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My PS3 died and I’m trying to live to tell the story

xinoart

Banned
Urban Scholar said:
Well I see its done like dinner unfortunately. So is there a way to save my HDD? I don't know if I can even back it up now


Do a reflow. It'll fix the YLOD problem or it should. Even if it's only temporary, it'll allow you to be able to make a backup. Blinking red lights shouldn't be a sign of a HD problem. You can always try to take out the HD. Turn it on. Turn it back off, then plug in the HD again. This has worked for some people for some reason. If it's a pure YLOD problem, there are many sources on how to fix it and it's extremely simple. It sounds alot harder than it actually is. If you would want some links, I can PM some to you.
 
xinoart said:
Do a reflow. It'll fix the YLOD problem or it should. Even if it's only temporary, it'll allow you to be able to make a backup. Blinking red lights shouldn't be a sign of a HD problem. You can always try to take out the HD. Turn it on. Turn it back off, then plug in the HD again. This has worked for some people for some reason. If it's a pure YLOD problem, there are many sources on how to fix it and it's extremely simple. It sounds alot harder than it actually is. If you would want some links, I can PM some to you.

I'm going to try what you mentioned. I should mention I have a launch 60 GB here. I would like links to help. I really don't want to spend $100 + to fix this unless I have to. As of now I just got ordered an external enclosure for my 250 GB HDD so I won't lost all this valuable data.
 
So i paid them £150/$250 *facepalm*

What a disaster, i feel so cold and lifeless, like Sony have just raped me and stuck me in the corner of the room, curled up into the fetal position.

The guy on the phone made the worst analogy ever, he compared the charge to taking an expensive car into a garage and getting it fixed. He mentioned the car costing £60,000.

I said to him, that you wouldn't pay more than half the cost of the car to get it repaired at a garage, and that Sony were robbing me blind here. I told him i felt undervalued as a customer, that i paid £430 at launch for this console, and that it lasting 2 years was a disgrace. Then he said he could give me a 3 month warranty on the new console, i told him that was a disgrace. He told me to look on the website for further warranty information, i then asked if that would cost more money, he said yes, i told him it was a disgrace again.

Eventually i regretfully gave in, he wouldn't budge on the price, and i just wanted my 60gb with bc back. So i coughed up £150, i'll be getting a replacement refurbished console in 7 days. He then said the Prince of Persia game that was stuck would be returned to me in 6 WEEKS. WHAT THE HELL.

Such awful, awful service Sony.
 

satriales

Member
satriales said:
My 20GB JPN PS3 died a few days ago while playing Fallout 3. I admit it was mostly my fault as I had just moved flat and I had the PS3 standing vertically in a new unit under the TV but I didn't realise the main vents are at the top of the PS3 and so while it looked like there plenty of room for airflow it actually was being blocked and after a week it overheated.

Sony UK won't repair it as it's an imported PS3 so I'll have to try that reflow thing when I get hold of a heat gun.
Update: I followed a reflow guide on Youtube and I'm very happy to say that it worked a treat :D
It just cost me £30 altogether for a heat gun, thermal paste and some screwdrivers. When Sony told me they wouldn't fix it I thought there was nothing I could do and almost spent £300 on a new PS3 the next day but luckily I stumbled upon that Youtube guide first.
 

clav

Member
For those of you fixing it yourselves:

Why are you guys using Arctic Silver 5? Silver-based compounds usually degrade within an year, and the paste turns into crap.

Spend your money on newer paste like the Arctic Cooling MX-2 paste or the OCZ freeze that don't use silver-based components. You won't need to replace the paste ever, and it'll work consistently.

People recommending AS5 are just using old information and really haven't looked at other pastes.
 

Lightning

Banned
What causes YLOD? I've had it twice. My system is working great right now but is there anything I can do to minimize the odds of it happening again?
 

SmokyDave

Member
My 18 month old 40gb got the YLOD a couple of weeks back. I was going to repair it but then as luck would have it I found a 60gb a few days later!

I'm now extremely paranoid that my 60gb is going to die. This gen sucks for reliability. There's only the PSP that I haven't had to replace at least once.
 

mjolnirsbane

Neo Member
This is the reason Xbox 360 owners are so rabbid. We go through this all the time. Take a second, breath and follow the advice above... it was all Sony equipment damnit!
 

satriales

Member
Lightning said:
What causes YLOD? I've had it twice. My system is working great right now but is there anything I can do to minimize the odds of it happening again?
Mine was definitely caused by overheating. I had the PS3 stood vertically and didn't realise that I was blocking the vents on the top. A week later I got the YLOD.
 

FiRez

Member
>_< YLOD -> intermitent red lights

.....after playing a brief session of COD4, now I can't even eject the disc, will try the reflow tutorial this weekend and report how it goes since I don't live in USA or any other supported territory and don't have any kind warranty.

FUCK now I remember I bought TDK in bluray 3 days ago from amazon :(
 

pCeSlAyEr

Member
My 20gb PS3 got stuck in an update loop and then overheated and froze...

Now it powers on to a blank screen...

So I thought no biggie, restore menu here I come! I enter the restore menu and it freezes with green pixels all over the screen after a minute or two.


and thats all it does now... but no yellow light or red blinking light.

:(
 
pCeSlAyEr said:
My 20gb PS3 got stuck in an update loop and then overheated and froze...

Now it powers on to a blank screen...

So I thought no biggie, restore menu here I come! I enter the restore menu and it freezes with green pixels all over the screen after a minute or two.


and thats all it does now... but no yellow light or red blinking light.

:(

Sounds like you have the same problem I had with my 60GB, I think the GPU is getting hot and popping off the motherboard. Can you still heard sound effects in the background even after it freezes up? I suggesting leaving it unplugged for a few days then try doing the update again, but leave it on even if it freezes, it should finish if's it's jsut a GPU problem... but yeah, you will have to do more to have it back in fully working condition, I just sold mine on ebay (since it was imported) and bought a 40GB.
 

pCeSlAyEr

Member
SlaughterX said:
Sounds like you have the same problem I had with my 60GB, I think the GPU is getting hot and popping off the motherboard. Can you still heard sound effects in the background even after it freezes up? I suggesting leaving it unplugged for a few days then try doing the update again, but leave it on even if it freezes, it should finish if's it's jsut a GPU problem... but yeah, you will have to do more to have it back in fully working condition, I just sold mine on ebay (since it was imported) and bought a 40GB.
I don't get to the dash... The only screen I can get to is the recovery screen by holding the power button because its stuck in an update loop

also I think the HDD is going bad too :(

*EDIT*
If it is the GPU lifting off the mainboard much like with the 360... does anyone here think a copper or aluminum shim placed between the heatsink and GPU would help?
 
I'm on my second PS3 and I've been encountering some minor, but strange, problems. One of them happens occasionally when I try to turn off my PS3. It stalls, makes three beeps, and restarts the PS3 instead of turning it off. It happened with my 60 gig as well, and since that died I'm wondering if it's something I should be concerned with. It has also happened when I tried to update a couple of games. Another problem just randomly happened a couple of minutes ago. I was playing CoD4 and randomly during the match everything went to black, and it kicked me straight into the XMB. I've never seen anything like it, no error message, I didn't get disconnected with the host, it just turned off the game.

I'm under Best Buy warranty, so should I try to exchange it just in case? It's only a couple of months old, and running into these strange occurrences so early in its life comes across as a warning sign. They could mean nothing though.
 

Spooks

Member
Ok guys you gotta help a brother out. Recently my PS3 has decided it doesn't want to play Bluray movies. It happened the other day when I was watching a movie it just up and froze. The weird thing is DVDs play fine and PS3 games are working fine too. Just Bluray movies.

So I just tried to put in my LOST season 3 Bluray and it gave me an error

"This video cannot be played."
(80029941)


So anybody have any ideas whats going on with my PS3? Do I need to send it in to get fix. Is there something I can do? Pleaasee heeeelppp.
 

Fersis

It is illegal to Tag Fish in Tag Fishing Sanctuaries by law 38.36 of the GAF Wildlife Act
Ok, my PS3 died again.
This time is the red blinking light of dead.... Slim here i come.
 
Smelly Tramp said:
So i paid them £150/$250 *facepalm*


The guy on the phone made the worst analogy ever, he compared the charge to taking an expensive car into a garage and getting it fixed. He mentioned the car costing £60,000.
.



:lol :lol :lol




but that really sucks
 

xinoart

Banned
Spooks said:
Ok guys you gotta help a brother out. Recently my PS3 has decided it doesn't want to play Bluray movies. It happened the other day when I was watching a movie it just up and froze. The weird thing is DVDs play fine and PS3 games are working fine too. Just Bluray movies.

So I just tried to put in my LOST season 3 Bluray and it gave me an error

"This video cannot be played."
(80029941)


So anybody have any ideas whats going on with my PS3? Do I need to send it in to get fix. Is there something I can do? Pleaasee heeeelppp.


Sounds like a simple blu-ray laser replacement is needed.


Sorry to hear the Fersis :-(

At least you can save a few bucks now and get a s cooler running model!
 

Ovid

Member
A few questions:

1. I remember people use to fold for hours, days, and even weeks on end with the launch systems. Has Folding@Home ever been ruled out as a culprit for the YLOD?

2. Does keeping the PS3 vertical help in avoiding the unit to overheat?

3. Does the YLOD only occur when playing disc based movies or games?
 
tarius1210 said:
A few questions:

1. I remember people use to fold for hours, days, and even weeks on end with the launch systems. Has Folding@Home ever been ruled out as a culprit for the YLOD?

2. Does keeping the PS3 vertical help in avoiding the unit to overheat?

3. Does the YLOD only occur when playing disc based movies or games?

NO, no, & no.

The YLOD is caused by solder points expanding/contracting, becoming brittle, and separating after numerous cold/heat cycles. Turn your PS3 on, leave it on 24/7/365, and you'll never experience the YLOD.
 

Ovid

Member
Thanks for the reply.

One more question:
Since this a production defect, will this happen with every single SKU produced?
 

sTaTIx

Member
Well, add me to the list as another victim who is seemingly following the pattern of "PS3's dying after ~1-2 years, just in time to miss the warranty period." This is a trend that seems to be springing up in visibility if you'd visit Playstation 3 forums around the net.

I've had two (2) PS3's die on me so far. So for me personally, it's a 100% failure rate when it comes to the PS3, because I've only owned two PS3s. And I really doubt that I'm that unlucky of a person to have lightning strike twice on me. This indicates to me that there is a systemic problem going on with PS3s becoming defective after a year or two of ownership, which also unfortunately happens to be outside of the warranty period.

My first PS3 was brand-new 40gb back in late 2007 and died after a couple weeks due to a Blu-ray drive failure. Sony sent me a refurbished replacement 40gb, which now has died also (due to YLOD), about 1.5 years later.
 

Zozobra

Member
Will Sony repair a PS3 no longer under warranty if I've removed the sticker on the underside that voids the warranty?

I took it apart yesterday to see if my lens just needed a dusting, but the problem still persists. I think it'd probably be better if I paid the extra $50 or so dollars to send it in to them as opposed to ordering a replacement laser off of Ebay which may not even solve my problem.
 
Fixed my 40 gig red blinking light, wasn't going to give $150 to Sony, really wasn't that hard, hopefully it stays fixed, will be buying a slim anyways.
 

anddo0

Member
Chose to get my launch 60gig fixed instead of getting a slim. I own an 80gig as well, so fixing the 60gig made more sense. I should have it back on Thursday.
 

vocab

Member
Zozobra said:
Will Sony repair a PS3 no longer under warranty if I've removed the sticker on the underside that voids the warranty?

You can't void something you don't have. Ya they will fix it.
 

Moobabe

Member
Uh oh. I was playing this morning then patched Valkyria Chronicles. Loaded it up. Started a chapter and it switched off. I tried again, but this time I looked at the lights... Red. Yellow. Flashing red.

Edit

After a phone call to sony it seems my only option is to send it to them. I asked if they could save what was on the HD but he said they don't repair it but they send a replacement console for £128.

I have a couple of questions though: Is it possible for me to keep my save games via usb disk if the ps3 stays on long enough to copy some of them over? And is it worth paying the £128 for a 60gb unit or to pay the extra £100+ for a slim?
 

Zozobra

Member
vocab said:
You can't void something you don't have. Ya they will fix it.

I guess I should have elaborated a bit more. My concern is that if that sticker is removed, Sony may be under the impression that the console has been tampered with and refuse to repair it and/or offer any sort of guarantee on the repair.

I'm also wondering if I send in an 80gig with BC and they end up sending me a refurb, is there a chance that they'll send me one without BC or do they always replace it with the exact same model?
 

xinoart

Banned
Moobabe said:
Uh oh. I was playing this morning then patched Valkyria Chronicles. Loaded it up. Started a chapter and it switched off. I tried again, but this time I looked at the lights... Red. Yellow. Flashing red.

Edit

After a phone call to sony it seems my only option is to send it to them. I asked if they could save what was on the HD but he said they don't repair it but they send a replacement console for £128.

I have a couple of questions though: Is it possible for me to keep my save games via usb disk if the ps3 stays on long enough to copy some of them over? And is it worth paying the £128 for a 60gb unit or to pay the extra £100+ for a slim?

Sounds like the YLOD. I doubt it'll come back on long enough to copy all of your gamesaves. You should have no problem copying most of the saves though. However some may be locked such as GH WT or Rockband. Keeping the current machine is completely up to you though. You should be able to find someone to buy the broken machine on ebay or even in your area. Most PS3s are simple enough to fix and you could make back some of the money you want to spend on the new slim. That's up to you of course.

Zozobra said:
I guess I should have elaborated a bit more. My concern is that if that sticker is removed, Sony may be under the impression that the console has been tampered with and refuse to repair it and/or offer any sort of guarantee on the repair.

I'm also wondering if I send in an 80gig with BC and they end up sending me a refurb, is there a chance that they'll send me one without BC or do they always replace it with the exact same model?


They always send back the same model. The problem with that is that you're getting back a system that "probably" has had problems before. Do not be surprised if it breaks again outside of the 90-day warranty (or the original warranty, whichever is longer). I've had a refurb 60 gig sent to me from Sony. 1 month after the 90 day warranty expired, the blu-ray laser broke. I replaced it myself. Then in the past month I had YLOD from the same machine. I have since fixed that myself as well. If BC is so important to you, don't worry about getting a system back without it.
 

lunlunqq

Member
Received my replacement system 2 days ago. finally redownloaded most important things and had a few GAF KZ2 games last time. It was awesome. However, the system was load as fuck. I never remembered my old was nearly as load as this one. It also had strange audio problems. I cannot not hear the voices in the game at all. All the gunshots sounded muffled. The music seemed to play just fine. Dose anybody have similar problems? I hope this new one is not already on its way out... :(
 

Moobabe

Member
xinoart said:
Sounds like the YLOD. I doubt it'll come back on long enough to copy all of your gamesaves. You should have no problem copying most of the saves though. However some may be locked such as GH WT or Rockband. Keeping the current machine is completely up to you though. You should be able to find someone to buy the broken machine on ebay or even in your area. Most PS3s are simple enough to fix and you could make back some of the money you want to spend on the new slim. That's up to you of course.

I'll call up Sony again about my current ps3 and what to do with it. I think, fingers crossed, we might able to claim it on the house and contents insurance. If so it might ease the pain of paying for a new system. At least the slim comes with a DS3 which cost about £35 on their own.
 
jetjevons said:
My second PS3 died, a victim of constant Folding. Only $100 to fix though.

As big of a proponent for Folding (relatively) as I used to be earlier in the decade, I wouldn't dream of running my PS3 CPU at 100% 24/7. In a big freestanding PC case with a ton of ventilation, sure, but in a PS3 case in an entertainment center? No way in hell. You're a better man than I.

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a PS3.

I used to have all my work PCs folding back in the day. I think I had one folding for a few years after I left the job. :lol
 

FiRez

Member
The heat gun method worked for me (reflowed the RSX, CELL and the memory banks for 20 sec at 400 C at both sides, waited 15 minutes on each side) Now it works like a charm, sadly my desperate brother thought I couldn't pull this off so he took apart the bluray drive and extracted the COD4 disc that got stuck when the PS3 got the YLOD, now I have a (so far) functional 1st gen PS3 without an optical drive because he made a mess of the internal mechanism and I just can't figure out how to ensamble it again.

In other circumstances I would go to ebay and buy a new drive but with the temporary nature of this fix I think isn't going to be worth the hassle, so I will just wait for the slim :/
 

navanman

Crown Prince of Custom Firmware
After a month without a PS3, I got a replacement yesterday.
My original 60GB PAL unit is beyond repair, the usual reflow of CPU, GPU didn't work so I got a 2nd hand PAL 60GB unit.
Pain in the balls though as I have GBs of downloads to setup on the replacement PS3 now.

I tried the ghetto reflow technique also as a last resort.
Pre-heat oven to 200C and place on baking tray lined with thin foil propped up in each corner for no longer than 8 mins.
Remove from oven and leave to cool for 30 mins and then re-assemble.
 

alterno69

Banned
Damn my 60gb died yesterday, i was watching a movie and by the end it shut down with a blinking red light, tried to turn it on today with the same results, it beeps a couple of times and then the freaking blinking red light :(

The fukcing movie is from Blockbuster and now i can't even get it out of the fucking system so i'm going to have to pay for it, it was a fucking shitty movie too :lol

Fuck my luck, had this since launch.
 

TONX

Distinguished Air Superiority
navanman said:
After a month without a PS3, I got a replacement yesterday.
My original 60GB PAL unit is beyond repair, the usual reflow of CPU, GPU didn't work so I got a 2nd hand PAL 60GB unit.
Pain in the balls though as I have GBs of downloads to setup on the replacement PS3 now.

I tried the ghetto reflow technique also as a last resort.
Pre-heat oven to 200C and place on baking tray lined with thin foil propped up in each corner for no longer than 8 mins.
Remove from oven and leave to cool for 30 mins and then re-assemble.

...You put your PS3 in an oven in an attempt to fix it? :lol
 

LevityNYC

Banned
My lauch 60 GB beeped during gameplay, when sitting at the xmb, and during loading, pretty much since I got it.


It was a lot like this, not quite as loud, nor did it happen when i turned the system on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE7yVUuZf3Y

I finally decided to get it fixed and paid the 150.00.

I did some inspecting and it looks like they replaced my harddrive.
 

xinoart

Banned
FiRez said:
The heat gun method worked for me (reflowed the RSX, CELL and the memory banks for 20 sec at 400 C at both sides, waited 15 minutes on each side) Now it works like a charm, sadly my desperate brother thought I couldn't pull this off so he took apart the bluray drive and extracted the COD4 disc that got stuck when the PS3 got the YLOD, now I have a (so far) functional 1st gen PS3 without an optical drive because he made a mess of the internal mechanism and I just can't figure out how to ensamble it again.

In other circumstances I would go to ebay and buy a new drive but with the temporary nature of this fix I think isn't going to be worth the hassle, so I will just wait for the slim :/


Easy solution: Google for PS3 blu-ray laser replacement. That's how I replaced my laser. It gives the steps on how to take the drive apart and put it back together. It's a really simple fix since you know you can already do a reflow. Hopefully he didn't bugger anything up with the drive. Good luck. ;)
 
My PS3 just died while I was playing SF4. Thankfully I was in the training mode and not online, so I can't be accused of rage quitting. Anyways without looking through this big ass gigantic thread, what are my best options?

A) Repair it myself. This is something I'd rather not do if it's complicated.

B) Send it to Sony: I will admit I'm not going to like spending more money when I already spent $599 on this thing(my 2 year warranty is also over).

C) Buy a Slim: As crazy as this sounds, this might be what I lean most towards. Ok, maybe not now that I just thought about it as I'm typing right now. But I am seriously thinking about this option as well.
 

chrisdat

Member
My 20gb launch ps3 is being hella random on me. when i turned it on today it shut off by itself after 30-45 mins and i got a single beep along with a flashing red light. I tap the power panel and it goes to standby. I wait a few mins and i tap it again and it boots up fine...but it shuts down on its own again after about 5 mins. I wait about 5 more mins and turn it on...shuts down by itself after 3 mins.

At this point i'm diggin up this thread trying to read if anyone has the same problem. from what i gather, when you guys get the blinking red light, the ps3 isnt booting up at all right?

mine still boots up even after the blinking red lights.

anyway...i go and have dinner and turn it on and it doesn't shut down on its own at all. so i quickly go in and delete all my personal stuff like pics, vids, and deactivating/deleting shared accounts. i had it on for about 20 mins and i just turned it off. dont wanna risk gettin a game stuck in it.

could it be the HDD? i googled this and some ppl on other forums say that removing and putting back in the HDD would fix it.

i think i should just go and get me a slim. this thing is just gonna bother me knowing that it might crap out any second. sucks that sf4 save data is protected....not being able to see 100% progress when i check the player data is gonna suck =/ unlocking characters/colors again isnt gonna be fun either =(
 
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