PS3 gone bang - any way of keeping data?

[Mad Dave]

Hey guys,

My PS3 went bang this morning whilst playing MW2. I've called Sony and they've offered me a replacement for £128, but I have to send the whole unit back, including the HDD. Now, i'm not really sure I want Sony having a giggle at all my family photos etc that are on there, and equally i've bought stuff online with credit cards etc, so data will be present on the console - they say that each HDD is encrypted to the unit and that their technicians cannot view data on the console, but i'm not really sure I believe them! Anyone have any knowledge of this?

Cheers!

Dave

[Silent1]

Go out and buy a hard drive caddy such as an icybox and put the ps3 drive in it and see if you can read it or just take an image of it which you can reflash to your new one

[Mad Dave]

Sony say that it'll be encrypted to my console and can't be read by any other system, not even theirs. Also, the HDD is held in with a screw that's got blue paint on it, which I suspect will crack/fall off if I apply a screwdriver to it? I also assume that the warranty will be voided if the screw is damaged?

[Mad Dave]

Ive managed to answer my own question re warranty;

Sony Website said:

The PLAYSTATION 3 system Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is removable and upgradeable. An upgrade can be performed by removing the hard drive and replacing it with a larger capacity drive. Please refer to the PLAYSTATION 3 system owner's manual on how to properly upgrade the hard disk drive. The HDD must be a 2.5” SATA HDD.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) does not have any information regarding specific compatibility or recommendations for hard disk drives for the PLAYSTATION 3 system. Upgrading the HDD will not void the warranty, however, the consumer takes full responsibility when upgrading the HDD.

I may just whip the HDD out, put it in a caddy and wipe it, then put it back in the PS3 and send it off