How to Take a Hard Drive Out of a 1st Generation PlayStation 3

Whether you want to upgrade your storage capacity or you're experiencing technical problems, it pays to know how to remove the hard drive from your PlayStation 3. The PS3's hard drive can be swapped out and replaced with pretty much any standard 2.5-inch hard drive that you'd find in a laptop computer, and in fact Sony included an access panel on the side of the PS3 specifically for this purpose. If you plan to replace the hard drive after taking it out of the PS3, be sure to back up any data you want to save prior to proceeding.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Turn off the PS3 and disconnect its power cable.

   • 2

     Remove the plastic side panel from the PS3 by gently prying the provided tab.

   • 3

     Remove the blue screw with a Phillips screwdriver.

   • 4

     Fold out the metal latch, use the latch to slide the tray to the right and then gently pull the hard drive tray out of the PS3.

   • 5

     Remove the four screws fastening the hard drive into the tray.

   • 6

     Lift the hard drive out of the tray.