Ok...so my PS3 (60gb launch console) thinks it's memory is full :/

I'm not sure why, but my PS3 thinks it's memory is full. It didn't allow me to play either ModNation racers or Heavy Rain (I bought both recently and hadn't played either yet) because it said there wasn't enough space. It did let me play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 no problem.

Now, before you guys start thinking that since this is a launch console it probably really is full, this is the thing: I use my consoles ONLY for gaming. I don't put music, movies, etc on them for just this specific reason. And I don't have any downloaded games on the system either, save for two PS1 games.

There is simply no way that my memory, which only occupies game saves, has reached the 60gb capacity. Any known fixes? Or any way to add memory w/o getting a new hard drive (opening up the system/not having everything on the same hard drive ftl)?

No demos, no game data?

You most likely have game installs eating tons of space. Delete old ones.

I've filled my 40GB before with nothing but game install data and saved game files.

[quote name='bearhawk72']You most likely have game installs eating tons of space. Delete old ones.

I've filled my 40GB before with nothing but game install data and saved game files.[/QUOTE]

see that was my first thought. but i never install games just for this reason, unless it's required. if im not mistaking, the only installs i have are marvel ultimate alliance and afrika.

[quote name='Drclaw411']see that was my first thought. but i never install games just for this reason, unless it's required. if im not mistaking, the only installs i have are marvel ultimate alliance and afrika.[/QUOTE]

How much free space do you actually have? If you go to the System Information tab under System, it will show how much you have remaining. Then go to the Game tab and select the Game Data or Info (can't remember) folder and see how many installs you have loaded. Let's take all the guess work out of it lol.

Remember, games install updates, patches, rosters, profiles, game settings, and all sorts of things that you don't think of. I have a launch 60GB too and put in a 500 GB hard drive a few years ago. I have nearly half of it full and I'm exactly like you...no movies, music, hardly any demos, no psp data, 2 PS1 games, etc.

Give us the hard evidence of how much info is on your hard drive and we can figure out what the deal is...

Certain save files can take up hundreds of mbs. Maybe you can try taking a look at every file you have and adding up the files' size?

If not, maybe the HDD simply crapped out and needs to be replaced...

Like Pck21 asked, how much available space does the PS3 have left (via the menu)?

As others have mentioned, check the free space. 99% chance its just game installs and patches that have built up over time. Some games require as much as 4-5 GB, so the hard drive fills up quickly (you don't truly get 60 GB, considering the OS takes up a little and so does just regular filesystem overhead).

First let me WARN you that game "data" & game "save" are entirely DIFFERENT!~ do NOT delete your game "save" folder or anything in it. Game 'DATA' is "OK" to delete since it is easily (if not entirely quickly) replace-able.

Dollars to donuts you've unknown "game data" on your hard drive. Especially if you bought your console used then the likelihood raises exponentially.

Check your "Game Data" folder & delete everything you're not actively playing. I betcha' problem solved.

I have an orig. launch 60GB console I bought used 3 years ago. I was surprised to see game data for Motorstorm & some other games I'd never owned nor played. Granted they weren't very large, but I did discover a bunch of my own games that were taking up over 20GB of space all together.

BTW a clean & unused 60GB HD only has about 55GB of space. The outdated Sony operating system blindly allocates a certain percentage of whatever size hard drive is installed. I've forgotten but the % is somewhere between 5% & 10% of the original total hard drive's size. This allows the original operating system and Playstation's HOME enough room to save without ever compromise anything else. This was not a bad general ideal back when 20/40/60/ & 80 GB hard drives were used, but now that 160 &320 & larger are used...more & more space is simply wasted. for the time being just consider it a way of life.

Home also uses lot of space (over 4Gb) so you might want to delete that if it's not actively used.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll double check the memory as soon as I get home tomorrow.

And just to clarify: deleting game data but not game saves still preserves my game saves? Like if there is a game I don't play much I can delete the data and it won't delete the save in case I ever need to go back to it?

[quote name='Drclaw411']Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll double check the memory as soon as I get home tomorrow.

And just to clarify: deleting game data but not game saves still preserves my game saves? Like if there is a game I don't play much I can delete the data and it won't delete the save in case I ever need to go back to it?[/QUOTE]
Yeah. Your saves won't go anywhere unless you delete them.

[quote name='Pck21']How much free space do you actually have? If you go to the System Information tab under System, it will show how much you have remaining. Then go to the Game tab and select the Game Data or Info (can't remember) folder and see how many installs you have loaded. Let's take all the guess work out of it lol.

Remember, games install updates, patches, rosters, profiles, game settings, and all sorts of things that you don't think of. I have a launch 60GB too and put in a 500 GB hard drive a few years ago. I have nearly half of it full and I'm exactly like you...no movies, music, hardly any demos, no psp data, 2 PS1 games, etc.

Give us the hard evidence of how much info is on your hard drive and we can figure out what the deal is...[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip! Went in and deleted the data of games i had borrowed from friends or rented, as well as some old sports games and old movie games that I still have. Kept the saves so if I ever need to go back to those games all I have to do is get the data back. Now I have 18gb/55gb. I had i think 1037 megabytes left or something useless.

One thing though, i will definitley fill this thing up before the console generation is over. I have 2 questions:

1) If I buy a new hard drive is there a way to just transfer all my data to that and make the transition as seemles as possible?
2) If I put a new hard drive in, my 60gb launch title will still be backwards compatible, right? I do have a ps2 memory card and a ps1 memory card installed onto the console as well.

[quote name='Drclaw411']Thanks for the tip! Went in and deleted the data of games i had borrowed from friends or rented, as well as some old sports games and old movie games that I still have. Kept the saves so if I ever need to go back to those games all I have to do is get the data back. Now I have 18gb/55gb. I had i think 1037 megabytes left or something useless.

One thing though, i will definitley fill this thing up before the console generation is over. I have 2 questions:

1) If I buy a new hard drive is there a way to just transfer all my data to that and make the transition as seemles as possible?
Yeah, you can create a backup of your existing data (you'll need an external hard drive formatted on FAT32 with enough space left for you data)
2) If I put a new hard drive in, my 60gb launch title will still be backwards compatible, right? I do have a ps2 memory card and a ps1 memory card installed onto the console as well.
All of the PS3's functionality will remain the same. The memory cards should be transferred with the rest of the backup[/QUOTE]

The HD upgrade is pretty simple, so fear not about it

[quote name='Drclaw411']Thanks for the tip! Went in and deleted the data of games i had borrowed from friends or rented, as well as some old sports games and old movie games that I still have. Kept the saves so if I ever need to go back to those games all I have to do is get the data back. Now I have 18gb/55gb. I had i think 1037 megabytes left or something useless.

One thing though, i will definitley fill this thing up before the console generation is over. I have 2 questions:

1) If I buy a new hard drive is there a way to just transfer all my data to that and make the transition as seemles as possible?
2) If I put a new hard drive in, my 60gb launch title will still be backwards compatible, right? I do have a ps2 memory card and a ps1 memory card installed onto the console as well.[/QUOTE]

Not a problem dude! Glad you got it all figured out.

As far as the new hard drive and data transfer...it's easy and hard at the same time.

I used an external hard drive to back up my PS3 (there's a back up feature on the console) and then installed the new hard drive. Once the new hard drive is installed, the PS3 will recognize it (hopefully lol) and will install the PS3 OS and data automatically. Next, plug in the external drive with the back up, and then restore the data (there is a restore feature as well). The only problem I ran into, and this was a few years ago, were some game saves refused to transfer for some reason. It wasn't a big deal because I didn't play the particular game, or I wasn't far into the game, but it could become a problem.

The actual hard drive swap itself is relatively simple. You can find youtube videos or photos and instructions on how to do it. A few simple screws and that should be it. It also does not void your warranty either. Look for a 2.5'' SATA 5400rpm hard drive (500GBs or under unless it has changed) and you should be good to go. Some people say that a 7200rpm will work, but I think it puts out extra heat and strain on the system, so I just stuck with what Sony put in the system originally. Good luck!

[quote name='Pck21']Not a problem dude! Glad you got it all figured out.

As far as the new hard drive and data transfer...it's easy and hard at the same time.

I used an external hard drive to back up my PS3 (there's a back up feature on the console) and then installed the new hard drive. Once the new hard drive is installed, the PS3 will recognize it (hopefully lol) and will install the PS3 OS and data automatically. Next, plug in the external drive with the back up, and then restore the data (there is a restore feature as well). The only problem I ran into, and this was a few years ago, were some game saves refused to transfer for some reason. It wasn't a big deal because I didn't play the particular game, or I wasn't far into the game, but it could become a problem.

The actual hard drive swap itself is relatively simple. You can find youtube videos or photos and instructions on how to do it. A few simple screws and that should be it. It also does not void your warranty either. Look for a 2.5'' SATA 5400rpm hard drive (500GBs or under unless it has changed) and you should be good to go. Some people say that a 7200rpm will work, but I think it puts out extra heat and strain on the system, so I just stuck with what Sony put in the system originally. Good luck! [/QUOTE]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152204

This is the one I use for my console. 640gb, 5400rpm, et cetera. I recommend trying to find a similar 640gb for your console as long as it's not a WD Scorpio Blue (I've heard too many bad reviews on those drives to suggest them to anyone)