Clearing up the PS3's HDD-swap warranty issues

Posted Nov 11, 2006 at 5:46PM by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3 Tags: SATA, SCEA, Sony
Ó


Okay, here's to hoping NOTHING goes wrong.Of course the PS world went hopping mad (mad in a good way) over the option to swap your hard drive - first the manual, then the real deal. Now, word from the official PS forums says that the swap won't void your warranty, but the guys over at NeoGAF have gotten hung up over trying to translate the Japanese manual's warranty warnings. Or, in this case, the Japanese PlayStation support webpage.

For a moment ddk_ps3 thought a line on the support page read, very crudely translated, "Q:Can we swap out the HDD? A: Yeah, u can use any SATA 2.5 inch one but you void the warranty when you swap it." Engrish bites hard in the tailpipe.

But that's not the case. Crude translations are, after all, "Lost in Translation." After a very extensive discussion in the forums, comparing Babelfish Google translations, and a call to PlayStation support, this is what they've got now (and we quote):

If u swap it and it stops working during the warranty period we (Sony) can't support that. If u use the original HDD and it still doesn't work and the drive you tried to swap in didn't break the PS3 we will honor the warranty.


In other words, and to paraphrase ddk_ps3's post, Sony can't be expected to honor the warranty of a PS3 bricked or plagued (and we quote again) "by a crap HDD from a different company." Seems much like Microsoft support asking if you've used a Nyko Intercooler in your 360. In any case, one comment in the forum noted that "the chance of a new HDD actually physically damaging your hardware, PC, PS3, or whatever, is slim." And finally, this may apply to Sony Japan. No specific word yet on SCEA-specific warranty policies.

If anything, the warning is there for legal convenience (and the suggestion in NeoGAF is to swap the old HDD back into the PS3 if you wanna get it repaired under warranty). And as Gino D. pointed out correctly, if the manual teaches you how to swap the HDD out, then, Sony can't hold that against PS3 users. Still, however slim the chances seem to be, no one would really want to risk it unless they were sure there was a safety net or fallback. Simply put: we can't confirm anything 100% until a warranty case actually happens.

The best thing Sony can do is to at least stay on top of the situation, noting which SATA HDDs conflicts with the PS3 (if it even does so in the first place) without holding it against the PS3 owner. Or come up with a list of known reliable SATA HDDs. It's early days yet for the PS3, and there is time to learn a lot of this new machine. And besides, remember that psmania swapped her 20GB out for a 120GB, and so far it still seemed okay (The PS3 detected it and all...).

Visit: [PS3 Forums]

 
 
 
Best prices available for:
Price Range:
$199.00 - $199.00
at 1 Stores

Price Range:
$370.00 - $370.00
at 1 Stores

Price Range:
$350.00 - $350.00
at 1 Stores

Comments 


 
# firstGuest 2006-11-11 12:24
first!!!one!!!11!1!1!woot!

Reply
 

 
# This is a perfect policyVietone 2006-11-11 13:28
For one this makes sense and every single company does this, all laptop makers especially.



They will cover the warranty of the original HDD if it fails. They will not cover any warranty on a HDD thats replaced unless it was replaced for warranty service.



However, if a HDD goes bad and messes up the laptop as well, no company will replace the laptop.



So, take this advice, buy good HDD, buy a cheap model and you can expect it to go back quick.

Reply
 

 
# Be carefull with this.skidz 2006-11-11 14:16
For now I would wait for a list of drives that are shown to work correctly with the PS3. You never know right?

Reply
 

 
# Well, for starters you could stick with SeagatesGuest 2006-11-11 15:39
because that's the model Sony's using in the 20GB and 60GB PS3s. GameWatch swapped their 60GB Seagate Momentus 5400.2 for a 100GB Seagate Momentus 7200.1. But yeah, to be sure, it kinda pays to wait.

Reply
 

Add comment

Security code
Refresh

Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add  to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!