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PS3 Error 80010514 Explained

Posted on 10. Apr, 2008 by Reckless in News

Gamerevolver.com recently had an interesting article regarding the dreaded 80010514 error. I hope many of my loyal visitors never have to encounter it. Their is a known issue with the PS3, simply known as error 800010514 which doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s darn right nasty.

The error in question is mainly seen within the first month of use, or to put it bluntly, it has the error right out of the box, however, we have seen this occur at almost a year into service as well.

“An error occurred during the start operation. 80010514″

Gamerevolver.com recently ran into the the dreaded 80010514 error shortly after installing a new game they had purchased off the PlayStation Store and decided to document it. Here is what the have to say…

Since this error occurred, we obviously contacted Sony Support. We were informed that the code is not common, and a simple reset of the system, and restoral of factory settings should do the trick. Unfortunately, after the restoral, the error still occurred.

The error code is actually one of two things, a) a faulty sector on the internal hard drive, or b) a faulty installation of software/firmware, both iterations actually coincide with eachother. If the hard drive suffers a faulty sector ( a section of damaged space on the drive that data may have been written to that no longer is readable), an installation may still be processed, and even work, but the error can cause some serious side effects, such as option b. If your PS3 has installed an item incorrectly, including firmware, it is in high risk of receiving this error.

Basically, what is occuring is the corruption of game disc recognition and execution. If you will notice, in 90% of all cases, the drive will still play DVD and even Blu Ray movies with no problems. When trying to start a game however, the title, sooner or later, will receive the error.

1) Ensure that your internet connection is stable. If you are using a wireless connection, make sure your signal is at least a solid 80%. If not, make the proper adjustments until it is.

2) Dust your machine regularly. Any PS3 owner will tell you that the Playstation 3 is a dust magnet. Just run a dry cloth over it every couple days, and you should be fine. This will help prevent heat issues and shorts that may occur.

3) When installing firmware and/or software, make sure you follow the instructions. Even if you have installed 6 versions prior, each one is different, and may require additional steps. Save yourself the headache and just follow them, it only takes a minute or so longer to do it right.

Lets sum it all up, the error is not hardware related and is caused due to corruption of firmware. Restoring you PS3 will not roll back the firmware, and unfortunately will not fix the issue 9 times out of 10. If you are receiving this error, contact Sony for a replacement unit. Again I hope none of my readers have to see the dreaded 80010514 error and by following Gamerevolver.com’s simple steps your bound to prolongue the life of your PS3 indefinitely.

(Update) Eurogamer.net contacted a SCE UK spokesperson which told them “”I’ve spoken to our Customer Services department and they aren’t aware of this issue with the PS3.” So take that as you will? Is the dreaded 80010514 just a myth? or an error that Sony is not aware of?

(Update 2) Try this before replacing Blu Ray drive (Last Resort)
Undertakerza updated a game, Warhawk and his system froze, got it rebooted it could no longer access any discs (cd, dvd, blu ray, games) he was ejecting and re inserting disks when I realized that the drive wasn’t making any noise and also … not spinning disks anymore they come out the exact same way he put them in.

Here is how he did it:

Ok so I’ve fixed my issue. I will run through what you will need to do to fix yours if you are having issues with the blu-ray drive and general PS3 system operations like the XMediaBar this is totally worth a shot … I doubt this will fix any other issue. If not then your blu-ray drive/ PS3 is probably dead and needs replacement via the method listed above or by sony.

If you can, I suggest you back up your PS3 first. The menu that you will access to can fully erase your PS3 if you choose the wrong option! I do not take any responsibility! Please proceed at your own risk! If you read and follow the instructions exactly you should not loose any data! Feel free to ask questions if you are confused so you don’t make a mistake!! Sorry, I had to say it, I don’t want anyone mad at me if they make a mistake, don’t back up their data and erase it, and then blame me…

The current version of the ps3 firmware has a “recovery console”.

You access it by

1. Start with having the system in standby (redlight is on)

2. Hold the power button down; the system will turn on and turn off once again.

3. Press and hold the power button again and keep holding, it will beep as it turns on and then it will double beep. When you hear the double beeps immediately take your finger off the power button (if your system turns off before you get a double beep just try again and hold the button, it should double beep the 2nd time you try)

4. You will be prompted to plug in your controller via USB and then hit the PS button

You will now have a screen with these options (I have attached a picture of this screen below)

1. Restart System: Restarts the PLAYSTATION®3 System.
2. Restore Default Settings: Reset all system settings back to default.
CHOOSE THIS ONE 3.Restore File System: Checks for corrupt/missing system files.
4. Rebuild Database: Rebuilds the OS for the PLAYSTATION®3.
5. Restore PS3 System: Fresh restore; Deletes everything and starts from Scratch.
6. System Update: Update the PLAYSTATION®3 System

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT CHOOSE THE WRONG OPTION HERE OR YOU WILL LOSE ALL YOUR DATA. The one that fixed my blu-ray drive is option 3: RESTORE FILE SYSTEM

I REPEAT CHOOSE RESTORE FILE SYSTEM

After this, it is going to restart and bring up a screen reading something like “you have Corrupted System Data. Your PS will now replace this data” Then you choose continue and that should be it.

This option reinstalls the system files and drivers inside the PS3 with the original ones that are stored on your hard drive. In this case, it replaced a corrupted driver for the blu ray drive thus fixing my issue and hopefully yours!! This option will only replace all system files thus saving you from loosing any data that’s stored on your hard drive. Again this option does nothing to your hard drive it reads a file from the drive and rewrites it to the PS3 system.

If you want a more technical understanding of what this is really doing continue reading. DO NOT NEED TO READ THIS TO COMPLETE REPAIR. The PS3 does not boot from your hard drive as a computer does. It has a flash memory like a cell phone that stores all system files and system firmware updates that you get when the PS3 updates. This is why reformatting your hard drive will not fix your problem, none of the system files are stored on your hard drive (ex. XMB, system firmware, etc.) nor do they run from the drive.

However, your hard drive does contain a full backup of your SYSTEM files and thus when you choose option 3: RESTORE FILE SYSTEM it rewrites the original system files from your drive (which aren’t corrupted) back to the flash memory which is corrupted thus fixing the problem

UPDATE: With the new firmware 3.10 you may be able to report the error code directly to Sony via your PS3 console. Have a look here, please note that this has not been tested for this error code yet.

Tags: 80010514, Error, Explained, PS3