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PlayStation 3 System Software, codenamed CellOS/GameOS, is the official operating system for the PlayStation 3. Its kernel was based on FreeBSD and NetBSD code. Its graphical interface is the XrossMediaBar, an application menu based on cross-shaped navigation. OpenSource libraries and BSD components are displayed in menu Settings > About PlayStation 3™.
Although the system incorporates a Kernel initially based on UNIX, no interaction with terminal, command line or X11-type graphical interface is available to the user. The only iteration of this type is allowed by installing a dual-boot operating system using Other OS (discontinued). See below.
XrossMediaBar is the main graphical user interface of the PlayStation 3, which is also used on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PSX (a DVR based on the PlayStation 2 hardware, not to be confused with the PlayStation 1).
The XMB is a graphical user interface that has a navigation bar menu format in the form of a cross, where all components of this interface are quickly accessible using the arrow keys and gamepad joysticks. On the PS3 and PSP, the XMB supports themes, wallpaper, and plays background music from the inserted game disc (if the game has background music).
The XMB is also accessible during games by pressing the "PS" button on the joystick, but with more limited functions during games. Basic functions such as volume settings, connecting a new controller, turning off the console, ejecting the disc, and network and Wi-Fi settings are available. The other functions are only available if the user ends the game. The virtual keyboard is also a component of the XMB and can be used during the game.
XMB items are opened by pressing the "X" button. The XMB has submenus accessible by pressing the "triangle" button ▲. The "circle" button returns to the previous menu or cancels an operation. The XMB can also be operated with a mouse and keyboard via USB or Bluetooth ports.
Games downloaded from the store are available to be run by XrossMediaBar, and simply select it and press "X" to launch the game or application. Disc games launch automatically as soon as the game is inserted into the console's disc player.
Remote Play is a PS3 feature that allows streaming games from a PS3 to a PSP, PSVita or SONY VAIO Laptop, allowing the player to control the game remotely in the sabe local network (LAN or cable).[2]
Specific software for VAIO laptops is required to connect to the PS3. PSP and PSVita have this feature natively.
All PS3 models has native compatibility on all models with games for PlayStation 1 (download/disc) and PlayStation Portable (download only).
PS3 does not support PSVita games on any model.
The first FAT models (CECHA/B) have the complete PS2 hardware set, consisting of the CPU (Emotion Engine/"EE"), the graphics chip (Graphics Synthesizer/"GS") and the RAMBUS memory modules present on the PS3 motherboard, along with the Cell BE processor and the RSX graphics chip, both from the PS3.
In these "full PS2" models, the emulator runs the games directly on the dedicated PS2 hardware on the board, which allows GameOS and XBM to run with all their main features activated. Emulation on "full PS2" hardware consumes few resources from the Cell BE and RSX. These models have support for PS2 peripherals via USB and are the models with the best compatibility of all the other PS3 models.
FAT models (CECHC/D) have only the GS graphics chip, which means that the CPU and RAMBUS are emulated. These models can still play PS2 games from discs, but compatibility may be somewhat reduced. In these models, the console is restarted in a "lite" mode, and the PS2 emulator takes over from GameOS, allowing the emulator to have all of the processor performance available to it. Only a simplified version of the XMB is available, allowing very basic tasks such as exiting the game, ejecting the disc, pairing a game joystick and turning off the console.
The graphics are still generated by the GS chip, which reduces the workload of the Cell BE, since it would only be emulating the PS2's "EE" CPU. Running games from discs is still possible, but USB peripherals are no longer supported. When you exit the game, GameOS and the XMB are restarted and the console returns to normal operation.
PS2 compatibility on these models is still quite acceptable and can play most games with complete stability.
In these models, all PS2 hardware is emulated. USB peripherals are not supported. As with the "partial PS2" models, the "no PS2" models can still play PS2 games, but only select PS2 games downloaded from the PlayStation Store are available, called "Classics".
The PS2 CPU (EE) and GPU (GS) are fully emulated in the Cell BE, and the complex graphics calculations of the GS chip are processed by the Cell BE's SPE cores and rendered by the RSX. As in the previous case, GameOS is inoperable and only a "lite" version of the XMB is available, also for very basic tasks (such as exiting the game, pairing a game joystick, and turning off the console).
These models have reduced compatibility, and not all PS2 games are available for purchase in the store for these models, especially games that use undocumented programming techniques or that require specific methods found only on PS2 models (such as using a hard drive on PS2 FAT models or using a LAN network on PS2), which are not supported by the emulator on these PS3 models.
On all models, PS3 firmware updates are complemented by improvements to the PS2 emulation systems.
GameOS has a WebKit-based web browser, but with limited features due to the console's low memory capacity (only 256MB of RAM), which makes browsing modern websites quite slow and challenging. Media downloads (music, images and videos) are saved to the internal hard drive and can be played normally by GameOS.
GameOS had a native browser antivirus feature called Trend Micro™ for PS3™[3] or i-Filter (both currently discontinued), which was enabled through a paid subscription to the data monitoring service package provided by Trend Micro or i-Filter, useful for people who carried out online transactions and purchases using the integrated browser. The "antivirus" works inside web browser and did not act on GameOS, games and other applications. Both services have been discontinued on PS3.
Games or applications can be downloaded from the official PlayStation Store in the XrossMediaBar menu or by installing packages present on official game media.
In retail units, all applications and games have digital signatures and can only be run if they have a valid signature. Installation of applications and games via recorded media or USB devices is not permitted.
GameOS has limited compatibility with HP, Canon and Epson printers. Recent printer models may work partially or completely, as the system uses PostScript drivers by default. Printers can be connected to a USB port or mapped to the console via a network. [4]
GameOS supports playback of audio and video with CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs.
Multimedia files can be played normally by XrossMediaBar:
-Audio: MP3*, WMA*, WAV, Audio-CD
-Video: MPG, AVI, MP4, Video-CD/VCD, Blu-ray/DVD-Movie disc
-Image: BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF
*DRM-protected files (MP3, WMA) may require online activation of the Cinavia service, which may not be available in all regions where the console is sold. [5]
Multimedia files can be played from recorded discs or from storage units connected to USB, even allowing the user to copy the files to the console's internal HD, or copying from the internal HD to an external drive. The system also supports connection to media servers, allowing videos and music to be streamed over the local network.
The PS3 software uses the UFS2 (UNIX File System 2) file system on its hard drive for the recovery partitions, firmware image and GameOS partition, all of which are encrypted with AES keys, and the GameOS partition encrypted with an AES key linked to the console's unique serial number (eid_root_key) and IV salts. This means that the HD data cannot be accessible on a computer in the traditional way unless the "eid_root_key" keys are obtained from your own console. [6]
Installing the hard drive from one console to another will also not allow access to GameOS data, as the eid_root_keys of the consoles are different. Only the recovery partition and the partition containing the full firmware reinstallation image are accessible on other consoles as they use common AES keys between consoles, allowing the firmware to be reinstalled from there. Internal disk encryption is transparent to GameOS and is done automatically by the chipset firmware. Hypervisor and GameOS can read and write data without needing to apply encryption to it.
If a hard drive formatted in MBR/GPT mode is installed, the PS3 system will require it to be formatted with the file system used by the PS3 in order to be used.
It is possible to use external storage drives via USB ports for multimeda, system backup and save data, however, it need to be formatted in FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT. NTFS/EXT3/EXT4 are not supported.
Firmware update, restore or clean install can be done online, where the latest firmware is downloaded from Sony's servers and then installed. Other update methods are used by reading the /PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP file from the inserted CD/DVD/BD disc or USB storage drive as long as the update file is the same version or a newer version than the version officially registered/installed on the console. Older versions (downgrade) are not accepted.
Offline restoring will reinstall the firmware from the image saved on the 256MB NAND or eMMC memory models. Models with 16MB NOR flash do not have a firmware image on flash and necessarily require the firmware to be reinstalled via the internet or using a burned disc, game disc or USB storage.[7] The theoretical maximum size of a PS3UPDAT.PUP file is 256MB, but it rarely exceeds 200MB (FW 4.x). Files from FW 1.x versions were less than 90MB.
The PS3 firmware can be updated, restored, or fully reinstalled from scratch using one of the following methods:
If a game disc inserted into the console requires newer firmware than the currently installed firmware, GameOS will ask the user if they wish to update the system. If "YES", the update will be performed via the PS3UPDAT.PUP file present on the game disc. If "NO", the update will not install and the game will not be able to run.
If an older firmware update is present on the disk, it will simply be ignored and the game will run. In this case, this firmware cannot be used to install, update or restore the console's firmware. Some Blu-Ray movie discs (a.k.a. 007 - Casino Royale (2006) and Transformers (2007)) may contain PlayStation 3 firmware update packages, which update contains updated cryptographic keys to play that movie. If the user ignores the update, the movie will not be able to be played. This is necessary because Blu-ray disc encryption keys are generated from time to time and new Java virtual machine updates are released with firmware updates, because the PS3 was one of the first home devices capable of playing Blu-ray video media.
Some Blu-Ray movie discs (a.k.a. 007 - Casino Royale (2006) and Transformers (2007)) may contain PlayStation 3 firmware update packages, which update contains updated cryptographic keys to play that movie. If the user ignores the update, the movie will not be able to be played. This is necessary because Blu-ray disc encryption keys are generated from time to time and new Java virtual machine updates are released with firmware updates, because the PS3 was one of the first home devices capable of playing Blu-ray video media.
The PS3 has different storage methods depending on the console model. All models have an internal flash memory (used as a basic firmware reinstallation system and internal data exclusive to the console) and a hard disk or eMMC, where the main firmware, user data, applications, games and game save files are stored. [8]
Some FAT models use a 256MB NAND chip that contains a partition with the bootloader, recovery partition, a partition containing the full firmware image for offline reinstallation, Other OS data sectors and a special partition containing console-specific data. These models are required to have a HD installed so that GameOS can function fully, as the firmware cannot be installed on this chip (only the compressed image for reinstallation is present).
SuperSlim models have a 12GB eMMC and work in a similar way to FAT models, however, with the advantage of having additional space for the complete installed GameOS partition, game data and user data. Using hard disc on Superslim models with eMMC is optional, however, when a HD is installed, GameOS data and user data are moved to the HD, with only the recovery, bootloader and updated firmware image residing on the eMMC.
Slim models and some FAT models have a single 16MB NOR chip instead 256MB NAND, containing only the bootloader partition, recovery and critical console data. There is no complete firmware image that can be reinstalled on these models. System Recovery can reinstall the system via the internet, using a game disc with a valid (equal or newer) firmware or using a PS3UPDAT.PUP file from a USB flash drive. The Hard Disk is mandatory in these models.
All eMMC, NAND and NOR data is encrypted with AES keys that is unique to each console, but they can all run a basic firmware (recovery mode) to reinstall the firmware in case of hard drive replacement or data corruption, booting a recovery firmware from the integrated flash (eMMC/NOR/NAND). All of these partitions are updated when a firmware update is installed on the console. When a new firmware is installed, the recovery partition, bootloader and GameOS restore image are also updated to the latest versions.
All PS3 models can be upgraded to higher capacity HDDs and SSDs, limited to 2.5" 5400 SATA drives (HDD) and up to 9mm in height. Newer firmware can safely support drives/SSDs with up to 1TB of capacity. Above this capacity, some features may not work properly and their stability may be compromised in the event of data corruption.
Compatible drives and SDs:
-HDD: 2.5" 5400 RPM SATA gen1/gen2/gen3 from 20GB up to 1TB of capacity.
-SSD: 2.5" SATA gen1/gen2/gen3 from 20GB up to 1TB of capacity.
-SAS, NVME HDDs/SSDs or 3.5" discs are not compatible.
-External storage drives cannot be used to install firmware on them.
When a new hard drive/SSD is inserted, the system will install its operating system using the methods presented in the Firmware update session. You can also clone the old disk to the new one using RAW clone, as long as the new disk is the same or larger. If it is larger, the system will need to be restored so that the full capacity of the disk can be used.
Before replacing the hard disk, the user can back up it's data and saves to an external USB storage device or via cloud storage via PSN Plus and restore the data after when the new hard disk is installed.
Other OS data is not backed up, and the user will need to back up Linux/UNIX data and restore it by itself.
Before getting into the subject of Other OS, it is important to mention how the PS3 processor works, and the impact it has on the task of running other operating systems on the console. [9]
The Cell Broadband Engine (Cell BE) is a 64-bit PowerPC processor operating at 3.2GHz, with 1 general PPE (Power Processing Element) core with 2 threads, and 8 complementary SPE (Synergistic Processing Elements) processors. 1 SPE is always disabled at the factory to increase chip manufacturing efficiency.
The main threads of GameOS, games and applications run on the PPE's threads, and have free access to the 7 SPEs to handle calculation loads.
The SPE cores are small processors specialized in intensive tasks, such as math calculations, game physics and graphics. A small program runs inside each SPE, and the PPE core is responsible for coordinating the tasks of all SPEs.
Games and applications for the PS3 make extensive use of the SPEs, allowing them to extract maximum performance from the Cell BE's computing power. Games that require intense physics, such as open-world and racing games, would suffer greatly in performance without the use of the Cell BE's SPEs.
In Linux/UNIX, by default, the kernel and applications are not prepared to take advantage of the SPEs' resources, and are limited, by default, to only the 2 threads of the PPE kernel, which makes the task of running Linux and UNIX systems a bit slow, since most of the high-performance resources of the Cell BE are not used. This would require the kernel and applications to have functions written specifically to offload the heavy calculation task to the SPEs and "relieve" the workload of the PPE threads. This is why the performance of Linux and UNIX on the PS3 can be a bit frustrating in more demanding tasks. [10]
Other OS was a oficial feature available on the original FAT models of the PS3 that allowed the installation of Linux or BSD operating systems in "dualboot" with the original PS3 firmware in a reserved partition, running in a lv1 hypervisor [11]. Slim and SuperSlim models do not have official support for Other OS, even Slim models released before firmware version 3.21. Other OS does not allow the second operating system to erase or replace the PS3 firmware, and the PS3 system must be present on the hard drive to initialize Other OS.
The systems running on Other OS ran inside a hypervisor (not a virtual machine), which allowed partial access to the PS3 hardware (CPU: all PPE/SPE cores (except the 7th/8th SPE* core, GPU: VRAM only), however, blocking access to the RSX graphics acceleration (graphics processor) and blocking access to some components such as NAND memories and some protected regions of the main RAM memory used by the Hypervisor. The RSX memory can be used, allowing you to expand RAM usage to a total of 512MB (using 256MB of RSX as "fast" swap). All graphics are rendered in software mode in this case. Playing Bluray movie discs is also not allowed on Other OS.
*Note: the 7th SPE core is reserved for the hypervisor and the 8th SPE core is deactivated at the factory.
Linux and UNIX systems running on OtherOS have free access to the 2 main PPE (PowerPC Element) cores and the 6 SPE cores, however, the use of the SPE cores requires binary compatibility, Kernel and binaries simply recompiled for PPC64 will not make native use of the SPEs, unless the code is adapted to use these components.
When starting the system installed within OtherOS, GameOS is turned off and the console reboot running only lv0 bootloader, lv1 Kernel and the OtherOS hypervisor. Systems running on OtherOS don't runs as an application or game, and XMB ressources and game files and data within the GameOS partition are not accessible by OtherOS.
This feature was discontinued in FW version 3.21 and newers due to vulnerabilities found in the hypervisor and in some Cell features that allowed access to components that were originally blocked by the Hypervisor. Users who upgraded to this firmware or newer had their OtherOS partitions wiped and their Linux data became inaccessible. It is not possible to roll back the firmware to a previous version to regain OtherOS functionality using official console methods.
| Firmware version | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1.00 | First pre-installed firmware released for consumers |
| 1.10 | Added PlayStation Network services. |
| 1.94 | Adds support for the DualShock 3 controller |
| 2.10 | Fixed vulnerability that allowed access to RSX from Linux via Other OS.[12] |
| 2.40 | Add Trophy Features |
| 2.50 | Added Recovery mode and fixed vulnerability with Java applications on Blu-ray discs [13] |
| 3.00 | New startup screen |
| 3.15 | Add support for PSP games emulation |
| 3.16 | Add support for Torne TV tuner.[14] |
| 3.21 | Removed Other OS feature and fixed vulnerabilities with MP4 decoder. [15] |
| 3.30 | Experimental support for 3D-capable televisions. [16] |
| 3.40 | Added support for PlayStation Move. Fixed leap year bug. [17] |
| 3.41 | The jailbreak era begins. A vulnerability found in the firmware allowed the console to enter factory mode, allowing unsigned software to be installed and run on the console. |
| 3.42 | Fixed vulnerability exploited by USB jailbroken devices.[18] |
| 3.50 | Added support for Bluway stereoscopic 3D movies. Fixed new vulnerabilities that allowed jailbreaking. [19] |
| 3.55 | Fixed new vulnerabilities that allowed jailbreaking and firmware downgrading. [20] |
| 3.56 | Fixed new vulnerabilities that allowed jailbreaking. New encryption keys applied. [21] |
| 3.60 | Fixed new vulnerabilities that allowed jailbreaking. Deep changes to the kernel and bootloader, preventing the use of modified firmwares. [22] |
| 3.61 | A vulnerability in the PlayStation network has been identified, leaving the network inoperable for almost 30 days, forcing all users to reset their passwords. New improvements in anti-jailbreaking features. [23] |
| 3.70 | Added preliminary support for emulating PlayStation 2 games ("PS2 Classics") on models without official compatibility (Some FATs, Slim and SuperSlim). Involved changing the bootloader and Kernel to support PS2 emulation on these models. |
| 4.00 | Add support for PS Vita compatibility, for connectivity and transfer of saves and data. Add epilepsy warning (see above) during startup. |
| 4.10 | Internet browser now supports HTML5 and changes its rendering engine to WebKit. [24] |
| 4.60 | Adds support for the DualShock 4 controller |
