yes it is possible....follow this guide for removal and instillation. [guide|3476] after the drive is removed if you have a computer with an extra sata power connector and data cable you can power down your system plug it in and boot your system. you can also use an extra external enclosure if you have one. now this is the tricky part...if the hdd is a 32gb or smaller you can use windows to format it (FAT32)...if it is larger than 32gb us this program http://www.ranish.com/part/ use version 2.43 (i have never used it but it was recomended on a forum).....after you reinstall the hdd it should be a simple follow the instructions on screen...make sure you have a jump drive fromated fat32 as well with the latest ps3 update that you can download here http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3/index.htm
i hope this helps
Good Luck,
Cody