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[cluto]

People will buy broken PS3s (especially if its an old 60 or 20 with PS2 BC) on craigslist or Ebay for $150 or more. They then have it fixed and keep it. You could do that and be halfway there towards a new Slim....

This is a decent idea. I have a 40GB though, and the Slim doesn't have backwards compatibility, so there's not much incentive for me to pick one up other than it looks way sexier. I'll probably end up paying the $150 to get my old one fixed, but am I still going to be at risk of the laser dying in the refurbished console? Are there any reports of Slims being faulty, or are they as solid as the Xbox 360 Jasper?

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

This is a decent idea. I have a 40GB though, and the Slim doesn't have backwards compatibility, so there's not much incentive for me to pick one up other than it looks way sexier. I'll probably end up paying the $150 to get my old one fixed, but am I still going to be at risk of the laser dying in the refurbished console? Are there any reports of Slims being faulty, or are they as solid as the Xbox 360 Jasper?

Nothing widesread that i know of.....there are reports though of some people's Slims having pretty noisy fans....not that the fans are overly blowing hard, but they have a "whiny" type noise that is irritating if youre one of the lucky ones. Disappointing to read such reports when Sony touts it as much quieter than the older models.. Anyhow, other than that, i would say the Slim is a solid machine to grab.

 

[cluto]

I forgot to ask. Sony wants a proof of purchase for getting my console serviced. Does anyone know if having the proof of purchase really matters?

 

[Oni Jazar]

I forgot to ask. Sony wants a proof of purchase for getting my console serviced. Does anyone know if having the proof of purchase really matters?

It matters if you're claiming that it's still in warranty. It doesn't if you paid the $150.

 

[cluto]

Thanks for the help, dudes. I sucked it up and paid for the repair. Fuck.

 

[GullyJuice]

I really hope something comes of this class action lawsuit. $150 is ridiculous.

 

[commedieu]

YLOD 60gb about.. 2 weeks ago? Bought a slim. Trying to figure out what to do with 60gb besides toss it at SonyHQ.

 

[Scythesurge]

It's scary that so many similar units are YLOD'ing at the same time. I would be so sad if it happened to mine, but my system isn't that old yet.

 

[xinoart]

YLOD 60gb about.. 2 weeks ago? Bought a slim. Trying to figure out what to do with 60gb besides toss it at SonyHQ.

Reflow. You have nothing to lose. If you don't want to keep it, you can easily find a buyer.

 

[Oni Jazar]

Sony sent me a PS3 the same day they got mine... This must mean I'm getting a refurb. This means I lose an activation token for all my DLC and I lose all my protected saves (including Demon's Souls). Damn I should've reflowed.

 

[TTP]

Sony sent me a PS3 the same day they got mine... This must mean I'm getting a refurb. This means I lose an activation token for all my DLC and I lose all my protected saves (including Demon's Souls). Damn I should've reflowed.

I wouldn't be pissed too much if my PS3 dies and I could just keep my HDD with me to be used on the refurb/new one. Not being able to do that is what really pisses me off to no end.

Fix this shit Guerrilla!

 

[xinoart]

I wouldn't be pissed too much if my PS3 dies and I could just keep my HDD with me to be used on the refurb/new one. Not being able to do that is what really pisses me off to no end.

Fix this shit Guerrilla!

QFT!!! I really wish they would fix that already.

 

[ravien56]

I have a launch unit, run it all the time and it works just fine.

 

[brentech]

So, I've not had the time to play my PS3 after a transition move while we waited for our home purchase close to finish. It's been unplugged from power source for about a 2 months or so, give or take.

Decided to plug it back in today and play a bit - and it booted up and loaded the game fine, then after about 30 seconds the machine powered off and didn't even display the red LED anymore.

I flicked the power switch on the back off, and back on. The red LED lit up, I touched the power area and the LED turned green for less than a second and then lost the LED light again. Tried a different power cable, same issue.

Called Sony and they said there was no further troubleshooting that could be done, would just have to send in for repair at $149. I have an original CECHA01 (60GB).

So, I'm kind of wondering -- as someone that hasn't used the BC feature to any extent, should I just purchase a new slim and call it a day? Is there any way to get all my game saves back? (reading around, it looks like there may be a way to do so, but not all games allow?) Just really disappointed about all this, totally bummed.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

So, I've not had the time to play my PS3 after a transition move while we waited for our home purchase close to finish. It's been unplugged from power source for about a 2 months or so, give or take.

Decided to plug it back in today and play a bit - and it booted up and loaded the game fine, then after about 30 seconds the machine powered off and didn't even display the red LED anymore.

I flicked the power switch on the back off, and back on. The red LED lit up, I touched the power area and the LED turned green for less than a second and then lost the LED light again. Tried a different power cable, same issue.

Called Sony and they said there was no further troubleshooting that could be done, would just have to send in for repair at $149. I have an original CECHA01 (60GB).

So, I'm kind of wondering -- as someone that hasn't used the BC feature to any extent, should I just purchase a new slim and call it a day? Is there any way to get all my game saves back? (reading around, it looks like there may be a way to do so, but not all games allow?) Just really disappointed about all this, totally bummed.

Sounds like your power supply bit the bullet.

My launch day 60GB YLOD on me out of the blue one day....i agree, its very upsetting when this happens when you treat your equipment like gold.

If you have not been backing up your saves then your pretty much screwed. Even if you took out your HD and put it in another working PS3, the other system immediately sees that its not the HD for that system, and immediately prompts you to format it.

Now, if your tech-savy enough, since your out of warranty anyways, you could buy a replacement power supply and try to replace it yourself. If it works, people are buying working 60 GB PS3s with PS2 BC for over $200 on Ebay and Craigslist. All you would need is a $100 or so and you could then get a Slim.

 

[Crisco]

It's funny how different games will trigger different fan levels on the PS3. I can play Demon's Souls for hours on end and my 60GB stays near silent. I play the Uncharted 2 demo for 5 minutes and it sounds like a jet fighter taking off.

 

[Square Triangle]

I posted this in the Slim thread but no answers to be found:

I'm having an issue with my Slim, when I turn it on and don't immediately start to use it (as if I walk away after turning it on) at times it will be on but show no video.I know it's not the TV since the 360 and DVR are connected to other HDMI ports and it works fine, also my old 80GB worked fine as well.

I might just exchange it at Best Buy for another, curious if I'm alone on this though.

 

[Arsenic]

I posted this in the Slim thread but no answers to be found:

I'm having an issue with my Slim, when I turn it on and don't immediately start to use it (as if I walk away after turning it on) at times it will be on but show no video.I know it's not the TV since the 360 and DVR are connected to other HDMI ports and it works fine, also my old 80GB worked fine as well.

I might just exchange it at Best Buy for another, curious if I'm alone on this though.

I dont have a Slim, but i used to have this exact same issue with my friends' 20GB. Eventually it crapped out completely. I'd say trade it in for a new one, or go through Sony's longer process of a warranty repair

 

[LiquidMetal14]

What's the turnaround on the return? Mine's scheduled to arrive on the 12th to the facilities.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

What's the turnaround on the return? Mine's scheduled to arrive on the 12th to the facilities.

I think its usually 3-5 days from the day they get it. If you're getting a refurb, all they do is check yours in and immediately ship you the refurb.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I think its usually 3-5 days from the day they get it. If you're getting a refurb, all they do is check yours in and immediately ship you the refurb.

So that means they know already or they have a special machine that tells them what's the issue?

Because if it goes out soon after they must have a really fast way of figuring it out.

 

[belvedere]

Asurion got my PS3 yesterday afternoon. Anyone have much experience with them? From what I know, they aren't electronic experts and I should expect my PS3 shipped back with some sort of pre-paid option to ship to Sony for them to repair/replace.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

So that means they know already or they have a special machine that tells them what's the issue?

Because if it goes out soon after they must have a really fast way of figuring it out.

Sadly, it most likely means that to them, a return is a return in most circumstances. They dont even care whats wrong with it, and just take your broken one add it to the pile of broken ones, and just immediately send you a refurb. Your broken one is then ripped down and becomes someone else's refurb after they "fix" it. This is what i detest about Sonys refurb process. There are cases too of people who send in their YLOD PS3, get their refurb back, and then that one YLOD's too within a few months.

This is all speculation on my part, but its speculation based on a ton of different experiences ive read from other people.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Sadly, it most likely means that to them, a return is a return in most circumstances. They dont even care whats wrong with it, and just take your broken one add it to the pile of broken ones, and just immediately send you a refurb. Your broken one is then ripped down and becomes someone else's refurb after they "fix" it. This is what i detest about Sonys refurb process. There are cases too of people who send in their YLOD PS3, get their refurb back, and then that one YLOD's too within a few months.

This is all speculation on my part, but its speculation based on a ton of different experiences ive read from other people.

I hope mine lasts until next Feb. I think I'm gonna skip BC and get a Slim at that point. I will just get a Slim PS2 (again) to play my PS3 games.

Curious, do they just do what you could do at home? The reflow, heat method?

Thanks for the responses

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

I hope mine lasts until next Feb. I think I'm gonna skip BC and get a Slim at that point. I will just get a Slim PS2 (again) to play my PS3 games.

Curious, do they just do what you could do at home? The reflow, heat method?

Thanks for the responses

Supposedly they have a "state of the art" facility that is a much more precise way of reflowing the motherboards...ie not the same as the Youtube methods.

I personally think that the reflow method will always only be a bandaid fix since your reusing the same faulty solder in the first place. Unless the boards are completely stripped of the old solder and new, stronger, non-eco friendly garbage is used, the same eventual problem will occur again (most definitely outside of the paltry 90 day warranty you get on the refurbs)....but thats another soapbox for another day. :lol

 

[brentech]

I'm debating just using the current Amazon deal to trade in like 13 of 19 PS3 games, my 2 standard sixaxis controllers - supposed to equal out to $162 back, plus the deal now gives 30 extra towards a console...and just buy a new ps3.

I hate to lose all my games, but really, it's not like I've played Heavenly Sword since I beat it, or Dead Space, or any of the other titles.

Maybe I'm just super bummed and need to give it a day, I just can't believe the thing just randomly shat out after not being used for a few months.

Not really all about the money in the end, but was wanting to pick up a 360 as well soon, just makes it harder to justify.

 

[xinoart]

Supposedly they have a "state of the art" facility that is a much more precise way of reflowing the motherboards...ie not the same as the Youtube methods.

I personally think that the reflow method will always only be a bandaid fix since your reusing the same faulty solder in the first place. Unless the boards are completely stripped of the old solder and new, stronger, non-eco friendly garbage is used, the same eventual problem will occur again (most definitely outside of the paltry 90 day warranty you get on the refurbs)....but thats another soapbox for another day. :lol

Actually that's not true. Most of the time it has nothing to do with the solder. It's the faulty way they apply thermal paste/compound. Search for my pictures in this thread for evidence. I'm not the only one with this kind of problem either.

 

[brentech]

Well, I decided to just ditch most my games to the Amazon trade-in, along with my basic sixaxis controllers. Might as well go new I guess. Everything is in peak shape, but who knows what they consider "working, good condition" when it comes to controllers.
I've had the system since May of 2007, but other than typical skin oils, they are in good shape. So, if I get the expected money back, should only cost me $100 to get a new slimmy.

Probably buy a 360 while I'm at it as I'd been buying some 360 games for friends system while we stayed with them.

Totally miffed though, back when I bought my system, I was toiling with which system to buy and chose the PS3 since the hardware problem rates were so different. Go figure.

 

[Square Triangle]

I dont have a Slim, but i used to have this exact same issue with my friends' 20GB. Eventually it crapped out completely. I'd say trade it in for a new one, or go through Sony's longer process of a warranty repair

Thanks I'll have to take care of this tomorrow, I seriously have to reach from the back and unplug the power cable to reset it. Other than that the system runs perfect and quiet as a mouse. =/

 

[PixelJunkie]

I was dead asleep the other night and at 2:49 AM a blue flash of light with a loud crackle outside the bedroom window woke me up. Power went off immediately. Lightning struck something hard, but I was too tried at that point.

Come to find out the lightning took out about $1500 worth of electronics in the house. Modems, routers, UPS, etc. My PS3 was plugged into one of the UPS that went out, and it was hard switched off, didn't matter though. It still killed my 60gb BC PS3.

All I can get out of it now is a YLOD. It starts up for a brief second like it wants to power up, but it doesn't matter.

I think I am about ready to cry with all the damage the lightning did.

 

[noah111]

Anyone know how much GameStop gives for an original 60GB PS3? I'm hoping $150 since that's what I heard a while back..

I'm thinking of just fixing my YOLD launch unit (all I need is a heat gun and thermal paste), and then taking it in for store credit.. that way it'll only cost be $150-200 to get a slim.

All I need to know is if they'll take it and how much for. :\

 

[Ravidrath]

Ruh-roh...

I've got an 80 gig MGS4 bundle (w/ PS2 BC), and it's locked up twice today which is worrying me that it may die soon.

This 80 gig unit was a replacement via the Best Buy replacement program when my 60 gig machine died from a melted GPU. I did re-up the Best Buy Extended Warranty plan when I got this, but I'm not ready to get rid of BC.

Anyone had symptoms similar to this?

 

[TelemachusD]

Shit. My roommate was playing Fallout 3 earlier and my 60 gig went YLOD. I'm considering attempting the self repair since I've got no backup, and I'd hate to lose all my saves. So much for playing Uncharted 2 tomorrow.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Did you guys see this?

Hopefully this is the crack in the dam that will open the floodgates of them finally owning up to a problem with the old units....

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Console/U9U9E6V4?page=1

 

[noah111]

Shit. My roommate was playing Fallout 3 earlier and my 60 gig went YLOD. I'm considering attempting the self repair since I've got no backup, and I'd hate to lose all my saves. So much for playing Uncharted 2 tomorrow.

That sucks, I plan on doing the self repair today (wish me luck), but wont all your saves be preserved by doing a back up (except the few games that don't allow copying)?

 

[Oni Jazar]

Has anyone been able to get their PS3 activation "token" (for lack of a better term) back from Sony?

When my 60Gb PS3 died I was not able to deactivate the system. Unfortunately when I sent the system to Sony they gave me a refurb back. Now I've effectively lost an activation for PSN. Was anyone able to call sony to get it back? It sucks to have to lose that since it's their system that failed (and I had to pay for the repair).

 

[Trevelyon]

Did you guys see this?

Hopefully this is the crack in the dam that will open the floodgates of them finally owning up to a problem with the old units....

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Console/U9U9E6V4?page=1

Somehow I doubt it, it's a very small conceit, if you wanna even call it that and the e-mail is just them reiterating their shitty policy to people who are well aware of it (and sick of it)

We also have implemented a process for facilitation of repairs, irrespective of the warranty status".

Otherwise known as 'highway robbery'.

btw: YLoD on Uncharted eve, oh happy day!

 

[noah111]

Has anyone been able to get their PS3 activation "token" (for lack of a better term) back from Sony?

When my 60Gb PS3 died I was not able to deactivate the system. Unfortunately when I sent the system to Sony they gave me a refurb back. Now I've effectively lost an activation for PSN. Was anyone able to call sony to get it back? It sucks to have to lose that since it's their system that failed (and I had to pay for the repair).

That sucks, this is one of the reasons i'm doing the self repair. My PSN has been maxed out so if i'm not able to deactivate my system.. there goes my PSN (which is unacceptable at this point).

BTW how am I supposed to deactivate my system from accounts that I can no longer sign into for example? :s

 

[belvedere]

Ok, just got my PS3 back from Asurion (Walmart repair center). They fucking fixed it!

WTF?! Thought these cell phone repair people didn't know anything about consoles. I really expected to have to wait for weeks only for them to send me my PS3 back with a voucher to send it to Sony.

I shipped it last Wed, got it today. The repair center is in Tennessee, from STL most UPS deliveries only take a day. Can't believe it!

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

That's cool.

I sent my PS3 to PSR in PA. I figured that the flat rate, 109 < 150 and i get to keep my saves, DL's, and my 320gb hard drive (hell no i ain't giving that to Sony)... My laser crapped itself and it wouldn't accept discs on top of it, after a mean throttling which i felt terrible about later... I'm so abusive.. I hurt my sweetie, i'm a bad bad man... but she started it...

anyways, i'll post up what happens with these guys just in case anyone's interested. So far it's been a week. They have real time update info online (fwiw, b/c it doesn't update a whole hell of a lot)... I called today and apparently they started it on the 8th, and today it was in 24hr testing phase... SO, girl told me if it passed a 24hr blu ray run, it'd be on its way tomorrow...

The website says 24-48hr turnaround, please don't believe that... bummed me out, but, cmon, there's no way, they should take that shit down...

 

[TelemachusD]

...wont all your saves be preserved by doing a back up (except the few games that don't allow copying)?

Yes, but I can't back up my data with the system dead.

 

[Ovid]

Everytime I see this thread get bumped I get paranoid.

Shit. My roommate was playing Fallout 3 earlier and my 60 gig went YLOD. I'm considering attempting the self repair since I've got no backup, and I'd hate to lose all my saves. So much for playing Uncharted 2 tomorrow.

Why didn't u backup the saves using the memory slots?

 

[TelemachusD]

Why didn't u backup the saves using the memory slots?

I've got an external HDD lying around I could have used to backup the system, the only problem is I didn't, because I wasn't expecting a sudden total failure, and now I can't because the PS3 has to be working in order to use the backup utility.

 

[GotchaForce]

Yes, but I can't back up my data with the system dead.

Can't you remove the harddrive and back it up that way?

 

[TelemachusD]

Can't you remove the harddrive and back it up that way?

No. You can only back up the hard drive using the backup utility of the PS3 it was formatted with; a PC won't recognize it, and any other PS3 will prompt you to format it before it will even let you use the XMB.

I suppose I could keep my HDD and send the thing off to Sony with some other unformatted drive in it, but if I don't get the exact same system back (i.e. they send me a refurb), it's pointless.

 

[noah111]

Yes, but I can't back up my data with the system dead.

What I was saying is that you can still fix your YLOD yourself and then back up your system.. :\

Anyway, i'm done with the repair procedure, all I need to do is reassemble... ONE small problem though, i'm missing those two rectangle heat sink rubber stick pads. My setup was clean and everything, yet I can't find those pieces of shit anywhere. I looked EVERYWHERE, to the point where i'm literally starting to think my system never had them. :lol FUUUUUU!!! HALP PLEASE!

Will my PS3 still work without those two little things or no? I'll still look around but i'm losing hope that they even exist now. T_T

 

[noah111]

OK, Wait a fucking minute.. i'm looking at some old launch unit PS3 disassembly videos and images and as far as I can tell there are no heat sink pads on those two pairs (4) of chips!;

Can anyone confirm this for me? Here was looking up my ass for those things.

 

[iconoclast]

So my 80GB (BC) PS3 can't read discs any more. Going to wind up paying the outrageous $150 repair price...

My question is, will I still keep my saves? I'm assuming they won't just throw this system to the side and send me a "new" one, right?

edit: wait, that's exactly what they do, isn't it? :lol fuck this.

 

[Sean]

So my 80GB (BC) PS3 can't read discs any more. Going to wind up paying the outrageous $150 repair price...

My question is, will I still keep my saves? I'm assuming they won't just throw this system to the sdie and send me a "new" one, right?

They sent me a completely different unit when my Blu-ray drive failed. I am assuming they do that with all "repairs". So you have to make sure to backup your saves and stuff, something that I forgot to do =/

 

[iconoclast]

They sent me a completely different unit when my Blu-ray drive failed. I am assuming they do that with all "repairs". So you have to make sure to backup your saves and stuff, something that I forgot to do =/

Ugh, that blows. I should be able to do a full system backup though. Gonna have to delete everything that isn't essential on my system and squeeze it under 4GB...

So if I send in my PS3, I imagine I'll get a system that doesn't have BC? I really don't want to lose that...