Are New Firmware Updates Tough On Older PS3 Models?

Ben Dutka of PsxExtreme writes: "If you're considering upgrading your old PlayStation 3 to one of the new Slim models, there are multiple reasons in support of that idea. But there may be another one you haven't considered..."

[PirateThom]

It could also be that the HDD needs a rebuild if it's that old, rather than an issue with the firmware. In fact, I'd say you'd have to consider the number of people with no problems.

[Saaking]

My PS3 still runs fine as well. I think it's just a problem limited to people who don't take care of their stuff. Maybe they have it to cramped up with no ventilation or something.

[MEsoJD]

I'm tired of people thinking that the new slim is some how superior to

my 60 gb. Less features and smaller size doesn't make a system better.

[Megaton]

I've gone through 2 PS3 phats (1 was a refurb), and I kept them in immaculate condition, like all of my electronics. I've owned every mainstream console since the NES, and the only other one I had issues with was my launch PS2, which died DRE style exactly 1 year to the day after launch.

All of my other friends have never had issues with their PS3's, about half of which are 60gig owners, but it's foolish to think the only way they break is if you're a slob.

[ultimolu]

I must be extremely lucky because I haven't had any issues with firmware and I have the older model. o_O

Hope it stays that way.

[Genesis5]

I have both. A 60 gig launch in my front room and a 120 gig slim in my bedroom. I take care of them and dust them once a week and I have never had any problems with either of them. The slim is still pretty new but I have logged 65 hrs of Dragon age and added version 3.10 without a hitch.

[Guido]

They both update fine and run great. Sorry, but this is not some Microsoft console we are talking about. Failure rates are far and few between on the PS3. Only the media likes to make a mountain out of the mole hill since they have to dig so deep to find any negative news on the PS3 and only have to sift over a small puddle of information to find anything negative about their precious 360.

[andron]

There will be more trouble with older models because they have been in use for some time. I think that would explain most of the problems some are reporting.

[badz149]

I have the launch 60GB upgraded to 160GB and had never experience any problem with FW updates. although it YLoD once and somehow I fixed it myself, (out of warranty, so I gave it a shot and it works like a charm!) never gave me problems when it comes to FW! just these 2-3 days, I got disconnected quite sometimes from PSN. but that may be because now I have my siblings back at home and 4 additional laptops are connected to the WiFi at once! I might consider that as WiFi overload!

and a slightly off topic, what is this ABC iView on my XMB? never heard of it being implemented on XMB in 3.10!

[Darkfocus]

which is what most of the firmware related issues are then your drives not bricked there was just an error in the files you downloaded if You format your HD and reinstall the update or just wait till the next update comes out it will be fixed. It's not sonys fault its your ISP's or it could have been PSN too in which case it would have been kinda sonys fault. I always update via PC just to be safe.

[Budg3tG4m3r]

I have an older PS3 and the firmware updates have been a little rough on me. It's not so bad I been using MAC, Linux, and Windows OS or years now and tittle bugs havn't kept me from using them.

[ThanatosDMC]

Well, they NEED to say something's wrong with the PS3... my fat PS3's just fine.

[WildArmed]

60gb never had issues with firmware issues. I'd bet the issues onother stuff then the hardware being outdated

[vandaLl_L]

You don't need to format your hard drive.
All i did was go into the PS3's Recovery Menu>Restore File System.
That worked when my ps3 was reading everything else but could not read games or BR movies. That fixed it. Didn't lose a thing in the process.

[PiTCHBLaCK]

I Had my 60 GB PS3 for awhile now, no Issues at all here.

[Armyless]

I will be sending it in for repair. My first PS3 ran for 16 months non-stop Folding proteins before I got the spikey polygons. This one died in the middle of Demon's Souls during the epic Dragon God. I didn't repair the first one because I was abusing it with Folding@Home running 24/7 for 16 months. This one, however, has my Demon's Souls disc and won't cough it up!

[morganfell]

No problem here. I have 3 PS3s. One is a new Slim 120 but the older 2 are 60GBs and they are singing along.

[vhero]

Wow your electricity bill must be huge lol j/k. I should really get a second PS3 myself now my third 360 died I ain't getting another now MS wont replace AGAIN.

[ultimolu]

...o_o Three?

[morganfell]

Yeah, I purchased two at launch. One for the living room and one for the den/game room. But when the Slim launched I couldn't turn down one for the computer room so I could use my Hauppage to rip videos of gameplay.

[gamingisnotacrime]

dont forget the one for the bathroom, lol
When the slim launched i was craving to buy a second PS3, $299 for a PS3 is just to good of a deal to resist, even if i already had one and the slim did not offered any advantage. I did not buy it, i bought games instead and that turned out to be the right choice. Phatso FTW! (specially one with 4 usb, card readers and PS2 BC for GoW games etc ;)

[morganfell]

The bathroom? That's the PSP!

[gamingisnotacrime]

What games do you play (on PS3 and PSP)?

PM me if you prefer.

[TruEve]

There could be some truth to this. I won't jump the gun on possible coincidences, but I'm a victim of FW updates affecting my TREY!

My 60GB got YLOD the day before MGS4 released! It was out of warranty, and I couldn't wait for the game, so I bought a 40GB that day. Now, just 30 minutes ago (days after 3.10), my 40GB died! I'm so upset and sad :(. Because it too is out of warranty by 5 months...

---

Now I have two dead PS3s. I'll call Sony soon about it to see if there can be any way around this. I really don't want to lose my Demon's Souls data :(.

EDIT: If anyone's wondering, my PS3's are in my basement, elevated on my desk with plenty of ventilation. To top it off, it's cold as hell down here.

[gamingisnotacrime]

verify that it has plenty of Open space

[jack who]

you would think they would make an Update thaT works with all model

[Bot Pay 2 Play]

Live is 50$,why is that?

[Johnny Rotten]

oh gosh I think I've seen it all now! lol nice tear hahaha!

[Stryfeno2]

Easy, that's Because XBL is better than PSN..

[NateNater]

Well my original 60 gig has been working just fine ever since i got it. I feel bad for the people having problems though.

[blackblades]

Well mines not first blueray died, now yellow light of death, and its a 60gb had it since july 16 2007.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I got mine in July 07 too... 60gb model and been working fine ever since purchase... The deal I got included RFOM, Motorstorm and Casino Royale (and an extra controller) ^.^ ... Unfortunatly I didnt pay much attention to my PS3 until I got Warhawk :D

[Whitefox789]

60 gig works fine I dust it and sometimes vacuum the vents

[Phaqutomb]

my 60 gig yellow lighted the other night . Got home from work went to play some more AC2 and it died :( . Game is still stuck in it and now i got to send it out.

[Figboy]

i have a 60gig BC PS3, and i haven't had a single issue with ANY of the firmwares released so far.

i've been pretty fortunate that i haven't encountered anything thus far, i suppose.

[Sarcasm]

If you think you're lucky, I honestly feel like a million bucks. I've owned 2 360s (one Deluxe and now one arcade) and they are trucking along with no issues, no RROD, no E74. Although I'm going to believe it's a matter of "When" not "if" but damn my original 20gb is 4 years old already!

[SixTwoTwo]

I believe this is just coincidental. Now if there were tens of thousands of early adopters reporting these issues then this scenario would be more likely.

[Redempteur]

"I know nothing of programming or how the firmware updates are delivered,"

Yet he talks about it without doing some research first ??

TYpical ..of these articles these days ..

Anyway ...everyone make changes to componnents inside their console ..it's in order to reduce costs ... but to change a part , they have to be compatible ...SO as long as the firmware is tested , there is no problem ...
Of course , there are some humans ad they can make some mistakes ...as seen in the 3.00 update that became quickly 3.01

[kornbeaner]

and the only freezing my system has experienced is from the browser. So far no issue due to FW updates. Also I think the people experiencing this issue have kept the OG HDD on. I had an issue when my 60GB HDD got full all I did is re-format the drive and issues solved. Maybe an upgrade is in order if anybody still has the original HDD in their system.

[Sarcasm]

It has nothing to do with any specific model. Firmware updates, on any tech whether it's an LCD HDTV, PS3, PSP, Cell Phone, etc. etc. will always have a small window of error. That's why Firmware updates take long to come out because it needs to be tested and tested and tested before it goes out to us consumers.

[ultimolu]

Exactly. That's why people should stop whining when updates don't go their way (cross chat). This stuff needs to be tested first.

[timestoby]

my launch ps3 is fine and dandy,hes talkn out his azz

[bunfighterii]

I've had a 40gig since december 07, I recently upgraded its HDD to 320GB. Haven't had a single issue with it, runs perfect. I've never had freezing issues with games, its probably happened 4 times or so the entire time i've had it. I always thought nothing of it. Happened to my PS2 and PSone sometimes aswell.

[DLA2K9]

the POS3 strikes again...remember everyone "it only sucks at everything"

[GamerPS360]

My PS3 breaks everytime, when I update firmware.
I had original 60 gig - broke in half, my whole blu-ray part came out and landed in my dishwasher while dishwashter was running. I don't know how that happened. Don't ask me.

Then I bought 40g model - broke on pieces when I was playing modern warfare I (remember MW breaking PS3 article ??, Yeah I was one of those unlucky one).

I have 80g now which already broke twice. Modern warfare II caused it once and then firmware update.

I guess, I am the unlucky one. In fact, all the article about PS3 bricking are somehow related to me. /s = serious :D

[Marty8370]

Been running an upgraded 60Gb(now 320Gb) BC version since launch March 2007 with no problems what so ever.

[MONOLITHICIDE]

same here i upgraded my 60gig ps3 to a 320gig and i havent had any problems ever eith the firmwares, except i couldnt get online for like an hour 1 time, i think it was with the 3.00 update but it wasnt a big deal

[dorron]

I have a 60GB model and never had any problems.

What's more, I doubt that theory is correct as the architecture of both old and new PS3s are exactly the same.

Let's see what happens when PS3 slim models are 2 or 3 years old. I guess they will have exactly the same problem as with the old PS3s now.

[farhsa2008]

this is a stupid reason, obviously older models will have more problems because there are more of them sold, whereas the slim was only just released so its obvious that it will have a lower fanbase compared to the original ones.

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

I HAVE MY 60 GIG LAUNCH PS3 SINCE DECEMBER OF 2006 AND NEVER EVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT WHAT SO EVER..SO I DONT KNOW WHATS ALL THIS NEWS ABOUT..MAYBE IM JUST LUCKY BUT EVEN IF I DID HAVE ANY PROBLEMS I DONT THINK MY PS3 WILL DIE OUT ON ME 3 TO 5 TIMES

[Bullseye]

I did have a lockup after updating to 3.10, but after turning off -on again, everything is fine. Besides, cosmetically there may be differences, but I don't thing electronically there's any differences other than miniaturization,between the old and slim models, is there?

[Jamescagney]

Well I've got the 80gb model and have had no problems, could be any number of reasons why others have had issues.

[Knightofelemia]

My 40 gig can handle the updates it only froze on a few games like Assasins Creed on but that was Ubisofts fault and there was a patch. It froze with Ghostbusters but Atari coded it wrong and it froze on my 360 and PS2 aswell. The systems can handle the firmware it when the firmware is not tested enough thats when you run into problems like when 3.0 came out then it became 3.01 to fix the freeze with Uncharted.

[DW]

... but pluck, you spend half your time running around doing squat.

[mcm]

I've had mine since launch (60 GB). I upgraded the HDD (320) and never had a problem. I have two PS2 original model and they both still work. In fact all my old systems work, but my original XBOX. It plays games fine, but for some reason it would freeze halfway through a DVD.
Not a big deal though.

[keysy420]

are you talking about

[SpinalRemains138]

Could it just be possible that the old units have outsold the slim ones 8-1???? Of course there are more complaints for those systems. More ppl are playing them! Is this even a serious article?

[Dellis]

60 gig ps3 is the king of all PS3s, the slims are good if you couldn't spent 600 bucks on the king.

[maverick1191]

i think its peoples connections tbh as your internet can stop and resume will it telling you meaning you might miss some information in the download process but all people who i have spoken to about bad FW updates have said my interent disconnected so i had to download again so thats probs causing the problem

i've had no problems with donwloading them

[Jamaicangmr]

Infinity wards servers are crap and quite a few people are unable to connect. Myself for 2 days now and this is the type of nitpicking crap about Sony's firmware are what journalist write about? Funny if it was a PS3 exclusive the internet would be on fire now.

[Grandreaper9999]

I only ever ran into problems while playing Fallout and Oblivion. Crashes, freezing, whatever, none of this was caused by firmware issues. Just software. I don't think Firmware updates are harder on the older models, it's just that the Slim probably functions better as a result of the redesign. It does not mean the older models are going to face problems, that's a HUGE percentage of userbase getting the shaft.

[CR7JUVE1897]

I have a question. Has anyone had an 8003001 error when trying to load their saved games?

I am in the process of re-formatting my hard drive to see if that will do the trick.

[the new king 74]

i just think its a small percentage of systems

[Stryfeno2]

I haven't had any issues but although, my PS3 hardly been use.

[badbond1]

Maybe moms will buy you one for Christmas. Only then will you see the power of the Darkside!

[CrAnKiTuP_01]

I'll gladly take it off your hands since you barely use it. ;)

[ReBurn]

I never rush right out and install the latest firmware. I always wait to see what problems people report and whether it gets addressed by Sony. I hate that updates like 3.10 are mandatory installs, so I'll be offline for another week or so. But better safe than sorry.

[Wolf873]

but can anyone clarify something for me. I updated to new firmware, but I'm not seeing the facebook icon anywhere on the XMB. The photo feature loads fine, but no facebook. Is it restricted to US only, or do some Canadians here have it?

[W1ldWolf]

its under the account managment tab

[OSIRUSSS]

The only problem I have ever had with my 60 gig is I couldn't log into Home for a couple weeks without it crashing but a patch came now every thing is fine.

[dbf]

The reason most of the problems come from the older models is because there is a much larger amount of those sold than the newer slim models. After it's been out almost 3 years longer. Crazy right?

[Fatal Blow]

My PS3 60gb still runs fine no problem hear

[kingtombundy]

I cant stand all you fan-boys that are in denial about your beloved ps3 system. i have a 60gb ps3 and it has just died after updating to 3.01.

just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
i love my ps3 just as much as any one of these fan-boys on here but im not going to bury my head in the sand for a company that doesn't really give a damn about they're customers.

and yea it might be isolated to old consoles and to a few people here and there but it doesn't mean its justified and it doesn't mean you should ignore it, because we are the ones having to pay out for new systems.

[Warlord2k9]

u dont have a ps3

[lephunk]

and i notice the in-game xmb runs just ever so slightly better on the slim...

[Fatal Blow]

"I cant stand all you fan-boys that are in denial about your beloved ps3 system. i have a 60gb ps3 and it has just died after updating to 3.01"

Well i for one and most people hear are not fan boy's just because our ps3 60gb has got no problems does not mean we are fan boy's and i feel sorry for u because your ps3 has died but the fact that your taking it out on the people who has no problem with there's is just wrong

[kingtombundy]

yea i wasn't taring everyone with the same brush, but it annoys me when people deny any problems just because it hasn't happened to them. not aiming anything at specific people.

[SpinalRemains138]

The PS3 slim is superior. It's smaller and comes with a bigger HD and uses far less power. Backwards compatibility means nothing when we're all playing this gen anyway. Anything old, you can download from the dam store ppl. It's smaller, quieter and better. 2 less USB ports is about all the 60 GB has over the slim. I can't see how all you guys are defending your old models like your life depends on it. Trust me here. The launch models have thermal compound issues. The processors overheat and the system malfunctions. It's well documented. It's ok to admit that your old system draws too many amps (unless you're not the one paying the bill). It's ok to admit that a more efficient console is better. Just because your 60 GB still works doesn't mean it's on par with the slim. Matter of fact I'd say it's on borrowed time. Oh yeah...... it's 300 dollars less than the launch model too. That's kind of a big deal. Backwards compatibility? C'mon guys.

[LinuxGuru]

Backwards compatibility, flash card readers, extra USB ports, super audio CD support, other OS install, just to name a few things that some people do appreciate.

[DeejayTai]

The Slim is the way to go if you couldn't afford the launch models. I might feel handicapped without the 4 usb, sd card slot, CF slot, pro-duo slot, back-compatability, etc. I don't see how the SLIM could be better, If you got a PS at all you ain't got to worry much about it biting the dust anytime soon.

[DaReapa]

Now we are having internal console wars??? When will the madness end??

[LinuxGuru]

Not for my PS3. 60GB been running strong for over 2 and a half years.

[Fatal Blow]

To all the people who has a ps3 60gb keep it away from heaters and clean your ps3 once a week i clean my one with a hoover because it gets so much dust inside the vent that should help your ps3 60gb and when your playing games and it freeze do not switch of at the back let the game run for about 5mins then turn it off my friends ps3 60gb had the orange death light because of the freeze and he turned it off as soon as it happen let the fan cool off first hope this helps u guys

[LinuxGuru]

Once a week? totally unnecessary. Once a quarter is fine.

If your house is that dusty...you should probably dust your house more often. Seriously dude.

[NecrumSlavery]

Have an old 60gb that I take extremely good care of and have had limited issues. People should just take care of their systems and quit blaming firmware

[artsaber]

I have an original 60GB with a 500GB external drive in the living room, a 250GB PS3 Slim in the bedroom, 2 netflix discs, whooohoooo!!! And a 360 repackaged sitting in my bedroom closet ;p

[Fatal Blow]

@LinuxGuru

i was just trying to give good advice but i clean my one once a month or some time after two month or three lol

[Awesomeo3000]

ive had a ps3 since day 1 and has had no problems firmware or anything

[spektical]

60 gig launch model here.. no problems whatsoever. While i agree if you were to buy a "new" launch model of ebay or somthing like that, it would take couple hours to get the system up-to-date, you're not doing anything. you can just do it overnight... moving on.

[Myth-Psn]

I'd Just like to add my name to the ever so long list of origional 20/60/80/120gb ps3s that Have no problems whatsoever with freezing in movies/games/music.The only problem i ever have is the rare freeze within the PS3 Web Browser.Seriously, Now that the ps3 is doomed articles dissapearing, Along with the crap about YLD and ps3 has no games articles people are thinking of new ways to try and run down the ps3.The only console which is "too big for its boots" is the overheating, disk scratching, RRODing Xbox 360.

[DeejayTai]

My 80gb gets an update and had an error once, and HOME did an update and it kept getting stuck on the 'login' page. About 9 days later the problem was fixed. Annoying, yes, but everything's fine now. Had it since Nov 2007!

[Ummm Da Dum]

what complete crap.

has this guy ever thought of the obvious. older things tend to break more. common sense would tell him that the more used older system is more likely to break than the brand new less used system.

hmmm my 5 year old tv doesnt work but my brand new tv does. could it be the new digital signals. NO its fcking older and more used.

some idiots on the web

[DaReapa]

Just as a number of you have mentioned, I have a launch 60Gig and it hasn't skipped a beat, neither games nor movies. Granted, I was leary about downloading FW 3.01 after hearing about numerous complaints, but thankfully, that was optional.

[khellendros1]

I have the 60gb PS3 and I haven't had trouble with any of the firmware updates. Maybe I'm just lucky but I haven't had any of the crashes or freezing on mine.

[Tunerboy8732]

I have a 40gb (now 500gb) ps3 and after installing the update my games all work fine still.I havent played a movie on my ps3 since 3.10 so cant speak on that but everything is fine for me.

[rjgbyrne]

Its the same system with 'optimized chips' that work in exactly the same way. Get a life, this is troll material...

[dredgewalker]

Mine works fine every update, I take care of my PS3 by ventilating it while in use and cleaning it everyday so dust will not accumulate.

[Shendow]

The first ones maybe just need to drop the 7,200RPM HDD an go with what the new models run. I got the 2 USB 80GB an I put a 500GB Samsung HDD in it and haven't had a problem an it seems to run alot better then the older HDD.

[d3nworth1]

I got 1 reason not to upgrade to the new ps3. BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY BABY!. 60 GIG FTW.

[madmonkey0]

my 40gb has had alot of freezing issues since the FW, on both disc based games and psn games, but my slim has not had not any problems.

could just be a coincidence.

[DigitalAnalog]

The only problem I've had with my PS3 was the HDD. It crashed so I got myself a new one (I hope this doesn't too, because I've heard some people have problems with WD.)