Some Sony PlayStation 3 game console owners have complained of hard drive issues after installing the latest PS3 Firmware 3.41 upgrade.
Although most PS3 owners are unaffected, a select few have received "no applicable data" error messages after trying to upgrade their PS3 HDD.
If the new 3.41 patch is used on the PS3 HDD before the system's memory, the "incremental patches" feature can incidentally brick the console. Sony is now asking gamers to "update the previous HDD first to see if the update will go through," and then PS3 owners can use a thumb drive (FAT32 format) that has the 3.41 update.
It's also possible to install 3.40 before updating to 3.41, which has proven to be effective.
There was some concern the problem was caused because Sony wanted to block hard drive upgrades -- but this is a software glitch, and should be nothing more than an annoyance and distraction for Sony.
The original post on the PlayStation forums is available here.
Sony didn't know about the problem, but it appears console developers are now trying to offer a permanent fix.
The company released the following statement: "Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) strongly supports the quality of its products and backs them with full confidence. We ask that you update the previous HDD first to see if the update will go through. Then update from the thumb drive that is formatted in FAT 32 and has the 3.41 update downloaded."
This is the type of problem that drives gamers absolutely crazy -- software and game developers are constantly trying to get users to upgrade, but many are in no rush to update their systems due to the risk of encountering glitches. A recent PlayStation Portable console update also was released. The PSP update has some minor upgrades, but nothing significant was included.
In another recent PS3 system software update, Sony removed "Other OS" Linux support. Some users (including the US Air Force) became very upset with this feature removal and sued Sony.
