Latest PS3 Firmware Updates

[Number45]

They're not incremental updates I don't think, so each time you update, no matter how small the changes are, it's downloading the whole system firmware again.

I've not had any issues with speed on PSN , right from day one it's been nice and speedy.

[The Glider]

My update came down in about 2 minutes just now (on a 2MB connection) which was really fast considering it's usually at least 20 minutes or so.

[VR46]

I get great speeds with store stuff, but firmware updates are very slow, sounds like Number45 has hit the nail on the head. Didn't know that.

[JP]

When the PS3 launched mine was really slow with everything but the firmware usually takes about 10 minutes which seems OK for what it is really.

David, I'd imagine it's that there are far more people downloading firmware when it's released in comparison to most of the store stuff.

[hudson]

Imagine having to download the the entire World of Warcraft game, past patches and new everytime it updates They should sort that out. Maybe bad design means they can't? Maybe I'm guessing too much and there's a very good reason why we must download 130MB each time there's a firmware update whether the update changes be medium or teeny?

[Number45]

No, I think you hit the nail on the head first time out.

I have all of the files required for a clean install of WoW to 2.4.2. It's over 8Gb.

[VR46]

They do have quite a few updates so have to cover things from all angles I guess ie. in case people have missed a update or two. Not the end of the world, just a pain when you want to "switch on and play".

[Matt]

Imagine having to download the the entire World of Warcraft game, past patches and new everytime it updates They should sort that out. Maybe bad design means they can't? Maybe I'm guessing too much and there's a very good reason why we must download 130MB each time there's a firmware update whether the update changes be medium or teeny?

Completely different. Game patches can be incremental - some patches will add new maps, new models, new textures, and will be the same from update to update.

Firmware updates are a potentially hazardous endevour. If you're flashing firmware, you start from the beginning and work to the end. If you try ammending information to it, you'll be ****ed in no time! You're be searching existing firmware, find the hex location, delete the area that is being changed, most likely needing to move the subsequent hex accordingly, and inserting the new code in the gap. It's a nightmare.

You could alternatively have every user recompile the firmware with a smaller update download, using the technique above but rather than flashing straight off, you compare code, compiule the firmware according to a check list, and then flash. Again not idea as problems can occur. Plus I'd imagine the firmware is encrypted, and letting users get the compiling tools would allow hackers to do something.

I had to update last night. It's not ideal when you turn it on for a quick game, as I did. Still, the PS3 gets regular updates, and I prefer regular incremental updates to the slower 360 updates (though you can argue the 360 was better to begin with).

Roll on the 2.40 update with ingame XMB and hopefully decent friends list options. I think the XMB is great but I miss the functionality of the Live friends list.

[hudson]

Stop showing off with your technotalk You lost me at "hex".

I had a feeling that firmware was always going to be a full on download when I thought about it for a short while before my head hurt. I decided that I had never come across a small incremental firmware update.

Cheers for the info.

[Matt]

LOL, I just make it up as I go along

Figured a technical reason was better than a simple, "You can't do it any other way". This forum is surprisingly light on technical discussions, I'm sure it used to be different.

[Matt]

It's just going to bug me if I don't clarify something I wrote....

The last PS3 update was 130megs. There is no way that the firmware takes that much memory! I don't know the size of the firmware, I'd guess a similar size to a PC BIOS/CMOS. But I don't know.

Most of that update will be the OS, with the XMB. So fixing say a hardware issue with a firmware flash, they are also sending out the full OS again - probably incremental updates from the last version, small things you may not even notice, or possibly whole new plugin modules for future development (like YouTube).

Given that, I see the reason for such a big download - firmware flash will be kilobytes most likely, and in most operating systems you can update them, reboot, and the update will complete. The problem is, with most operating systems (think Linux, Windows) if the OS update goes wrong, you can use safe-mode or a boot disc to fix it. If the PS3 update goes wrong you're screwed. So a complete download, rather than incremental, would help potential "update" issues by erasing the old and replacing with the new, only keeping user settings and other relevant information.

130mb is big, and much bigger than the Live updates, but it does a lot more (web browser etc). Actually at this stage, I'm not sure I've read of any Live update flashing firmware, it's just a dash/OS update. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Again I have to say I prefer this kind of regular updating than the Live "every 6 month" update. Both have advantages, but given how far behind Live the PS3 was when first launched (and still is), this way Sony get features out as soon as they can to close that gap. I'm the kind of person who gets excited at updates and am always looking forward to the next one and the new "features".

Roll on 2.40, it can't come quickly enough for me

[JP]

It does seem to be the whole OS rather than the firmware which they state it is.

You call this regular??? They seemed to be one at least every couple of weeks in the past but they've slowed them down now.

[Matt]

I'm only going by what I've read - had the PS3 for 2 weeks now so I'm no expert! I gather they're still more regular than every 6 months though.

From what I understand, a recent update managed to free a big chunk of RAM that the OS kept to itself even when playing a game, and that will be crucial to ingame XMB.

[JP]

Sorry Matt, did it sound like I was taking the piss when I replied?

There really used to be loads of them at first, have a look at this list for dates. There's been 4 since the beginning of the year!

I think they said they were aiming for a major update every quarter now along with things such as fixes between them.

They have been lowering the memory footprint quite steadily since launch and it's hardly likely they'd announce it to consumers so you may be right.

I'm like you in that I love it whenever new firmware is available even though I may not have any use for the new stuff myself.

[Matt]

Nah mate it's cool, didn't sound that way We all know how difficult it is to get proper context on the internet when you can't add intonation to text. More smileys needed, but even they're misconstrued half the time (I know, I've pissed off people I've known for years because my sense of humour just does not translate!).

Reading that list, yep updates have certainly slowed! Looks like a lot of teething issues at first, now the system is stable and running how they want it, they can concentrate on features.

Every quarter is a bit slow for me, I'd like a new "cool" (ie ultimately worthless but good to mess around with for 5 minutes) feature every week