same problem here..
my older 3.41 (60gb fat) has something wrong.. idk what or how, but something's wrong with the drive.. even if i replace it with a drive i'm sure works (tried it before & after swap, worked both times) the drive still doesn't work on the ps3 :p
which causes it to freeze when i try to open any application :p
so i guess i have the same problem you're having, be it due to different causes