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PS3 Network and Hardware FAQ
It seems like many of our members have had or are having similar networking or Hardware/AV issues with their PS3. I have worked in the technology field for some years, and have decided to take the initiative and write a troubleshooting guide / FAQ for the PS3. I have listed a few common questions and their answers below, and I will add more to the guide as more questions arise…
Networking
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Q1: Can I connect my PS3 directly to my high speed modem (Cable/DSL)?
A1: Yes, if you have an Ethernet modem, and your ISP is not limiting your Internet connection to your computer through MAC address filtering. The PS3 cannot be connected to an USB broadband modem, in other words, if you are getting your Internet connection through the USB port in anyway, then you may need to purchase a router or route your connection through your computer. If your ISP is limiting your connection to only your computer, then you can route the connection through your computer or get a router, copy the MAC address of your computer on it, and route the connection that way.
Q2: Can I route my Internet connection without a router?
A2: Yes, you can route your Internet connection through your computer, please follow the guide below to perform this operation:
1. Get a CAT5 or CAT6 crossover cable. The cable that came with the PS3 is a normal Ethernet cable, therefore it cannot be used for this operation.
2. Make sure you have two sources for network communication. For example, you can have 2 ethernet ports on your computer, or you can have a wireless card and an Ethernet port etc. It helps to draw out a connection blueprint such as this:
DSL Modem > CAT5 cable > Network Card 1 > Computer > Network Card 2 > CAT5 Crossover cable > PS3
3. Connect your computer to the modem and verify that you have an Internet connection. Then, click on Start, go to settings, control panel. Double click on Network Connections, and identify the connection to your modem (Network card 1).
4. Right click on the modem connection, and choose properties. Next, click on the advanced tab (Sharing tab for Vista users), and check the “allow other users to connect…” checkbox. After the checkbox is checked, click on the “Home networking connection” drop down box and select the name of the second network connection. Click OK and exit the properties window.
5. Finally, connect the CAT5 crossover cable from the second network adapter of the computer to the PS3, and voila, your Internet connection is now routed to your PS3. Please be aware that your computer must be on in order for your PS3 to stay online. In the long run, a router may be a much better device to use than your computer, since it consumes only a fraction of the electricity than your computer does.
Q3. What if I don’t have a high speed (Cable/DSL) Internet connection, can I still connect my PS3 online?
A3: Theoretically yes, if you have a 56k modem, you can follow the steps listed in A2 to route your Internet connection through your computer. However, the results may not be satisfactory, since the PS3 is designed to be used with a high speed connection, the 56k connections will yield a much slower download rate, and may not allow you to smoothly participate in an online game. For optimal performance, a high speed (Cable/DSL) connection is highly recommended.
Q4. I have my PS3 connected through my router and my PS3 gets online fine, but I can’t play a particular game or use my headset, why?
A4: When the PS3 is connected to a home router, it is typically operating in a NAT’d environment. NAT (Network Address Translation) is a technique used by the router to convert one WAN (Wide Area Network or external) IP address into multiple LAN (Local Area Network or internal) IP addresses. The problem with NAT is that all devices attached to your LAN all have the same WAN IP address, so a specific external data packet on some ports may not find its way to the correct device through your router. To remediate this problem, most NAT routers come with some sort of packet forwarding or virtual server services, which allow you to forward that specific external packet to a specific internal LAN IP address. In the case of the PS3, you must forward all traffic from TCP ports 4658, 4659 and UDP ports 4658, 4659 to the LAN (internal) IP address of the PS3. Port forwarding options can typically be accessed through the router configuration pages, for more information on how to configure your router, please refer to your router’s menu.
Q5. Can I transfer files over the network between my PS3 and my computer?
Generally speaking, no. However, there are a few ways to do it, but most of the methods involve homebrew software published by un-trusted third-party sources, and I would highly recommend for you to stay away from them. Until Sony or a big third party publisher releases something, transferring of files between your PC and your PS3 should be done with a USB storage device… or over Linux.
AV and Hardware
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Q1. Can I change my hard drive on my PS3?
A1: Yes, to change your hard drive, be sure to purchase a 5400 RPM SATA-150 2.5” hard drive. The internal drive used by the PS3 is manufactured by Seagate, and a replacement drive by Seagate is most ideal. To change your hard drive, you must:
1. Backup your data to a USB hard drive through the PS3 backup and restore utility found under the XMB. (This step is optional, but if you want to keep all of your data, then you should perform this step)
2. Turn off your PS3 and unplug it, if you have a set of anti-static wrist wraps, then use them to perform this operation, if not, then take a piece of metal (ie. A spoon or computer case) and set it aside. Wait for 30 seconds to 1 minute after you unplugged your PS3 prior to continuing.
3. The hard drive door is located on the left side panel of the PS3, it is marked with the words “HDD”. You can pop the door out with the help of a flathead screwdriver.
4. Once the door is open, unscrew the blue screw at the bottom center of the metal casing, then lift the handle above it and shift the hard drive toward the front of the PS3 to disconnect it. Once the hard drive is disconnected, it can be removed by pulling the casing toward you.
5. Once you have taken the drive and its casing out, touch the piece of metal you have brought if you don’t have anti-static wraps. Then carefully remove the screws holding the casing and the hard drive together.
6. Once all screws are removed, you can slide the old hard drive out of its casing, slide the new one into the casing and secure the new drive with the screws you have removed earlier.
7. Put the new drive and the casing back into the PS3, screw the blue screw back on and reattach the hard drive bay door.
8. Turn on your PS3, it will reformat the drive and you can restore the data backed up from step 1 from your XMB.
Q2. Can I play my PS3 on a standard definition TV (SDTV)? Is it going to look horrible?
A2: Yes, the PS3 supports both analog and digital output, the PS3 can be used with a SDTV through its “AV multiout” port. Multiple connectors can be attached to the PS3’s AV multiout port, they include: composite (red, white, yellow), S-Video, SCART and component (red, blue, green, red and white). The US PS3s come with composite cables bundled in, and composite will give you the worst signal quality out of the bunch. Some SDTVs come with S-Video inputs, and you can get a S-Video to AV-Multiout cable and play your PS3 that way, S-video will offer a slightly better image than composite. SCART is used in most PAL regions, and will typically offer an image equivalent to that of a S-Video connection, finally for the EDTVs (Enhanced definition) that accepts component cables will offer the best quality next to HD. The image displayed on SDTVs will not be entirely horrible, although some loss will be present for detail, color, and resolution. However, it is hard to go back to SD when you have played the system on HD.
Q3. Can I use my computer monitor as a display source for my PS3?
A3: Yes, but only if your monitor is HDCP compliant. You can get a HDMI to DVI cable or a HDMI cable with a HDMI to DVI adapter to connect your monitor and the PS3. However, keep in mind that DVI do not carry audio signals, so the audio of the PS3 must be rerouted to an external speaker or receiver system from either the S/PDIF optical audio output or the AV multiout.
Q4. Can I install another operating system on my PS3?
A4: Yes, you can install many flavors of Linux on your PS3. However, you will need a Linux installation disc and a boot loader. A generic set of instructions are listed below, for platform specific instructions, please refer to the manufacturer of the operating system.
1. you have to first get the iso image of the operating system itself, burn it on to a DVD. ISO images of the OS can be downloaded from many bit torrent sites or the manufacture of the OS, once you have downloaded the ISO image, you can burn it onto a DVD at no more than 4x speed, keep in mind, PS3 do not support CD installations, it will have to be a DVD. In addition to the OS ISO image, you must also download the "otheros.self" OS installation utility from Sony, and you will also need the bootloader of the OS of your choice, which can also be found along with or within the Linux ISO image. Finally, make sure you have a USB keyboard attached to the PS3.
2. After you have gathered all of your files, you must then format your PS3 hard drive and allocate a partition to the Linux OS, so basically you need to create 2 partitions on your PS3, you can do that by using the PS3 disk format utility in the settings menu under the XMB. Be sure to back up your data before you format the disk, or all of your data will be lost, you can backup your PS3 data by going into the system backup utility. After you have formatted the disk into 2 partitions, update your PS3 via system update and restore the backup files back on the PS3
3. After that, you need to get an clean USB memory key, make a root folder called "PS3" and within that folder, make a sub-folder called "otheros".
4. Now, you must transfer the otheros.self file from Sony and the bootloader for your OS into the otheros subfolder you have created on the USB memory key, and insert the memory key into the PS3.
5. You must then go to the "install other OS" option from the system settings under XMB, then proceed through all necessary steps and this will install the kboot image on the PS3. Once finished, go back to System settings under XMB, and choose "other OS"
6. Insert the Linux DVD, and reboot your PS3, once the PS3 boots, it will enter the Linux installation mode, and depends on which flavor of Linux you have chosen, the download process maybe different. Please refer to your Linux installation instructions to complete this step. After the installation, you should have your Linux running on your PS3.
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