Hi. Just to share a method to clone PS3 internal HDD into a different drive. Please note both your HDDs must be identical in size.
1-Get your internal HDD from PS3 as well as the new HDD (or SSD). connect them to your PC.
WARNING : Don't initialize discs under Windows. Don't format or create any partition or else your encrypted HDD data will be lost.
2-Use a Raw cloning software. Most cloning Software won't work if the HDD is encrypted. I used HDD Raw Copy Tool.
https://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/
3-Select your source (PS3) HDD and target (new) HDD. As you see my HDDs are identical in size. Cloning to a smaller HDD certainly won't work. Cloning to a bigger HDD might work.
It took for me 6 hours to clone the entire drive. Once finished, I tried the new HDD and it was recognized without problems!
So maybe PS3 encryption doesn't take HDD serial into account after all. I believe this method can work for PS4 as well! (Edit : Yes, this method works for PS3, PS4 and WiiU storage as well).
1-Get your internal HDD from PS3 as well as the new HDD (or SSD). connect them to your PC.
WARNING : Don't initialize discs under Windows. Don't format or create any partition or else your encrypted HDD data will be lost.
2-Use a Raw cloning software. Most cloning Software won't work if the HDD is encrypted. I used HDD Raw Copy Tool.
https://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/
3-Select your source (PS3) HDD and target (new) HDD. As you see my HDDs are identical in size. Cloning to a smaller HDD certainly won't work. Cloning to a bigger HDD might work.
It took for me 6 hours to clone the entire drive. Once finished, I tried the new HDD and it was recognized without problems!
So maybe PS3 encryption doesn't take HDD serial into account after all. I believe this method can work for PS4 as well! (Edit : Yes, this method works for PS3, PS4 and WiiU storage as well).
Last edited by depaul,