ps3 not booting after 3.41 FW update (replacement HDD)

[elgee]

Hi Forum,

i have playtv and replaced my orig 40gb hdd with a 250gb, and has been working for some time. i upgraded (i think from 3.40, not 100% sure) to 3.41, left to run overnight and next morning, disaster - not working at all. when boots up, green light goes on, but no output to tv.

i know on my 40gb model part of the fw is stored on the HDD, and ive read some of the threads about the 3.41 changes.

so i have re-formatted my HDD, fat32, and used a usb drive with FW 3.40, 3.41 and the re-released 3.41. each time it picks up the update, go through the motions - push ps button, hold start and select, picks up fw, and start to format (takes about 2-3 min which doesnt seem right). then says its going format HDD, reboot and reinstall OS, but after reboot, same state as before.

HELP! any ideas appreciated...

[red8316]

Turn off PS3.
Turn on via pressing power button - hold button for 5 seconds, let go after double beep.

Any video output?

[elgee]

hey red, thanks for the suggestion! i found the recovery menu!!

results...
3 - restore file system > eventually prompted to update FW
4 - rebuild databse > "HDD cannot be accessed" (i have since reformatted as FAT32 and tried again)
5 - restore ps3 system > eventually prompted to update FW

i've documented more clearly what happens under normal boot sequence, will hopefully help...

- connect controller - press PS button
- system software cannot be run correctly - press ps to restart. if cant restart, must reinstall system software, connect media with update data of 3.40 or later, press start/select to begin
- preparing to update.. after preparation complete, system will restore automatically (there is hdd activity at diff % depending which fw ver im trying - but always reaches 100% and reboots - then end up where i started again)

willing to try anything at this point... no tv at the moment!!

[Preceptor]

I remember reading that the new firmware was having some problems with upgraded HDDs. Have you tried reinstalling your old 40 GB and entering the recover menu?

Supposedly there is a fixed version of the 3.41 firmware that fixes the HDD problems. Try re-updating using that one.