Hey guys.
I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to share my experience. I was running Rebug 4.81 and downloaded PSNPatch 2017 and installed it. I attempted to activate the plugin within PSNPatch and when it booted back to the XMB, the console froze within a few seconds. I rebooted and the problem persisted. It would start up but freeze within seconds. I even booted into recovery mode and the same issue was persisting, even there.
So, after doing a little research online, I was confident that my internal HDD on my PS3 was corrupted in some way. I removed it from my PS3, opened up my PC and connected the PS3 HDD to the PC's motherboard. I entered the Disk Management tool and basically formatted the drive. I entered it back into the PS3 and it reformatted it so it would again be compatible with the PS3. No freezing anymore, but obviously there was no firmware on the PS3. So, I tried to reinstall Rebug 4.81 and kept getting an error message saying 'This data is corrupted'. After trawling the internet for awhile and basically becoming convinced that the only way to get the PS3 working again was to install OFW 4.81, I came across a post on a forum saying that Rebug 4.81 can only be installed from the XMB and to try installing Ferrox 4.81. It worked a treat. I'm back up and running again, but I've lost all of my saved game files and various other files. It was a bit of a nightmare but I'm extremely relieved to have gotten things sorted out.
Anyway, I'd really love to go online with my PS3, but I'm pretty apprehensive about trying out the PSNPatch program again. Does anyone have any insight as to why this could have happened to me and could maybe give me some pointers if I decide to try it again?
Thanks!