Is my PS3 Hard Drive about to die?

Hey all,
I’ve got the old school PS3 with a 40GB Hard Drive inside and I think it’s on it’s last legs. The systems seem to freeze quite a bit more often these days then before. When this happens a little message will pop-up on the screen after reboot stating that unit was not powered off properly and Sony will attempt to fix any corrupted data. This doesn’t happen every time, but certainly more often then before. I also notice that one game in particular, which is actually installed on the Hard Drive(Battlefield 1943) seems to be freezing quite often. Initially this was never an issue but it seems to be becoming more problematic which again, leads me to believe my Hard Drive might be near toast.
One final thing I notice is that the system itself seem to really be pushing itself. It’s very loud and sounds as though it’s trying to squeeze every bit of power can to keep the thing running. The system is well ventilated so I don’t think airflow and overheating is the issue, but I could be wrong.
So does this sound like Hard Drive issue? I’m thinking about just replacing this HD and hoping that will solve my issues. Do I have a bigger problem with the unit? The last thing I want to do is shell out a few bucks for a Hard Drive and then the system dies on me a week later.
Thanks all!!!
Answer #1
I wouldn’t bother getting a new hard drive for it just yet. It sounds like the system is about to die. You need to open it up, take it apart and dust out everything. You should also replace the thermal paste as well. One more thing, make sure you make a back up.
Answer #2
Id say replace the whole thing with the PS3 Slim, these older models will always mess up sooner rather than later
Answer #3
This happened to me (I have the 80gb model). I vacuumed the vents and put it in a more ventilated area, and put a desktop fan behind it
edit: this happened to me in January, it has been running fine every since I made the changes
Answer #4
Those old PS3 versions are known to get YLOD all the time. Replacing for a new HDD shouldn’t solve the problem, as YLOD’s mostly occur due to high temperatures which results in hardware failure.
Answer #5
I suggest you sell it now while it ‘works’ and put some more money in and buy a PS3 slim.
It will be worth it in the long run…believe me.
I sold mine when it actually had the YLOD, then i thought i cant be bothered buying a new one, so it your choice mate