Recently my PS3 got 8002F1F9 error

It happened during firmware upgrading.
The PS3 prompted me to upgrade my firmware and so I did via the LAN cable.
The error message appeared halfway thru the upgrade and no matter how many times I restarted the PS3 or restart the upgrade the error message kept coming back like a bad nightmare.

I then went on the internet to find out about this error and found that it refers to a corrupted HDD.
I also learned about PS3's safe mode boot up and how to take out the HDD.
I reformated the HDD to FAT32 using my PC.
I also reformatted a USB stick to FAT32 and downloaded the latest firmware into it.

Booted up the PS3 in safe mode and chose "System update".
Finally my PS3 is alive again!!