PS3 Screen going black when halfway of an update.

[krylic]

I recently got a PS3 slim 20xx model, it didn't have a hard drive so I swapped it with a 500GB one. I tried booting the console on without a HDD and it gave me "Cannot start. The appropriate system storage was not found." error. I formatted the hard drive to FAT32 on my PC and put it in my PS3. It showed that the minimium firmware I can install on my console is 4.55. I installed the latest 4.92 update on my USB drive (PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP), at first the update seemed to work, but at around 50% of the update, my screen turned black/dark grey, I tried to wait around 20 minutes, but nothing changed.

Post automatically merged: Mar 31, 2025

+ After about 45 minutes, I held down the power button and restarted my PS3. The update just continued from 0% to 50% and got the same issue again. Tried formatting my PS3's hard drive again and installed a different update with a different USB stick and still keep getting the same issue.

If you want images or more information, let me know.
discord: zweiow

 

[Magsor]

You have to go to recovery mode (by holding the power button for a very long time) and install the firmware required. You will need a genuine controller (which is rare at this point in time) for this.

 

[krylic]

-

Post automatically merged: Apr 5, 2025

You have to go to recovery mode (by holding the power button for a very long time) and install the firmware required. You will need a genuine controller (which is rare at this point in time) for this.

I have a genuine PS3 controller, I have installed the latest 4.92 Official firmware with my USB Drive formatted to FAT32. For some reason my console doesn't boot to the normal recovery mode even if I hold the power button. It tells me to install a new firmware everytime I boot which I'm trying, but my console keeps giving me a black screen everytime when I update at 50%.

 

[euphria]

You can try to replace the update file and ensure that you have the right firmware downloaded, but beyond that, you may have an issue with your PS3's hdd specifically. I believe there may be something preventing it from finishing like a bad sector or corrupted data. Could also try to run through the file system and database rebuilding tools, and if it doesnt work try "Restore PS3 System". It will reformat the HDD, so if there's anything on it you want to keep, do consider making a backup first onto a USB drive.
If there is corruption on the HDD, it could help.

 

[RAHelllord]

Does the console get hot? It could be shutting down due to overheating. You could also try reinstalling 4.55 first, just in case trying to update it to a higher firmware right away is the issue.
Lastly, are you absolutely certain you're getting into the proper recovery mode? The one where you have to use your controller wired only?
If not you can find the instructions on how to get there at https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/Recovery_Menu#Getting_into_recovery_mode

 

[GothicIII]

Are you sure the console hasn't been tampered with?
Hm 4.55 could be Rebug CFW or similar. You can pretty much do anything with it even remarry BD drives (On OG PS3).

I am very long out of the scene but since 4.55 was installed you could try a Bypass BD firmware and check if it installs. If something is wrong with the BD drive (damaged/from a different PS3) you'd need those to update your firmware else you'll stuck in a update loop.

 

[krylic]

You can try to replace the update file and ensure that you have the right firmware downloaded, but beyond that, you may have an issue with your PS3's hdd specifically. I believe there may be something preventing it from finishing like a bad sector or corrupted data. Could also try to run through the file system and database rebuilding tools, and if it doesnt work try "Restore PS3 System". It will reformat the HDD, so if there's anything on it you want to keep, do consider making a backup first onto a USB drive.
If there is corruption on the HDD, it could help.

I'll try changing the hard drive and installing 4.55. The PS3 had no hard drive when I picked it up for free so I formatted mine to FAT32 and put it in my PS3.