PS3 firmware 3.41 updated, hard drive upgrade problems exterminated
By Vlad Savov 
posted August 4th 2010 4:19AM
posted August 4th 2010 4:19AM
posted August 4th 2010 4:19AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
O thank god. O wait I don't play video games. Haha
@ok old news again
haha...if you're not happy with the games it has now, then you may wanna look into a career in game development because you're never going to be satisfied...
@jjasper123
k my previous post looked less stupid before the person I was replying to got erased...
@rhimbu Can Sony Upgrade the PS3's firmware without it crippling or doing damage to the console?
@liftedngifted1
Sony deserves some flack for the several firmware snafus that have come up. No doubt about it. Of course, there's that other console with an actual reliability disaster to compare with, but that's not much of an excuse. Sony needs to fire whoever does quality control for these updates.
they also need to condense these updates. This was a completely pointless update. Pack them all together, test them with every machine and hardware setup possible, and even all the games. Just have ten people whose job it is to do this.
But at the end of the day, the PS3's failure rate is very, very low. doesn't mean I'm not annoyed. I always wait a couple of days before updating my PS3, so I can't pretend this isn't a real concern.
@Dustin F Just like apple does.
PS3 (original) is pretty much the best console available considering its advantages over the competitors:
Wii is a frustrating when all the games depend on the gyro and it is inaccurate.
Xbox 360 needs money for online playing, didn't have HDMI, cannot Bluray playback and has compatibility issues with Xbox games.
With the DualShock3, MOVE and PlayTV, it is a premium home entertainment unit considering you can manually and cheaply change the hard drive.
And with the new* announcement that it will support 3D movies and games in 720p HD, it really busted my nut.
But I think SONY/PS stuffed up BIG TIME by getting rid of Other OS feature. I was really looking forward to seeing it as a personal computer (with MeeGo) that is dedicated to the TV screen.
@Kangal
The 360 got a HDMI port at launch so that's kind of irrelavant now. If the failure rate was as high as some people claim then those people would have probably gotten one back with the HDMI port on it. Not all of us were interested in Blu-ray playback. And some might argue that it wasn't a smart move on Sony's part to try and introduce it so early because it certainly drove the cost of the units up well past the point where a majority of people were going to pay for it. As seen by it's early sales figures. And the PS3 certainly had it's share of issues with PS2 games, and still does.
You are saying that the Dualshock3 is some how better than the Xbox controller? Since it's just a wireless (and motion sensitive added, or refined later) version of the PS2 controller I'll have to disagree with you on that. Since MOVE isn't out yet we'll have to wait and see how that turns out compared to the Kinect. While I have both devices, the Kinect has me more interested at this point. But we are still a ways from launch so that could change.
@Kangal
I shouldn't have to update everytime I turn the damn thing on to play online. The "best console availible" should allow me that much.
@tobsmonster2
you have the option to download and install in the background while the thing is idle. You have to pay for this feature however.
@tobsmonster2
yay another firmware update survived
my ps3 gets more valuable by the minute
@Kangal
You complain about having to pay for online gameplay, but you're ok dropping several thousand extra to play 3D games and movies?
@PBB
several thousand?
Nope the difference between both consoles here in Australia is about $200 when brand new.
Got an original one on eBay so I can keep those PS2 games and it was US$300 with 2x controllers and several games.
And for the previous quotes above, when Bluray players were released they cost more than the PS3. It was only last year that their prices dipped below the PS3 and that is what I call bargain.
Is it me or does every PS3 update seem to brick it one way or another?
@CreepinJesus The problem is how vocal 10 people can be on the internet when they get huge legions of people to support them for no apparent reason. The update to fix this was so tiny that they didn't even change from a 3.4x version for god's sake.
man i haven't updated my for months forced to play offline, don't wanna lose that linux man,
ran out of Xbox Live... theres something wrong with games these days.. just buy the real thing for God daam sakes why must we all suffer.
Screw all for screwing up the PS3, i remember the good old days
@CreepinJesus I've wondered the same thing so I decided to try it out myself. This one actually semi-bricks stuff. I've never had a problem before with updates.
All in all there's no harm done with the old 3.41 update - if your old drive is unreadable after attempting to upgrade, go to system recovery and rebuild database and while you may lose messages people sent to you, it will be readable again.
I, for one, am happy with the HD Sony installed for me; I'd like to point out to Sony as a happy customer and internet commenter, I can help round up those who violated their PS3's; they can then be made to slave in Sony's Chinese sub-contractor's underground silicon mines...
I never tried replacing my hard drive. :D
@koolerz1569
It's stupid easy. And HDDs are so cheap for PS3s. It's excellent. Much unlike that other console.
@Dustin F
Lol Dustin, you had to go there didn't you.
I still love you though.
And that being said, I've got to upgrade my Xbox Hard drive from 60GB to 250GB at the end of this month, it costs like 40% extra.
@BlackedOut
40%? Unless you are buying a knockoff, retail it would be 170% more ($45 vs $120) and if you go by getting a 500gb drive instead, the difference is 400% on a per gigabyte scale ($.48 per gig for the 360, $.12 per gig for a 500gb HDD).
Thank god I got rid of my PS3 ages ago, and it was the original Japanese PS3 !
XBOX 360 for life broooooooooo :P
@Diesel1313 Posting about an xbox on a ps3 article.
That's not useless and annoying.
@Diesel1313
Obvious troll is obvious
Downranking in 3...2...1...
Installed a 500GB HD just before the original 3.41 patch, phew... but good that Sony are quick to action this time... :)
good news for ps3 owners, I myself have a 360 but I congratulate sony on looking after their customers
So, everytime there's an update for the PS3, it's better to wait for a patch for the update. This is getting tiresome Sony. A console is supposed to be a closed system where you don't have to deal with things like this.
So can we still not run Linux with this firmware? I'm still on the old one that did allow it.
@sonicyoof Seriously? GTFO.
Can anyone attest to the HDD issues? I just installed a 500GB HDD on what was once a 40GB SKU, post 3.41 without any issues.
@koehler83
GTFO of my comment thread, then. What you ask is totally unrelated.
@sonicyoof
No OtherOS, of course. And you'll never get it back.
And I agree, that's a huge, huge shame. That's a loss of functionality I really enjoyed. It's a give and take... I am dying for some 3D Gran Turismo, and there have been a variety of other awesome enhancements, but it's still a damn shame.
Trust me, I've contacted Sony to great extent on this. You will almost certainly not get this feature back.
@sonicyoof The let me be more relevant for you. Enjoy your old firmware. You'll never upgrade again. Stick to those guns. You're an American hero.
@koehler83
Ah, so that's what go you all riled up. I can see you're a bit touchy about this subject. Did something bad happen to you as a child? Did it involve Linux?
If they named it 3.41.1 or something, then they need to mention what has changed. This way, they hope they could hide the fact to the gullible users
I run Froyo on my PS3.
I've done every PS3 firmware update the day they come out and never had an issue outside of the clock bug, like everything else on the web, this kind of stuff gets blown way out of proportion.
@anticitizen1 It's not over blown when it actually happens to you. Stop this way of thinking that because you didn't have the problem that everyone else is making it up.
My PS3 was bricked by the update. They want me to pay $149 for repair plus $29 for shipping and whatever taxes there are. Bye bye Sony products in my house. I will not continue to support a company that doesn't stand by their products, especially when they cause the problem in the first place.
Updated with no issues on this end
Sounds pretty poor that they're charging people for repairs, but is the console really bricked or if you try this new update, will it not work?
I held off doing the update until this issue was resolved and I'll probably hold off for another week... just in case.. However, given that they haven't changed the version number (v poor), then how am I supposed to know when updating that I'm definitely getting the new one or the potentially bricking old one?!
props to sony for fixing it real quick!!
I upgrade to 3.41 and I have no problems on my hard drives what so ever.
Way to many updates for this system. And they take way to long to install. I only use mine for bluray. If you don't update you can't play online.