Originally posted by Young57
I've tried holding down power button till it beeps, shuts off, do it again till recovery screen shows. After clicking any option it just keeps on the loading icon
Based off of this, I would say your hdd took a dump and would suggest to try another known working one. Any 2.5" sata hdd will work.
1. Insert a new hdd into the ps3
2. Boot ps3 into recovery
3. Select option "restore ps3 system"
This will format the new hdd to the ps3 and wipe everything (games, saves, etc)
When it is finished, you will be brought to a black screen, asking for your last syscall (last cfw installed)
4. Follow prompt and reinstall your cfw