HELP!! Removing linux partion

YDL running on the Sony Playstation 3

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HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby Fracture » 16 Aug 2008, 06:28

Ok, I decided I wasn't too into linux on my ps3 so I decided to uninstall it. I allowed 10 gigs of my 80gig ps3 to be allocated for YDL. Now after reformating my drive the 10gig partion is still there. Is there anyway to get rid of it and regain my hard drive space. I tried using Gpart at the boot up but it was a no go. I really want to get this fixed. :oops:
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby billb » 16 Aug 2008, 15:19

You won't be able to do it from Linux -- you'll need to use the XMB backup utility to backup any data you won't to keep (saved games, installed games, movies, etc), backing up to an external USB FAT32 formatted drive, use the Format utility and allot all the space to the PS3 Game OS (quick format should be OK), then restore your data from the backup drive. Or if you don't have anything you want/need to keep you can skip the backup part. Also, if there's just a few save games you want to keep you could probably just copy them to a memory card instead of using the backup utility.

http://manuals.playstation.net/document ... edata.html
PS3 60GB [CECHA01], FW 3.15, YDL 6.2, Samsung T260HD @ 1920x1200
Powermac G4 1.25 GHz x2, 2 GB RAM, YDL 6.2
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby Fracture » 16 Aug 2008, 19:45

Thanks Billb,
Well I have all my data on an external drive already. The problem is that even after using the format utility and allocating all the harddrive space for the PS3, when I check system info it says Free space 64gb/74gb so 10 gigs is still lost on the partion. And even after doing a full format that took almost 5 hours it's the same. Also if I go to boot other OS it still goes to the YDL bootloader with kboot, but will not start up the YDL OS.
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby billb » 16 Aug 2008, 20:10

Fracture wrote:Thanks Billb,
Well I have all my data on an external drive already. The problem is that even after using the format utility and allocating all the harddrive space for the PS3, when I check system info it says Free space 64gb/74gb so 10 gigs is still lost on the partion. And even after doing a full format that took almost 5 hours it's the same. Also if I go to boot other OS it still goes to the YDL bootloader with kboot, but will not start up the YDL OS.


I don't know of a way to remove the bootloader which resides in the PS3's flash memory, not on the hard drive. That's not a big deal, though ... Regarding the lost space on your drive, I've seen someone mention having this problem before ... not sure if it was ever resolved. You might want to contact Sony support on that issue, and please get back to us with their response if you get in touch with support.
PS3 60GB [CECHA01], FW 3.15, YDL 6.2, Samsung T260HD @ 1920x1200
Powermac G4 1.25 GHz x2, 2 GB RAM, YDL 6.2
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby nevaeh » 18 Aug 2008, 01:56

Actually, I'm pretty sure it's normal to have that much space missing. The PS3 has been known to use a certain percentage of the drive for cache, and it's own purpose. For example, I have a 120gb hard drive, after reformatting I have 111gb, with about 80-90gb free space. That was before I installed Linux, so it's pretty much normal.
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby billb » 18 Aug 2008, 03:34

Yes, that makes sense. I wonder if there's some official documentation on this somewhere ... :?:
PS3 60GB [CECHA01], FW 3.15, YDL 6.2, Samsung T260HD @ 1920x1200
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby Fracture » 18 Aug 2008, 20:01

I'm almost completely sure my HD was 74gb/74gb free when I first got it for the 80gb drive. I know that manufactures measure HD space different from actual computer use, my 320gb drive for example only has 298gb storage space. Oh well I'm pretty much done screwing around with it, I mean if I really wanted to make sure I could rip the Hard Drive out and throw it in a external enclosure and check it out on my PC. I probably will someday.

10 GB = 9.31 GB
20 GB = 18.63 GB
30 GB = 27.94 GB
36 GB = 33.53 GB
40 GB = 37.25 GB
60 GB = 55.88 GB
74 GB = 68.91 GB
80 GB = 74.51 GB
100 GB = 93.13 GB
120 GB = 111.76 GB
160 GB = 149.01 GB
180 GB = 167.64 GB
200 GB = 186.26 GB
250 GB = 232.83 GB
300 GB = 279.40 GB
320 GB = 298.02 GB
400 GB = 390.62 GB

Also there is no way the OS would take up 10GB thats more than Vista and would be totally impractical for the 20GB PS3 making it pretty much useless.
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Re: HELP!! Removing linux partion

Postby nevaeh » 19 Aug 2008, 02:17

No, it works a little differently for the Playstation 3. If you have a 60 gb hard drive, I believe it shows as 50/55 or somewhere around there. The file system is a custom made, possibly FAT32 based proprietary from Sony, which it turns out is actually pretty wasteful with space. Again, I have a 120gb hard drive, and when put into the Playstation 3, it shows up as 111gb, but I only get around 80-90 gbs of that being useable. That's WITHOUT a Linux partition set up. As for 20gb's having no space, I told you the Playstation 3 takes a certain percentage of the hard drive, I believe it was like 5% or so. So if you have a smaller hard drive, It would take less space, than with a bigger drive. Essentially, the bigger the drive, the more wasted space. There's a huge thread on the Official Playstation forums on this topic, though it might be burried...Just do some digging :D

Edit:

Here's some posts

http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=2738113&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=1587166&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=2926845&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

Also, this was pulled from the Unofficial Playstation 3 Faq:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=1963427

My Hard Disk Drive Appears To Not Have As Much Space As Advertised!
a few reasons cause this effect:
1. Manufacturers calculate drive size as 1 gigabyte as (10^9) not as (2^30)
1. Consumer confusion caused by non standard units of measure
2. PS3 internally uses 2^30, Manufactors of Drives use 10^9
2. Firmware - while stored and used mostly in flash memory - has a backup copy on the HDD
3. Swap File that is approximately 10% of drive size (80 gig... 7 gig swap file)
4. Future System Updates reserved space

1, 2, 3 are confirmed 4 is supposition.

Hope this helps!
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