PS3 FAQ's: PSN, Gaming, Hardware, Accessories, Gen. Discussions...etc.

[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']Every Wednesday night, I check the "video" section of PSN. Usually there is a free episode of a television show under "Free TV+" that I download to preview a show I might like.

Most of the time you can find first episodes of new seasons or pilot episodes available of shows.

It is usually hit or miss on full episodes, sometimes they are just clips from shows with commentary.

In the past, I've gotten episode(s) of "Burn Notice," "Covert Affairs," and "Betty White's Off Their Rockers."

There's also sometimes some free anime episodes. I've gotten a bunch of "Dragon Ball Z" epsiodes. The newest anime I've gotten is the first episode of "Fractale."

It is really nice to be able to preview all these shows. I understand that I could easily just look them up, but since it is free, I'm more inclined to watch them.[/QUOTE]

Oh I used to do that too, forgot all about it though. I've been spending all my time looking at the 99 cent rentals on the PSN video service. I've rented a few movies from that, occasionally they have some good ones. If you like Anime I hear that new Crunchyroll app has free shows on it.
 
Does anyone else with a Slim have it freeze and then check for corrupt files upon reboot when you have to manually shut if off?
 
[quote name='J7.']Does anyone else with a Slim have it freeze and then check for corrupt files upon reboot when you have to manually shut if off?[/QUOTE]

Quite often for the past few months. Mainly when using PS Home. I think there is/was something wrong with the firmware since 4.1x, which continued even when firmware update to 4.20, and PS Home because before updating to firmware 4.1x, there was not that much problem. But afterward, it would often freeze when using PS Home. Almost caused data loss.

However, since both firmware and PS Home had been updated since then, hopefully the problem got solved. But remains to be seen...
 
So wait, I thought I could register two PSPs to the PSN along with my PS3 after that cut off date?! I have a PSP 3000 and a PSP Go, but it says I have to un-register one of them in order to use the other with my PSN account.

I guess I could just not connect to the Internet when one of my PSPs isn't registered to my PSN account. Thinking about registering the PSP Go and downloading everything digital to that.

I wonder if that's the same with the Vita and PSP 3000? Going to look at the FAQs in the first page.
 
[quote name='bjstucker']Nope the lowest you can add is 5.00$[/QUOTE]

Ok, but what i was really concerned about was if i could add funds to my wallet using a debit card. Instead of having to buy a whole game using my debit card. Because if i buy retro city rampage i might be 2-3 dollars short of buying something else. Thanks for the quick reply!
 
Crap, I think my PSN account got hacked. This morning, two purchases popped up in email notifications:

Mass Effect™ 3 (14 GB)
Pure Chess® Halloween Treat Bundle (Full Game and Add-On Content)

No one else has access to my PS3 nor the account, so this was done remotely somewhere. I've since reset my password + notified Sony Entertainment customer service. Luckily I never linked my cc to my PSN account, so it just affected the $50 or so I had in my PSN wallet.

Wanted to check if anyone has a good info source online on next steps + what may have caused me to get hacked?
 
New PS3 owner here who took advantage of the holiday bundle.

How long should it take to install a 4+ gig game from the hard drive? The game is Little Big Planet 2 and I got it through the PS+ free trial. I can't tell you how long it's been, but it's at 30% and it has been at least half an hour. I am not talking about downloading the game, but installing it once it is downloaded.

Is this a matter of downloading things in the background and installing at the same time that causes it to slow down? Even so, I can't imagine why a typical hard drive could not handle those two tasks at once.
 
I don't know but I did just download a 7.6 gb file and it only took an hour or two. I will be installing it soon so I'll try to remember how long that part takes and come back here. If you download in the background it does not install large game files like that. When it's done downloading in the background it places the game file under games in the XMB and then you click on it there and it installs.
 
[quote name='greydt']Crap, I think my PSN account got hacked. This morning, two purchases popped up in email notifications:

Mass Effect™ 3 (14 GB)
Pure Chess® Halloween Treat Bundle (Full Game and Add-On Content)

No one else has access to my PS3 nor the account, so this was done remotely somewhere. I've since reset my password + notified Sony Entertainment customer service. Luckily I never linked my cc to my PSN account, so it just affected the $50 or so I had in my PSN wallet.

Wanted to check if anyone has a good info source online on next steps + what may have caused me to get hacked?[/QUOTE]

What kind of sick bastard buys a chess game?!

Some men just want to watch the world burn.
 
Stopping all downloads seemed to make for a faster install time for titles being installed from the hard drive. Ratchet and Clank was 14 gigs and installed more quickly than Little Big Planet 2 did at just under 5 gigs. I wonder why it has to install in the first place, though. On the Xbox 360, once the content is downloaded it is ready to go.
 
[quote name='Spokker']New PS3 owner here who took advantage of the holiday bundle.

How long should it take to install a 4+ gig game from the hard drive? The game is Little Big Planet 2 and I got it through the PS+ free trial. I can't tell you how long it's been, but it's at 30% and it has been at least half an hour. I am not talking about downloading the game, but installing it once it is downloaded.

Is this a matter of downloading things in the background and installing at the same time that causes it to slow down? Even so, I can't imagine why a typical hard drive could not handle those two tasks at once.[/QUOTE]

In the XMB under 'Shut Down' you'll find a little check box which allows you to tell it to shut off after downloads are finished. This option also installs whatever you download, which is preferable to coming back and manually hitting "install" later, such as if a download finishes while you're playing a game.

It's obnoxious that you have to plan it out sometimes, but if you set up a big download before you go to sleep with that option checked, it should be installed and ready to go when you turn it back on.
 
[quote name='Spokker']Stopping all downloads seemed to make for a faster install time for titles being installed from the hard drive. Ratchet and Clank was 14 gigs and installed more quickly than Little Big Planet 2 did at just under 5 gigs. I wonder why it has to install in the first place, though. On the Xbox 360, once the content is downloaded it is ready to go.[/QUOTE]

Sorry for misinterpreting your question, I thought you were saying you were downloading it in the background and then installing it at the same time, didn't know you meant other things downloading. Stopping all downloads while installing might also help your drive from becoming fragmented.
 
If I hook my PS3 up to my TV using HDMI and then use optical out of my TV itself to 5.1 headphones, will I get 5.1 sound or just stereo i.e. do I have to do optical out of the PS3 itself to the headphones? Same question for 360.
 
From what I've seen it depends on the tv. I have a sharp that will not output that sound in anything other than stereo no matter what settings I use. My magnavox puts the sound through in untouched 5.1. This holds true for both 360 and ps3.
 
[quote name='shaggyc']From what I've seen it depends on the tv. I have a sharp that will not output that sound in anything other than stereo no matter what settings I use. My magnavox puts the sound through in untouched 5.1. This holds true for both 360 and ps3.[/QUOTE]

Ok cool. I guess I will have to test it out in-game.
 
[quote name='J7.']Sorry for misinterpreting your question, I thought you were saying you were downloading it in the background and then installing it at the same time, didn't know you meant other things downloading. Stopping all downloads while installing might also help your drive from becoming fragmented.[/QUOTE]

I heard that before something is installed the space is allocated for it so fragmentation cannot happen in this way. Something about the OS being based on Linux.
 
[quote name='Spokker']I heard that before something is installed the space is allocated for it so fragmentation cannot happen in this way. Something about the OS being based on Linux.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying when you download an item it allocates the space for the install then? I'm always stopping new downloads when they start if I'm already downloading or installing something.
 
I have a very basic question about the PS3. What type of headsets does it use. Just bluetooth? And if so, can you have more than one, so multiple people can play online and chat at the same time (if that's even possible in any games)?

Also, LBP2 is a PS+ freebie? I presume that if you let PS+ lapse you then no longer have the game, right? If so I guess I'll still buy the disc from newegg for $20.
 
[quote name='crunchewy']I have a very basic question about the PS3. What type of headsets does it use. Just bluetooth? And if so, can you have more than one, so multiple people can play online and chat at the same time (if that's even possible in any games)?

Also, LBP2 is a PS+ freebie? I presume that if you let PS+ lapse you then no longer have the game, right? If so I guess I'll still buy the disc from newegg for $20.[/QUOTE]

It has bluetooth, not sure how else a headset would work unless it came with it's own wireless signal via a usb stick or something. More than one? Don't know. This might have your answer http://share.blog.us.playstation.com/ideas/2010/03/17/multiple-bluetooth-headsets-for-ps3/ This article talks about using multiple headsets but it sounds like you have to disconnect one to use the other one. http://www.ehow.com/how_8276161_use-multiple-headsets-ps3.html

If you let PS+ lapse, you no longer have the game, but if you get PS+ again you will regain access to all your PS+ games you had purchased for free.
 
They do also have usb headsets for ps3. Standard usb pc headsets work too. They are voice chat only and do not receive game sounds.
 
I set up our super slim to see if it had the squeal problem (it doesn't), but now I'd like to reset it back to factory state so there's no account on it. Is that possible? How do you do it?
 
[quote name='crunchewy']I set up our super slim to see if it had the squeal problem (it doesn't), but now I'd like to reset it back to factory state so there's no account on it. Is that possible? How do you do it?[/QUOTE]

Squeal problem? You want to deactivate it and format the system. There are options on formatting in the System Settings. You may be able to format it in more than 1 way and I'm not 100% sure both ways are the correct way. You may want to format first and then also do restore if you're worried. I can't find official Sony info on format/restore but here is for deactivating.

http://support.us.playstation.com/a...sion/L3RpbWUvMTM1NDUxOTczMS9zaWQvcFhPSmxPY2w=
 
I didn't actually set up a network account I don't think? I didn't connect to the net. So I probably don't need to deactivate.

The squeal problem was reported in another thread. At least some people got Black Friday bundle "super-slim" PS3s (with Infamous 1&2/Uncharted 1&2) that make a loud high-pitched noise when playing a disc. Fortunately ours doesn't seem to do that.

While I'm at it - another quick question. Can you plug the controller into any USB charger to charge it? I'd like to have the controllers fully charged up for Xmas, and if I can do it that way I won't need to set up the system again to do it.

EDIT: I'm trying a support chat and will see what they say about resetting it to factory state (I want them to get the system setup prompts when they power it up on Xmas). I'll report here what they tell me.
 
Here's how to get back to factory state:

System Settings>Restore PS3 System>Quick Format

This will erase everything on the system!

Then it will reboot and take you back to the system setup. They said it was OK to just power off at that point. Then they will get the factory setup when they power it up.
 
[quote name='J7.']Are you saying when you download an item it allocates the space for the install then? I'm always stopping new downloads when they start if I'm already downloading or installing something.[/QUOTE]
That's what I read, yes.
 
[quote name='crunchewy']I didn't actually set up a network account I don't think? I didn't connect to the net. So I probably don't need to deactivate.

The squeal problem was reported in another thread. At least some people got Black Friday bundle "super-slim" PS3s (with Infamous 1&2/Uncharted 1&2) that make a loud high-pitched noise when playing a disc. Fortunately ours doesn't seem to do that.

While I'm at it - another quick question. Can you plug the controller into any USB charger to charge it? I'd like to have the controllers fully charged up for Xmas, and if I can do it that way I won't need to set up the system again to do it.

EDIT: I'm trying a support chat and will see what they say about resetting it to factory state (I want them to get the system setup prompts when they power it up on Xmas). I'll report here what they tell me.[/QUOTE]

Not sure what you have to do to have it become activated, perhaps if you used the PS Store or ever signed in on the console it would've become activated.

A quick format should be fine if you're giving the PS3 to someone you know, if you were to sell it to a stranger and you put personal files/info on it you might want to do a full format.

From what I've read you can charge PS3 controllers using usb on a PC. Not sure about usb wall chargers.
 
I have a brand new Western Digital 320GB USB external hard drive that I'd like to format to FAT32 to backup my PS3. I've looked all over and can only find very old discussions that have solutions that only seem to work some of the time. I am fine with formating the entire drive to FAT32, I don't need to split it but I also don't want to lose a lot of space. I'm computer illiterate and don't understand a lot of what I've read. Can someone direct me to a definitive site/thread that will make this easy?

Any help is appreciated.
 
[quote name='juubei1i']I have a brand new Western Digital 320GB USB external hard drive that I'd like to format to FAT32 to backup my PS3. I've looked all over and can only find very old discussions that have solutions that only seem to work some of the time. I am fine with formating the entire drive to FAT32, I don't need to split it but I also don't want to lose a lot of space. I'm computer illiterate and don't understand a lot of what I've read. Can someone direct me to a definitive site/thread that will make this easy?

Any help is appreciated.[/QUOTE]

If you are using Windows, you can simply right click on the drive when at My Computer window and there should be a Format option. Click that and you can format it to FAT32 without problem.
 
OK guys. I have my 40 gig fat hooked up via Ethernet. It gets 14 mbps down and the up can vary. I always lag when I play online. My home computer gets 35 mbps down and 6 up.

Is there a way the speed up my ps3 connection?

What is the max speed a fat can get?

Do the slims have better speeds?

What else could be causing lag?
 
Tip: if you try to set up a sub account and then login with that account, it will fail with a cryptic numeric code. Nice! The problem is you have to login with that sub account in a web browser and then set a security question and answer (Mother's maiden name or the like). Ridiculously unhelpful, and primitive error message, but there you go. That had us frustrated for a while this morning.

Now my question. Is there a way to restrict voice chat to friends only? I can turn voice chat off for my kids completely, but I don't see any way to restrict to friends only. Is that possible?

It's going to take some getting use to these controllers. The sticks seem so much looser than Xbox controller sticks.
 
Need advice since my PS3 60GB died: Should I wait for a decent super slim deal sometime around January, or simply order a used and old (not to mention better looking) slim from Cowboom? The latter seems like the best option, budget wise, yet I'm worried about its condition. Super slim on the other hand -- this deal ain't so bad but I'm worried about some of the issues, like the "squeal problem" I just read above.
 
[quote name='J7.']What he said. Sometimes I find youtube more useful than text for stuff like this. http://www.youtube.com/results?sear...42.1193.5j2j1j1.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.rJDNOdp4slE[/QUOTE]

Thanks to both of you. There are several different methods/opinions on youtube also and a lot of those videos are a couple years old already. I used a Guiformat.exe program and it appears to have worked but I haven't tried saving anything yet. Saw the Guiformat mentioned in a few videos. Haven't had a computer class in 20 yrs (pre-internet) and I don't like the idea of downloading miscellaneous programs that I don't understand. But it was recommended on the internet, so it must be ok. ;)

Edit: And I can't select FAT32 format in Windows. I only get exFAT which is not the same thing according to the internet. Thx.
 
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[quote name='newtype06']Need advice since my PS3 60GB died: Should I wait for a decent super slim deal sometime around January, or simply order a used and old (not to mention better looking) slim from Cowboom? The latter seems like the best option, budget wise, yet I'm worried about its condition. Super slim on the other hand -- this deal ain't so bad but I'm worried about some of the issues, like the "squeal problem" I just read above.[/QUOTE]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+PlayStation+3+(160GB)/3061302.p?id=1218379530906&skuId=3061302
 
Picked up one of the last 3 slims at my best buy a minute ago to replace one of mine. Everything else was the 3rd gen system. It looks cheap. Anyone have any hands-on time with it?
 
I like our superslim. I actually like the sliding mechanism and that the disc clicks in place.

As for the PS3 OS. I have to say this thing is primitive in comparison to the 360. Cluttered, poorly organized, missing what seemed like basic features or with features that are clunky in comparison (trophies). However there are good exclusives and I've got some friends who only have a PS3, so I'm glad we have it. Plus Blu-ray, of course. But I do feel now that paying for Xbox Live is worth it, just because it's a so much better designed system overall. Hopefully they'll take some queues from the Xbox for the PS4. I'm sure it's too late for the PS3.
 
I wanted to ask that if i change my HDD do i have to do something with my gameshares that i have on my ps3, or do i only need to redownload everything ??
 
[quote name='Taavivesi']I wanted to ask that if i change my HDD do i have to do something with my gameshares that i have on my ps3, or do i only need to redownload everything ??[/QUOTE]

You'll need the passwords. Lost a few gameshares when I switched HD's a few years ago because of this.
 
Hey all, I wanted to see if any fellow CAGs could help me with my tech issue.

I recently picked up a super slim ps3 and ps+. Since last month I have been having difficulty completing my IGC downloads/install. The files always fail installation at 14% stating the download was corrupt. I've googled and searched and found these suggestions which I have tried.

Things I have tried...
Wired and wireless connections
DMZ and static ip
Not backgrounding the download
Turning off media server and what's on status updates.
Downloading files from my transaction history under account management.
Changing the MTU
Using a wireless hotspot mifi


These troubles are very unfortunate. My recent demon souls purchase took a total of 12 redo's before a successful install. Before that it was infamous 2 that took about 8 tries. Trial and error isn't really a viable solution.

I really want to use my ps3 for digital purposes and am putting off buying dmc after this demon souls experience.

I realize that this isn't perhaps a tech support forum and will probably ending up calling customer service (blah). Any assistance or further suggestions would be great!
 
Hopefully, this is a good place for this question. I used to be able to access my media server through uPNP on my PS3, but a few months ago I got an update to my PS3 and I've since been unable to access any media server on my network. Searching online isn't really giving me any results. I know my media server can be accessed by other computers on the network. My wireless router is the one I got from Verizon.

I would like to be able to access my music library from my living room again...
 
[quote name='heatseeker2']Hey all, I wanted to see if any fellow CAGs could help me with my tech issue.

I recently picked up a super slim ps3 and ps+. Since last month I have been having difficulty completing my IGC downloads/install. The files always fail installation at 14% stating the download was corrupt. I've googled and searched and found these suggestions which I have tried.

Things I have tried...
Wired and wireless connections
DMZ and static ip
Not backgrounding the download
Turning off media server and what's on status updates.
Downloading files from my transaction history under account management.
Changing the MTU
Using a wireless hotspot mifi


These troubles are very unfortunate. My recent demon souls purchase took a total of 12 redo's before a successful install. Before that it was infamous 2 that took about 8 tries. Trial and error isn't really a viable solution.

I really want to use my ps3 for digital purposes and am putting off buying dmc after this demon souls experience.

I realize that this isn't perhaps a tech support forum and will probably ending up calling customer service (blah). Any assistance or further suggestions would be great![/QUOTE]
Return that PS3 before it's too late.

[quote name='TheLongshot']Hopefully, this is a good place for this question. I used to be able to access my media server through uPNP on my PS3, but a few months ago I got an update to my PS3 and I've since been unable to access any media server on my network. Searching online isn't really giving me any results. I know my media server can be accessed by other computers on the network. My wireless router is the one I got from Verizon.

I would like to be able to access my music library from my living room again...[/QUOTE]

If you're using WMP, maybe try the PS3 Media Server program you can get on the internet instead.
 
[quote name='J7.']If you're using WMP, maybe try the PS3 Media Server program you can get on the internet instead.[/QUOTE]

I'm not. I'm using JRiver Media Center. Problem is, it also doesn't see my NAS, which is used to.
 
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