How to Format PS3 HDDs to FAT32 via USB to SATA Enclosure

[PS3 News]

For those that want to know how to format an unmountable encrypted PS3 hard drive via a USB to SATA enclosure using Linux:

1. Hook up the enclosure to your computer via USB.

2. Open a terminal and type:

lsusb

(should return external drive info)

3. Then type:

fdisk -l

(should return the location of the external drive, which in my case was /dev/sdb)

4. Then format the (unmounted!) external drive by typing

mkfs.msdos /dev/sdb -I

(note: your location will vary)

5. After formatting is complete, unplug and plug in the USB enclosure. Linux, XP, OSX, etc should now be able to detect it as a FAT32 formated hard drive!

[Braveheartofg]

Willl this erase the data though?

Thing is... Hard disk died and i'm trying to rescue the data off it so i can then format it but because it's encrypted I can't read it. Any suggestions?

[Transient]

An easier option IMO is to just connect it to your PS3, then go into the system options and choose Format and pick the USB drive from the list. The PS3 will format it using FAT32 and you're guaranteed the structure is exactly what the PS3 is looking for.

Willl this erase the data though?

Thing is... Hard disk died and i'm trying to rescue the data off it so i can then format it but because it's encrypted I can't read it. Any suggestions?

Formatting always results in a loss of data. The drive appears fully erased, although technically unless you zero out every byte on the drive the data is still there.

If you're talking about the internal PS3 harddisk, then you're SOL because nobody knows how to break the encryption on it yet. And if it is truly dead, then I don't see how you're going to get any data off it anyway. You'd have to give more details about your situation if you want a more detailed answer.

Oh and BTW, the PS3's internal harddisk doesn't use FAT32.

[El Humilde]

great tutorial, thanks!

[avinashdb123]

Thanks for the tutorial.