I Attempted to Format my PS3 and I ended up cancelling it because of how long it said it would take. The system now insists that the system storage be formatted. I do want to format it, but my controllers have stopped working. I push the PS button, the red lights blink and then, nothing. Is there a way around this?

SOURCE: PS3 locks up when I try to load a PS2 game

If you have a 40GB it has absolutely NO backwards compadability with PS2.

SOURCE: red light blinks after beep

I look all over the net but could't find anything, until i found a site that said they
could show me how to fix any problem with my ps3. At first i was not so
sure about ordering the manual but i did, whats $5 plus i used paypal, but
long story short i fix my ps3, i recomend this site www.gameme.20fr.com
i hope this help you like it help me.

SOURCE: After formating PS3

You need to plug your sixaxis controller to the ps3 with the usb cord to marry the control to your system. after unplugging and pressing the home button it should link up. If not try using another usb cord or plug on the ps3.

Hope this helps.

SOURCE: new hard drive on ps3

You're almost there Robert.

What the PS3 is asking for is this:

PS3 Firmware 2.60

You've got to download it and then place it into two folders like this on an external hard drive or thumbdrive or cd if that's all you got.

PS3--UPDATE

If you look at the instructions you'll see what I'm talking about. Make sure the folder names are all capitalised or else it won't work.

Once you have this in place press START and SELECT on the controllers and it will allow you to format the hard drive.

Let me know if you get stuck or have any more questions.

Best of luck!

ou

SOURCE: ps3 stopped suddenly working and

Hi Andrea.
What your experiencing is the the well known "PS3 Red/Green Light of death" which generally means a hardware failure or overheating. If it's overheating (2 Red lights) then it will automatically shut down after a while but from what your saying it's not overheating.

If you have it in warranty you have to send it to Microsoft and they will send it back usually 3-4 weeks or take it to a reputable gaming console repair shop (this will cost money).

But first check that your AV cable is properly plugged in (in this case all four RED lights are bleeping). If you're using an HDMI connection forget about this step.

So if you don't have a warranty then it will cost you about $150.
Another thing you can do is follow a guide and repair all of the errors with the PS3 including your problem. Click here for more information.