Sony's 3.41 firmware is reportedly causing some issues with PlayStation 3 hard drives - but the hardware company insists that its update is not to blame.

CVG has been told that PS3 users are encountering issues when attempting to upgrade their hard drive or update to firmware 3.41. They are also experiencing console crashes.

However, Sony's response places the blame on the hard drives themselves. The platform holder suggests users try the update on the original PS3 hard drive.

"We apologize for any inconvenience you are experiencing with upgrading Internal Hard Disc Drive (for PlayStation3) on your PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system," said Sony in a statement.

"The information available to our Consumer Services Department does not suggest that this is a problem PlayStation(R) owners are likely to experience when upgrading the HDD with 3.41update. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) strongly supports the quality of its products and backs them with full confidence.

We ask that you update the previous HDD first to see if the update will go through. Then update from the thumb drive that is formatted in FAT 32 and has the 3.41 update downloaded."

This isn't the first time that the PlayStation 3 has run into problems as a result of firmware updates.