PS3's biggest secrets finally revealed!!

PS3 and PS3 slim

Have a PlayStation 3? If that's the case then below are five tips and tricks that you won't find in the user manual.

1) Play games from any country

Yes, you can now literally play any game from anywhere in any place of the world. Unlike the PS1 and PS2 games, PS3 games are not region coded. This means that now USA games can be played on Euro consoles.

2) The secret video reset

Take your PS3 to your room upstairs or a mates place over the weekend and there's a good chance you won't see anything on the screen. This is because your new T.V. may have been set to a different resolution or is using different cables. Now that your screen is blank you can't change it! What to do?

Simple, shut down your PS3 then restart by pressing and holding the power button. This will reset your PS3 to its most basic 480p graphics mode so you'll be able to see enough to choose RGB SCART, component, HDMI or whatever from here.

3) See how much charge is on your pad

There's no indication of how much charge is left on the pad itself. Instead it appears on screen during games. Press and hold the PS button on any joypad. An indicator will appear, showing your pad's charge as a small battery.

4) Upgrade your hard drive

Simply remove the cover flap on the bottom of your PS3. Undo the blue screw and slide the drive over to the right and out of your PS3. Undo the four screws on the 'caddy' and remove the old drive. Put your new drive in the caddy (it should be exactly the same size, of course) and re-do the four screws. Slot it back in and slide to the left to make the connections. Re-do the blue screw, pop the cover back on and restart your PS3. Say 'yes' to the message on screen and voila!

5) Download game saves

There are hundreds and thousand of your favourite game's saves out there on the internet. If you have lost your data than why play your game from the beginning when you can download game saves. Download the save you want - it'll come in a 'PS3' folder that you can lift onto a USB stick and put into your PS3. Go to the Game menu, choose your stick and the game save you downloaded should be right there. Press Triangle to copy it to your hard drive.