacement for a few quid at CEX, so I don't think I'll spend any more time on it.

thank you for your efforts!

Image< Click here to listen to my band, finally on Spotify (and all other streaming services!)
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jawafour
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by jawafour » Fri Nov 04, 2016 1:01 pm

Dang, that's a shame, dude. It may be worthwhile checking into the PC gaming thread here as there are some tech gurus, such as the legendary Falsey, who may know what to do.

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Death's Head
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Death's Head » Fri Nov 04, 2016 1:15 pm

Lime wrote:Hi All,

I'm trying to re-purpose an old PS3 hard drive in a laptop. Before I can use it I know I need to reformat it, but when I stick it in an external SATA caddy I have hooked up to my Desktop PC, it doesn't show up.

The caddy works, I've used it a lot.

The drive was working in the PS3, and I hear it spinning up, but I can't seem to get to it to format it.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

Does it show up on any other devices (e.g. a console)?

Yes?
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Lime
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AKA: Lime

PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Lime » Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:21 pm

It was working when it was in my PS3 a few years back, but haven't used it since. I don't want to swap it back to test it really as the PS3 is all wired in.

Image< Click here to listen to my band, finally on Spotify (and all other streaming services!)
3ds - 0946-2364-6907
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BID0
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by BID0 » Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:37 pm

Can you hear the disk spinning up when it's powered?

Maybe it's your caddy that's dead. Try putting the hard drive inside the computer, then search "disk management" in the start menu. That'll rule out the caddy

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Death's Head
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Death's Head » Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:42 pm

Lime wrote:It was working when it was in my PS3 a few years back, but haven't used it since. I don't want to swap it back to test it really as the PS3 is all wired in.

If you've put it into a caddy (basically making it an external USB drive), try plugging it into something else that can read a USB drive.

Yes?
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Lime
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Lime » Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:12 pm

Caddy is definitely fine, I put other drives in it before and since, all fine. I will try the caddy on another machine. Good suggestion, thanks!

My suspicion is that the drive is no more. I can replace it for a few pounds so it's not a big deal....

Image< Click here to listen to my band, finally on Spotify (and all other streaming services!)
3ds - 0946-2364-6907
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Orbital
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Orbital » Sat Nov 05, 2016 2:23 am

get a program called easeus. if it's not being shown their, and you're certain your hdd is getting powered (you can hear the disk / see the voltages) then your hd is strawberry floated. too much porn m8

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Lime
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PostRe: Can't see old PS3 hard drive on PC
by Lime » Tue Nov 08, 2016 7:16 pm

Who suspected a caddy issue? You get a biscuit! I tried it directly in the laptop and it saw it OK, I could format it and now I've rebuilt a nice little windows 7 laptop as a music computer.

The caddy seems fine, it may be that it couldn't handle the PS3 formatting of the drive. I've stuck other 2.5" and 3.5" drives in there since and they are all fine. I would suspect that if I could be arsed to take the drive back out of the laptop and put it back in the caddy it would work.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

Image< Click here to listen to my band, finally on Spotify (and all other streaming services!)
3ds - 0946-2364-6907
Wii U - Monkeylime
Switch Online - SW-0245-1766-8994

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