Some PlayStation 3 consoles suffer from Error code 80010514 “An error occurred during the start operation” if (a) the hard drive has corrupt sectors or (b) the firmware was incorrectly installed (which could be related to (a)).
Read MoreThe PlayStation 3 has a hard disk slot on the left end of the PS3 (bottom side if you stand it up vertical). Upgrading the hard drive is simple and only takes a few minutes. Follow the instructions below to remove and install a new hard drive:
Warning: Before you attempt to change your hard drive, it is vital that you backup your current contents to a removal hard disk. Once you have installed a new drive, the data in the old drive will not be readable. Please see the Backup/Restore FAQ for more details. Once you have installed a new drive, you can simply restore the old data to the new one.
Depending on your PlayStation 3 model, you will either have some compatibility or no compatibility. The earlier US and Japanese PS3 models have specific hardware for backwards compatibility which is no longer present in European and earlier PS3 models. The PS3 Slim only supports PSOne titles.
You can see which games are compatible with your console by checking the US Compatibility list and European compatibility list.
As of PS3 Firmware 2.10, the PlayStation 3 supports the playback of VC-1 (WMV) encoded files. In order to play VC-1 content, WMV playback must be enabled by going to [Settings] > [System Settings] > [Enable WMA Playback]. Videos encoded using VC-1 larger than 2GB or with copy protection cannot be played on the PlayStation 3.
The PlayStation 3 is able to play DivX and XviD encoded files using Firmware 2.10 or higher. The PlayStation 3 is a certified DivX product and supports the format natively, which means that developers can also included DivX encoded media into games. There are a few exceptions to note: the PS3 cannot play files that use DivX 3.11 or files that are larger than 2GB. In addition, copy-protected files cannot be played.
The Information Board is available on firmware 2.00 or higher. To turn it off, go to [Network] > [Information Board] and press 
. Select [Do Not Display] to hide the information board. To re-enable it, simply press 
on the [Information Board] icon.
The [Information Board] has been removed since Firmware 3.00 and has been replaced with a permanent ticker under the clock.
Depending on your PS3 model your console will be able to play Blu-Ray and DVD movies that are not locked, or those that are the same region code as your console. To see which region your PS3 corresponds to, please refer to the PS3 Model Number FAQ.
The tables below summarize the differences between the different PS3 models numbers. The model numbers are divided into two seperate tables, showing the prefix and suffix of the model numbers.
Model Number Prefix:
| Model |
PS2 |
Super-Audio CD |
Wi-Fi | Cell | Max Watts |
Display | USB Ports |
Card Readers |
Hard Drive |
Chrome Trim |
| CECHA | Hardware | Yes | Yes | 90nm | 200 | NTSC | 4 | Yes | 60GB | Yes |
| CECHB | Hardware | Yes | No | 90nm | 200 | NTSC | 4 | No | 20GB | No |
| CECHC | Software | Yes | Yes | 90nm | 200 | PAL | 4 | Yes | 60GB | Yes |
| CECHD | Software | Yes | No | 90nm | 200 | PAL | 4 | No | 20GB | No |
| CECHE | Software | Yes | Yes | 90nm | 200 | NTSC | 4 | Yes | 80GB | Yes |
| CECHF | Software | Yes | Yes | 90nm | 200 | PAL | 4 | Yes | 80GB | Yes |
| CECHG | No | No | Yes | 65nm | 140 | NTSC/PAL | 2 | No | 40GB | Yes |
| CECHH | No | No | Yes | 65nm | 140 | NTSC | 2 | No | 40GB | Yes |
The models with Software PS2 compatibility still contain the GS chip, but no EE chip – the EE is emulated through software. The models with no PS2 Compatibility have neither of the EE/GS chips.
Model Number Suffix:
| Code | Region | Blu-Ray Region | DVD Region | PS2 Region | PSOne Region |
| 00 | Japan | A | 2 NTSC | NTSC-J | NTSC-J |
| 01 | North America | A | 1 NTSC | NTSC-U/C | NTSC-US |
| 02 | Australia / New Zealand | B | 4 NTSC/PAL | PAL | PAL |
| 03 | U.K. / Ireland | B | 2 NTSC/PAL | PAL | PAL |
| 04 | Europe / Middle East / Africa | B | 2 NTSC/PAL | PAL | PAL |
| 05 | South Korea | A | 3 NTSC | NTSC-J | NTSC-J |
| 06 | Singapore | A | 3 NTSC | NTSC-J | NTSC-J |
| 07 | Taiwan | A | 3 NTSC | NTSC-J | NTSC-J |
| 08 | Russia / India | C | 5 NTSC/PAL | PAL | PAL |
| 09 | China | C | 6 NTSC/PAL | NTSC-C | NTSC-J |
| 10 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 11 | Mexico | A | 4 NTSC | NTSC-U/C | NTSC-US |
| 12 | Hong Kong | A | 3 NTSC/PAL | NTSC-J | NTSC-J |
The two tables together make up the complete PlayStation 3 table number. For example, a UK 60GB PS3 will have the code: CECHC03.
If there are multiple users, you can set the user you want to automatically log in as when the system is started. To set automatic login, go to [Users] and select the icon of the user you want to enable automatic login for. Press the button, and then select [Automatic Login].
Remote Start can only be used with PS3 firmware 2.00 or higher, and PSP firmware 3.72 or higher. Remote Start will only work if the following steps have been performed:
You can activate Remote Start by going to [Settings] > [Remote Play Settings] > [Remote Start]. Remote Start will keep your network connection alive, even when the system is in standby mode. Having Remote Start activated consumes more power than normal stand-by mode.
