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[SolidusDave]

Didn't had time yet/was too lazy to reflow my YLOD PS3 properly, but I think I will bite on the German PS3 Slim deal at the moment (239€ including shipping). I doubt I will get one cheaper in the near future (a year?) with a German warranty, so it's only 80€ more than the replacement PS3 with no waiting ^^


btw:
currently, I'm playing through Uncharted 2 on my YLOD PS3 after the hair blower fix :lol
Though I need to use a fan pointed at the front of the PS3 to cool it down if I play several hours in one session. w/o I can play fine for ca. 2 hours but than the PS3 YLODs again (and I would have to use the hair blower again ^^)
Also keeping the PS3 in the XMB for hours (downloading, videos etc.) and then trying to play PS3 games on the now heat up (but never enough for the YLOD during XMB) PS3 will also result in a YLOD after I played only for 5 minutes or so.

I guess that means after cleaning+reflow+flux+bending it would work fine again w/o the use of the fan (will do that in the future as I want to keep it even if I buy a Slim for PS2 BC and copyprotected savegames), but I think there's a chance something different will break so I'm better of using a (quieter and less power consuming) Slim as my "main" PS3.

 

[Automatisch]

My December 06 60GB has been freezing a whole lot in the XMB lately. I'm not sure if it's the hard drive (upgraded a while ago) or if it's just dying. I've had Uncharted 2 freeze on my back when I was playing it a lot, but no games since have frozen, just the XMB.

 

[kikonawa]

wuzup with ps3's who can play back fine DVD's but not anything bluray.Do these lasers have 2 heads inside the ps3?

 

[Branson]

Just had my triple freak out on me. I can play games off the HDD fine, but the disk based games make my system shut off and blink the red light. Luckily I can get all of the saves off that allow me to. But A WEEK BEFORE MW2....FML. Got Sony to fix it for free too, 3rd time my ps3 has failed meh...

 

[AndyD]

wuzup with ps3's who can play back fine DVD's but not anything bluray.Do these lasers have 2 heads inside the ps3?

I think they used to have 2 and now they have 1. Or they used to have 1 and now 2. In either case it is possible that you can have a broken system that will not read Blurays but will read DVDs just fine.

 

[carlos]

Might as well add myself to the dead 60GB ps3 list (from launch)...happened about a week ago; I turned it on, and as soon as I hit x to log into my account, only the background theme stayed on for a couple of seconds, then the ps3 turned itself off.

Tried turning it back on multiple times, and get the classic YLOD symptoms

Extremely disappointed and somewhat frustrated, since I have over 15 consoles since the atari 2600 and this is the first one to die....

Even more frustrating is that I hadn't backed up my saves in months, and while I had always planned to send it to sony if it died, I only just now learned that HDD's are tied to the system, and there's little chance of sending it to sony and getting your same system/ saves in return that's just plain idiotic, IMHO....

I have two choices, either a local repair technician that will charge around 75 for what is probably a reflow, or to try to fix it myself with gilksy's guide....I'm slowly building up courage for the latter option

 

[Benedict]

After I deactivate my account on the system, should I also erase the profile or leave it?

I've deactivated and erased my US And JAP-accounts,
but not my main PAL-account, which is only deactivated and not erased.

 

[craker]

Thanks go to SolidusDave for mentioning his hairdryer trick. I used it on my PS3 and it worked. I was able to get my disk out and back up my save files.

 

[protonion]

As I wrote in the official topic, MW2 bricked my 40 gb ps3

While playing, music and dialogue stopped and scripted events would not start.I guess it stopped reading the blu ray and played with whatever was in memory.
Eject didn't work and reseting took a while.

The thing is when I turned it on again it seemed everything was back to normal.But after a few minutes of playtime the same happens.I put UC2 next, worked for 10 minutes.Then cod4 in which the same happened during the tutorial (it would't let me repel down the rope).

I guess the drive is dying.

I have it 2 years so no warranty.So I can either replace the drive for over 100 euro, or buy the slim for 260.What do you suggest?

Do we have any info on the slim's drive quality?

 

[Erebus]

As I wrote in the official topic, MW2 bricked my 40 gb ps3

While playing, music and dialogue stopped and scripted events would not start.I guess it stopped reading the blu ray and played with whatever was in memory.
Eject didn't work and reseting took a while.

The thing is when I turned it on again it seemed everything was back to normal.But after a few minutes of playtime the same happens.I put UC2 next, worked for 10 minutes.Then cod4 in which the same happened during the tutorial (it would't let me repel down the rope).

I guess the drive is dying.

I have it 2 years so no warranty.So I can either replace the drive for over 100 euro, or buy the slim for 260.What do you suggest?

Do we have any info on the slim's drive quality?

IW bricked your console for getting the game early
And over 100EUR for BD lens replacement? Dunno sounds too steep to me.

 

[protonion]

^
I think I have to replace the whole drive.I don't think it's a lens problem.It shouldn't work at all.The problem occures after a few minutes.

 

[TelemachusD]

...or to try to fix it myself with gilksy's guide....I'm slowly building up courage for the latter option

Do it. It works, and it's quite easy if you follow the guide closely. I was able to get mine working, retrieve my game from the drive, and back up my stuff.

I would consider immediately trading it in after that though, as the reflowing fix is temporary: it will fail again.

 

[just tray]

PS3 started acting up after I updated it last year. Games would freeze or it would freeze on XMB. Things got worse after I got Uncharted 2 and now it wont read any discs at all. I'm deciding whether to trade in all my PS3 games or just have it fixed. One thing's for sure, I refuse to put money back into a company that can't make a reliable product.

What's sad is the dumb asses that defend Microsoft and Sony for making pieces of unreliable shit. So what if a consumer is an early adopter. I think we as consumers deserve to get the best product that we paid for.

Speaking out on gaf really isn't going to do much and I hate seeing people ripped off.Maybe if we all voiced our opinion on these sites it may sway Sony into extending their warranty.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/

 

[PROOP]

My PS3 just died I tried to fix it by reflowing the chips, but stripped a screw midway and couldn't continue.

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

PS3 started acting up after I updated it last year. Games would freeze or it would freeze on XMB. Things got worse after I got Uncharted 2 and now it wont read any discs at all. I'm deciding whether to trade in all my PS3 games or just have it fixed. One thing's for sure, I refuse to put money back into a company that can't make a reliable product.

What's sad is the dumb asses that defend Microsoft and Sony for making pieces of unreliable shit. So what if a consumer is an early adopter. I think we as consumers deserve to get the best product that we paid for.

Speaking out on gaf really isn't going to do much and I hate seeing people ripped off.Maybe if we all voiced our opinion on these sites it may sway Sony into extending their warranty.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/

check the official playstation forums... they were starting to organize and lodge formal complaints, en masse, with BBB and FTC, or whoever the hell else they could find... If i had the link i'd give it, but it's out there... People are starting to try to organize at least.
It's starting to look like a problem, not as bad as 360, but, still a problem...

maybe b/c everything is made in China these days???... just sayin,,, it's a bit oldschool thought, but, something is up... that or all the green friendly stuff they use now that doesn't work as well or fails early... damn tree huggers..

Just an aside... My PS3 that i had fixed by PSR is still performing quite admirably. Better than it used to... no locks or freezes or hiccups... i'm still pleased.. oh god i hope it never goes on me again.

 

[TheExecutive]

OK, so my friends ps3 died a couple of nights ago and he didnt back-up his save files regularly... how can he get those off assuming his HDD is still functionable?

 

[TheExecutive]

Didn't had time yet/was too lazy to reflow my YLOD PS3 properly, but I think I will bite on the German PS3 Slim deal at the moment (239€ including shipping). I doubt I will get one cheaper in the near future (a year?) with a German warranty, so it's only 80€ more than the replacement PS3 with no waiting ^^


btw:
currently, I'm playing through Uncharted 2 on my YLOD PS3 after the hair blower fix :lol
Though I need to use a fan pointed at the front of the PS3 to cool it down if I play several hours in one session. w/o I can play fine for ca. 2 hours but than the PS3 YLODs again (and I would have to use the hair blower again ^^)
Also keeping the PS3 in the XMB for hours (downloading, videos etc.) and then trying to play PS3 games on the now heat up (but never enough for the YLOD during XMB) PS3 will also result in a YLOD after I played only for 5 minutes or so.

I guess that means after cleaning+reflow+flux+bending it would work fine again w/o the use of the fan (will do that in the future as I want to keep it even if I buy a Slim for PS2 BC and copyprotected savegames), but I think there's a chance something different will break so I'm better of using a (quieter and less power consuming) Slim as my "main" PS3.

What is this? This could work while he backs his drive up!

 

[drtomoe123]

My girlfriend was playing Uncharted 2 earlier and it froze...rebooted and it won't read any discs anymore. My poor, poor BC 80GB!

I'm trying the whole backup/system restore thing, but I'm not really expecting much...and dammit, I don't really have the $150 right now, haha.

 

[Killthee]

OK, so my friends ps3 died a couple of nights ago and he didnt back-up his save files regularly... how can he get those off assuming his HDD is still functionable?

He has to fix the system before he can backup the data. The HDD's are tied to the system and you can't backup the data using a PC because the HDD's use a proprietary file system.

What is this? This could work while he backs his drive up!

AFAIK, its the same principle as the towel trick. Heat up the system beyond normal heat levels so the broken solder points get resoldered.

 

[protonion]

Chapter tunnel vision on my bricked ps3

Getting a slim on Monday...

Just to be sure, after backing up and deactivating my ps3 I will format the drive because I plan to sell it.Will I be safe with account/credit info and such?

 

[drtomoe123]

Okay, I'm trying to accept that my blu-ray drive is dead.

I played a few matches of COD5 last night fine, and my girlfriend had been playing Uncharted 2 a LOT for the past few days, but nothing really seemed different, everything was normal. She was playing and a cutscene began, but it went to a black screen. The pause menu still came up, but it wouldn't move on even after she chose to skip the scene, and the PS3 just froze completely. We rebooted, and it won't read any discs anymore. It's a Motorstorm BC 80GB.

So, since nothing else was messed up, I've backed everything up and I'm currently restoring the PS3. My question is, what's the best way to go about this? I bought it in April of 08, so there's no warranty, and I really, really use BC a LOT, so as much as I'd like to say screw it and buy a slim, I can't.

Ironically, I've been following this thread for months now, but could anyone just give me a summary about how hard it is to replace a blu-ray drive? Is it worth it, considering that since it is an older model, the PS3 may just YLOD on me a few months from now? How long is the turnaround process nowadays for a BC 80GB? Do the refurbs have a lot of problems? Is the 3 month warranty enough?

agggh.

 

[Killthee]

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af240/DimitrisStr/DSC00580.jpg[IMG]

Chapter tunnel vision on my bricked ps3 :)

Getting a slim on Monday...

Just to be sure, after backing up and deactivating my ps3 I will format the drive because I plan to sell it.Will I be safe with account/credit info and such?[/QUOTE]
Billing info is stored online while the XMB Profile (and any PSN log in info you have tied to it) are stored on the internal flash. Just make sure you delete the XMB accounts after formatting the HDD.

 

[Dartastic]

Attempting the hairdryer trick now. Hope I can get Demon's Souls out and my data backed up... What does a YLOD PS3 go for these days? I wanna sell it for a slim.

VICTORRRRRRYYYY! DEMONS SOULS IS OUT OF THE PS3! AND I COPIED OVER THE SMALLER DATA FROM UNCHARTED 2 TO AN SD CARD! WOOOOO! ...then it died. :lol

 

[SolidusDave]

ok, my soundproblem was just my stupid optical-to-cinch adapter, not the hair dryer trick.

At the moment I kinda regret buying a Slim :lol , invested the whole day exchanging the hdds of both PS3s, installing backups and I'm still downloading&installing thousand things from multiple accounts.
If the hair dryer is enough for my current status, I bet the whole cleaning&reflow repair would let my PS3 last till the next gen and I wouldn't have needed a replacement/second unit :lol I just hate that thought ^^, especially as not everything is transferred from the backup and now I need a second console for PS2 games :/

 

[dimeat]

I fear my PS3 (80GB MGS) blu-ray drive is dying.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?md1qw3jmm4w

I recorded my PS3 (80GB MGS4 BC) reading the disk.

Uncharted 1

00:00-00:15 To the main menu "loading"

There's random bits of loading from 00:30 to 1:10

But the main concern is around 1:30-3:00. This is where I chapter selected in Uncharted and it's at the beginning of the chapter where I could move. It doesn't seem to stop until ~5 seconds after I move. I did notice it happening at random while playing through the game but I could not discern any pattern.

Is anyone's PS3 this loud while seeking and for that long?

However, I can't seem to replicate it again for that long...I occasionally notice it but it's only for 10-20 seconds and then it's back to being quiet.

Any thoughts? Do other people get that kind of "seeking/sound" of the disk (maybe not that long but 10 seconds or so?)

 

[Rice-Eater]

I sent my PS3 in for repair last Thursday. I forgot to ask what kind of refurb I may get in return if not my original? I had the original 60GB, the most valuable of all so I'll be pretty upset if I get some shitty 40GB PS3. Of course I'd like another 60GB in return, but if that's not the case then I'd at least like a 80GB PS3 or better. So anyways, does anybody know the policy on that?

 

[Carlisle]

I just experienced my first scare on my 80gb MGS4 PS3. It's working fine now, but twice last night when I went to quit game on the in-game XMB, my PS3 beeped three times and completely restarted itself. First time it's ever done this. It did this twice in a row, with NHL 09 and then with Mirror's Edge.

Once the system rebooted, all my XMB files under Game, Photo, Music, and Video, were totally re-categorized. Of course I just had to hit square a few times to fix it, but it was an odd thing.

I did some googling this morning and found that it's a common occurrence when you quit a game while the HDD is being accessed. Can anyone corroborate that this is probably the case? I don't have the original HDD in there, having swapped it for a 320gb a few months ago... so it would be in line with an HDD hiccup. I also got an HDD read error once, about a week after the swap but never again since.

 

[DMeisterJ]

Not sure if my PS3 is dying-age.

It's pretty new, it's one of the 80 gig no b/c so it was manufactured mid-late last year, and I bought it on 11/4 (I remember it because it was Election day), anyway, it works fine for the most part, but sometimes when I'm DL'ing stuff from the PS Store it lags. What will happen is that it will stop at a certain percentage (Sometimes 40 or 44) and keep on switching between 'pending' and 'downloading' infinitely. And what will happen is that when I click on anything instead of it being lightning fast and ultra-responsive, it will lag for a few seconds and then enter the folder, or PS Store, or inbox, or anything.

It doesn't do it for all downloads, and it doesn't have a certain filesize where it does it, but as soon as I press cancel or pause, everything is fine... But if I try to DL the same item it froze on again, it will do the same thing at the same completion %.

Messeed up HDD?

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Not sure if my PS3 is dying-age.

It's pretty new, it's one of the 80 gig no b/c so it was manufactured mid-late last year, and I bought it on 11/4 (I remember it because it was Election day), anyway, it works fine for the most part, but sometimes when I'm DL'ing stuff from the PS Store it lags. What will happen is that it will stop at a certain percentage (Sometimes 40 or 44) and keep on switching between 'pending' and 'downloading' infinitely. And what will happen is that when I click on anything instead of it being lightning fast and ultra-responsive, it will lag for a few seconds and then enter the folder, or PS Store, or inbox, or anything.

It doesn't do it for all downloads, and it doesn't have a certain filesize where it does it, but as soon as I press cancel or pause, everything is fine... But if I try to DL the same item it froze on again, it will do the same thing at the same completion %.

Messeed up HDD?

You need to isolate the problem more....are you wireless? If so, try wired and see if you have the same issue. If you DONT, then most likely the wifi card in your PS3 is messed up.

 

[DMeisterJ]

You need to isolate the problem more....are you wireless? If so, try wired and see if you have the same issue. If you DONT, then most likely the wifi card in your PS3 is messed up.

It's wired, and I'm not even sure that would be the case cause only certain DLs eff the system up. Title updates don't, And neither do system updates. It's sporadic to say the least. Like a couple of weeks ago, Trauma and Mercy were free on the Video store, Trauma DL'ed fine, but Mercy stopped at 44%

I DL'ed like four demos last week, including Dragon Ball which stopped at 40%. It hasn't happened on a game I really want to play yet, so it's fine, but I'm just worrying if I should be worried or not...

 

[GullyJuice]

Attempted to reflow 4 times over the past 12 hours. Results:

1st time: didn't work
2nd time: set the heat gun a little higher; PS3 booted up and spit my MLB the Show out, but the Blu-Ray drive wasn't reading discs
3rd time: didn't work
4th time: didn't work

I think I'll try it one more time before maybe trying to ebay it. I refuse to send it in to Sony.

 

[jiggles]

My PS3 YLOD'd on me a couple of hours ago. Two questions:

1. Is the reflow solution a permanent one, or does it have to be done every now and again to keep the console working?
2. If I get a slim to replace it, what's the best way to replicate my current system on it? Saves, downloads, accounts, trophies etc. Google has yielded conflicting reports about what works, what can't be copied, and what wipes everything. I want to know exactly what will happen if:
a) I do a straight HDD swap.
b) I do a backup/restore.
c) I redownload everything and copy the saves over manually.

 

[consoul]

Reflowing didn't work for me. Will not boot no matter what. The RSX is toast.

No chance to deactivate the system or recover any of the 50+ save files I have on my deceased day one Japanese launch model. I'm gutted that they're all gone, but I'm trying to live to tell the story.

Goodbye full hardware PS2 backward compatibility. My 80 Japanese PS1 and PS2 games can leave the loungeroom and go into storage.

Will buy a local (PAL) Slim eventually, but the sudden loss of the Phat (and everything on it's HDD) has made me want to take a break from PS3 for a while. Will probably wait for a good bundle in the new year.

 

[drtomoe123]

My coffin arrives tomorrow.

 

[Kuraudo]

Finding information in this thread is pretty difficult so bear with me.

I got home from work, went to boot my PS3. The red light turned to green like normal and it sounded like it was going to boot, but then the sound quickly cut off. The green light turned yellow for a moment then back to a red light which continued to flash until I pressed the power button on the PS3, at which point it turned solid red (proper standby).

Everytime I try to boot the console, I have the same issue.

Is this the dreaded YLOD? Is there anything I can do about it?

18 month old 40GB unit btw, running with a 200GB HDD.

 

[Dartastic]

Finding information in this thread is pretty difficult so bear with me.

I got home from work, went to boot my PS3. The red light turned to green like normal and it sounded like it was going to boot, but then the sound quickly cut off. The green light turned yellow for a moment then back to a red light which continued to flash until I pressed the power button on the PS3, at which point it turned solid red (proper standby).

Everytime I try to boot the console, I have the same issue.

Is this the dreaded YLOD? Is there anything I can do about it?

18 month old 40GB unit btw, running with a 200GB HDD.

Yep. You're fucked.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Finding information in this thread is pretty difficult so bear with me.

I got home from work, went to boot my PS3. The red light turned to green like normal and it sounded like it was going to boot, but then the sound quickly cut off. The green light turned yellow for a moment then back to a red light which continued to flash until I pressed the power button on the PS3, at which point it turned solid red (proper standby).

Everytime I try to boot the console, I have the same issue.

Is this the dreaded YLOD? Is there anything I can do about it?

18 month old 40GB unit btw, running with a 200GB HDD.

Put a fork in her, shes done. Yes you have the YLOD. I hope you back your stuff up, because its all lost if you didnt.

Your only options at this point are:

A) Pay Sony $150 to fix it (you will get a refurb back with a nice shiny 3 month warranty).

B) Youtube directions for doing the reflow repair yourself (mixed results...if it works, more likely than not youll YLOD again within a few months but at least it will buy you time to backup your stuff).

C) Cut your losses and try to sell your non working unit to someone who wants to try to fix it. Use your money to buy a Slim (and a 3 yr extended warranty).

D) Do nothing, and swear off Sony for life

 

[Kuraudo]

Aw fuck.

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll be getting that slim sooner rather than later.

Anyway to get my saves back? I have backups of some stuff, but nothing recent. Can I just stick the HDD in one of those external cage thingys and access them via my PC or something?

Also, fuck Capcom for never making the SFIV save transferable.

 

[pCeSlAyEr]

Anybody know of a reputable shop that can reball the RSX for a decent price?

I really don't want to send it to Sony...

 

[Varna]

Finally happened to me. YLOD...

Anyone have any experience with this place?
http://jdelectronicsinc.com/ps3.htm

I really don't want to play $150 and lose all my saves.

Also a quick question... would it be possible to use my current PS3 HD with another machine? At least just to back up everything?

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

i was the same way, didn't want to give Sorny any of my $$.

I had a different problem, but, i used PSR1.com and it worked out okay,,, system is still going strong.. came to 109, but you have to find the cheapest way to send them your system in that case (USPS).

It's worth checking out b/c I have had a good experience with them.

 

[netguy503]

Finally happened to me. YLOD...

Anyone have any experience with this place?
http://jdelectronicsinc.com/ps3.htm

I really don't want to play $150 and lose all my saves.

Also a quick question... would it be possible to use my current PS3 HD with another machine? At least just to back up everything?

Your PS3 died right before a FW update? AW.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Once the system rebooted, all my XMB files under Game, Photo, Music, and Video, were totally re-categorized. Of course I just had to hit square a few times to fix it, but it was an odd thing.

I did some googling this morning and found that it's a common occurrence when you quit a game while the HDD is being accessed. Can anyone corroborate that this is probably the case?

This has happened to me a few times and it's why I don't bother editing the "folder" and other tag data on any of my media to organize it any more. If you had edited the files' "folder" and such (in order to sort movies into trailers, films, games, etc.) this would have reset all that back to the defaults as well. I just stream everything on the PS3 now so I can organize it however.

It doesn't seem that it's all that uncommon so I don't think you should be worried about the overall health of your machine or drive.

Can I just stick the HDD in one of those external cage thingys and access them via my PC or something?

I'm pretty sure the answer is no.

 

[SolidusDave]

This has happened to me a few times and it's why I don't bother editing the "folder" and other tag data on any of my media to organize it any more. If you had edited the files' "folder" and such (in order to sort movies into trailers, films, games, etc.) this would have reset all that back to the defaults as well. I just stream everything on the PS3 now so I can organize it however.

yeah, it's really strange how specific stuff isn't carried over to another PS3, like album names and PSN mails while other little things like the 15seconds icon preview of the same files and the textchatrooms including chat history are carried over.

I backed up most of my pics, music and videos manually so I kept my folder structure (files you import to the PS3 at once like a whole folder are automatically put in the the same folder on the PS3 for you to rename).
In contrast to e.g. store downloads the PS3 also automatically gives video files the 15 second preview if you import from a external HDD etc. (though only the first 15s)

 

[Chris_C]

My launch 60gb YLOD on me about a month ago, so I got it fixed (not by Sony). About 2 weeks later though, it YLOD again.

I didn't want to bother with it anymore so I got a 120gb Slim, lasted a week (just long enough so I could get to the last level in Uncharted 2) then it YLOD as well

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

WHAT??..

a slim YLOD'd after a week?.. Oh man that's scary. I think that's the only solace any of us can find "just sell whatever and get a slim"...

that's no good at all...

 

[netguy503]

I didn't want to bother with it anymore so I got a 120gb Slim, lasted a week (just long enough so I could get to the last level in Uncharted 2) then it YLOD as well

That's...not good.

So the slims are dying too? In a week of purchase?

Man, you guys must be having marathon game sessions or something.

 

[Flek]

my ps3 (60GB launch unit) red lighted today and crashed 4 times… well yeha repaired it and now its working fine … iam making a backup and then iam going to buy a slim i guess

 

[Varna]

Anyone have experience fixing this themselves? Looking at some guides and videos... seems pretty easy as long as it's not the psu failing.

 

[Flek]

Anyone have experience fixing this themselves? Looking at some guides and videos... seems pretty easy as long as it's not the psu failing.

i just did it … whasnt to hard actually. Just keep the screws organized