Thing Fling's "The Almost Mystery Box XXXII - Mystery Cables"

I just received my "The Almost Mystery Box XXXII - Mystery Cables" from Thing Fling via UPS and wanted to share what I received. Another nice box from Thing Fling!

Top Row from Left:

4- Monster Car Audio interlink 101XLN 1m

1- Monster Car Audio interlink 101 3m

1- Monster Video 3 1m

1- Monster Bass XLN 100 2.5m

2- Monster DVI400 2m

Middle Row from Left:

1- Leviton Phone Handset Cord 7ft

3- Monster Fire Link Cables (Loose)

1- 50' Cat 5e Flat Patch Cable

1- Monster Car Audio interlink 101XLN 3m

1- Richland Coaxial Cable (Loose)

1- Monster THX S-Video cable 4m

3- Generic Composite AV Cables (Loose)

1- Acoustic Research PR120 S-Video cable 3ft

1- Philips PXT1000 Composite Video Cable 6ft

1- RCA Fire Wire Cable 6ft

1- RCA Component Video & Optical Digital Audio Cables 6ft

Bottom Row From Left:

1- Monster Bass 300 2m

2- Philips Fire Wire Cable 6ft

1- Monster Standard interlink 200 Composite to Mini plug (Loose)

3- Gemini Retractable Cat 5e cables 3.9ft

2- Gemini Retractable USB cables 2.6ft

1- Monster Camlink 400 S-Video/Audio Cable (Loose)

3- Generic USB Cables

Overall not bad for $25 Shipped. I was hoping for a HDMI cable which I have gotten in the past, but you can't complain when you get 37 cables (28 not including loose cables) when you were promised 25. Click here to visit Thing Fling and see the details of the deal.

How to install a new Playstation 3 hard drive and NOT lose your data

Transfer your games, game-saves, video and music from your old Playstation 3 (PS3) HD to a new one.

What you will need:
1) A PC
2) External USB HD with at least as much capacity as the data you want to transfer over.
3) The 2.5" SATA HD you are going to install. (It must be a SATA 2.5" laptop HD)
4) A GOOD Philips head screwdriver.

What to do in a nutshell:
1) Format an external USB HD as Fat32
2) Connect external USB HD to PS3
3) Back up existing PS3 HD to external USB HD
4) Install new 2.5" SATA HD
5) Restore external USB HD data to new PS3 HD

What to do step by step:

Step 1: Format an external USB HD as FAT32!!!
Turn on your PC and connect the external USB drive to your PC. If you have a 20 GB PS3, then you can just format your drive as FAT32 and go to the next step. The PS3 only recognizes the FAT32 format so a NTFS formatted drive WILL NOT WORK.

If you need to save more than 32GB, then you will need to use a program like Western Digital's Data Life Guard Tools to format your HD as FAT32. Click here and download the Data Life Guard Tools. Install the program following directions. Plug in your USB HD and run the program. Click on "Set Up Your Hard Drive". Click on the USB tab, select your device and click next. Check "Select this box if you want to change advanced options". Then check "Custom Partition" and click next. Delete any partitions you may have. Slide the slider to 100% and click on "Properties". Check "FAT32"and hit OK. Click on "Add Partition" and then click next. Click "Erase", next, then "Yes". Click "Done" and close out the program. Your External USB HD is ready to use!

Step 2: Connect external USB HD to PS3
Remove your external USB Hard Drive from your PC and connect it to the PS3’s USB ports. Turn on PS3.

Step 3: Back up existing PS3 HD to external USB HD
On your Xross Media Bar (XMB) Go to Settings>System Settings>Backup Utility>Backup and follow directions (Copying a 60GB took me about 90 minutes).

Step 4: Install new 2.5" SATA HD
Power down your PS3 and turn off the PS3 with the switch in the back. Unplug your PS3.
Stand the PS3 on its Right side. On the top (left side of PS3), you should see a plastic cover with a sticker on it. Remove this cover. (I found the best way to do this without scratching anything is to put your fingernail in the slot on one end and squeeze the cover by pushing towards the other end. This will cause the cover to arch and the middle section of the cover should bulge towards you. While doing this, grab the bulging part of the cover with your other hand and pull up.) After the cover is removed, unscrew the blue screw making sure it doesn’t fall inside the unit. Flip up the wire handle and slide towards the front of the unit. Then slide the hard drive and bracket assembly out. There are four small silver screws that hold the HD in its bracket. A word of caution. The screws holding the HD to the HD bracket are VERY TIGHT. Make sure you have a good Philips head screwdriver and be careful not to strip the head of the screws. Before you remove the HD, compare it to the new one and make sure they are similar and also note its orientation with respect to the bracket. Remove the screws and replace the HD. Replace the 4 screws. Slide the HD back into the PS3 and then slide it towards the rear of the unit. Replace the blue screw and fold down the wire handle. Replace the plastic cover. Plug the PS3 back in and turn it on. The PS3 will now detect an unformatted drive and ask you of you want to format. Hit yes and restart the system when done formatting.

Step 5: Restore external USB HD data to new PS3 HD
Go to Settings>System Settings>Backup Utility>Restore and follow directions (Wait another 90 minutes). Restart.

That's it. You’re done.
If everything went well, all of your games, game saves, music, and videos, should be there. If you were part way through a video, it will even remember where you left off as well! Enjoy your new PS3!