Tips, Tricks and Fixes

[saprano]

Originally Posted by toef

Yeah, I'm skeptical of paying Sony the $150 to fix it, because they only give you a 90-day warranty, which, to me, implies they don't really have much faith in the repairs.

I don't doubt the refurbed units are "fixed", but whatever design flaws were in the original PS3s to begin with aren't changed, so it's likely only a matter of time before the fixed unit breaks again as well. So the $150 is basically for a temporary fix, that will last who knows how long.

That's what's making me lean toward getting a slim, but it depends on how much I can get for my broken PS3/how little I can get a slim for.

I'm somewhat surprised mine failed, because it lived a pretty stress-free life. It was kept out in the open (not in an enclosed cabinet), so it always had plenty of ventilation. I also didn't really use it a lot, compared to other people I know who play games (I never play games for more than a couple hours at any one time, don't play games every day, etc). So maybe I'd feel a little less disappointed if I really abused the thing, and got tons of hours out of it, but for a casually used piece of electronics, I'm a bit annoyed that it only lasted as long as it did.

Alot of people say they keep their PS3 in the open but doesn't that make it easier for dust to get inside of it? I keep mine in my TV stand. It doesn't get as much dust on it as it would if i kept it in the open. I clean it 10 times a day also lol. Don't know if dust is really bad for the PS3 as much as heat though.

[JOHN MFN D.]

I've been having this same problem. It's pissed me off for days now! I'll try the XL.

[saprano]

I was wondering why youtube was saying that. Don't expect sony to upgrade the flash for a loooooong time. Better go ask on the shareblog.

[Blu-Generation]

Originally Posted by saprano

I was wondering why youtube was saying that. Don't expect sony to upgrade the flash for a loooooong time. Better go ask on the shareblog.

That's the thing tho, if sony is the one needing to update the flash, then how come the videos played fine when I view videos from my youtube channel? Its just the videos in youtube search result that wont play.

Confuse.

And youtube XL sucks badly, compare to the already poor youtube performance on PS3.

[jamclaur]

What you have IS the YLOD. I just did the reflow process on my 60gb system about three weeks ago. Here is the pros and cons list.

Pros for doing it yourself:
You can take the game out and keep it
You don't have to spend any money beyond the heat gun and other materials
It's a faster process than sending it to sony
You don't lose ANY save data
You don't lose ANY trophies not synced

Cons for doing it yourself:
You remove the sticker therefore you void your warranty (but if you have a 60 you're probably out of warranty by now)
they will send your game that's in the machine back to you

And that's about it. The reflow process seems daunting, but if you follow the youtube video you'll be fine. I'd never taken mine apart and did it and everything worked out fine.

I considered trading mine in for a new one from Sony, but they wipe the system and don't give you ANY save data. You lose any unsynced trophies, and they don't even send your same system back. They just send you another random 60gb machine. Which was at one time broken. You only get the limited warranty, so if it breaks again you're in the same boat with sending it back.

If you decide to do the reflow yourself and it breaks again you can just reflow it again. Sometimes it lasts weeks sometimes it can last a long while. I'd personally rather reflow it myself and save the $100.

[Omegaice]

Originally Posted by toef

Update: So I'm guessing this is the dreaded yellow light of death.

When I flip the switch on in the back, and hit the power button on the front, it turns green or 2 seconds, then turns yellow for a fraction of a second, then goes to the flashing red.

I'll have to give Sony a call tomorrow, and give them an earful. Then I'll have to decide what to do: send the 60gb back to get fixed, or just go buy a slim.

Any help with these questions though...

1) Are my save files lost for good, if I can't get the PS3 back on? I imagine if I send it back to get fixed, I may or may not get my actual PS3 sent back to me, so I won't have any of my save files anyway. This makes me lean toward getting a slim.

2) Is there any way to safely get the disc out of the PS3 (MLB '10 is still in there)? I was hoping even if it wouldn't play movies or games anymore, that I'd at least be able to turn it on so I could get the disc out and maybe even back up my saves. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

~~~~~~~

I also wonder if a broken 60gb is still of some value to someone, in which case anything I can sell it for can go to offset the cost of the slim.

For now, I'll have to move my other PS3 to my living room, to finish this damn movie.

This happened to my launch day 60gig(upgraded to 640gig) back in Decemeber. I spent the money to have it repaired because not only did I have almost 3 years worth of game save files, I also had about 400gig of movies! All of your info on the HDD is still there though. You can fix the PS3 yourself which many have done & have been very successful! You can send your PS3 into Sony & not get your original back & lose your data too or you can have a 3rd party repair shop fix it for you, which is what I chose to do. JD Electronics in Owosso, Michigan is who repaired my PS3 & it's running like the day I bought it! All of my game saves, demos, & most importantly my movies were intact! Here is his eBay page: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=180399253009

The turn around time was about 1 week & the communication between myself & the reapir shop was top notch! The shop also includes a 90day warranty on repair with a option thru Square Trade for a 1 year warranty for like $8. The shop's feedback rating is @ 99%, which is rightly so due to the quality of work they put out.

Whatever you decide to do is your choice but I agree with the others in saying that the 60gig PS3 is the best & rarest of the models. I personally plan on buying a Slim in the summer but I will NOT sell my 60gig! =) Good Luck & start backing up your files!

[Uxi]

If you want your saves, it's worth doing a DIY repair (or paying someone), but all you really need to buy is the artic silver and a heat gun if you don't have one. As long as you put it back together without missing any parts, Sony should still fix/replace yours

[toef]

I think I'm going to go ahead with the DIY repair, and then consider selling it. But I have a few questions.

1) If the warranty sticker is removed (which it will be, if I do the repair), will Sony still accept it for repairs? I''ve read that they won't, but I've also read the warranty sticker is only for when the PS3 is under warranty (which has long passed for me).

2) Is there a possibility that a hard drive issue is causing the problem? If so, is there a way to test this? Can I take the HDD out, and try booting up the PlayStation, or will it not boot up without an HDD inserted?

The reason I'm wondering about question 2, is because of how this whole YLOD happened:

-I was playing a game of MLB '10, no problems at all. Watched the replay, messed around in the menus for a bit after the game was over, and then finally saved my franchise to call it a day. As soon as I saved the game, the PS3 shut off.

-I turned my PS3 on later in the day, and wandered off. Came back a few minutes later, and decided to install a demo I downloaded. As soon as I began installing the demo, the PS3 shut off.

So in both cases, the PS3 shutting off seemed to be related to doing something to the hard drive, which is the only reason I'm wondering if it could be related.

The only reason I ask, is because I wouldn't want to bother going through the whole reflowing process if that's not even what's causing the problem.

[saprano]

That makes sense.

I always wonderd when peoples PS3 died, how do they know if it's the PSU, GPU, or HDD?

[toef]

Well that didn't work. I took the hard drive out, it was surprisingly dusty, cleaned that out, and tried to boot up the PS3 without the hard drive inside.

Same thing: red light, green light, yellow light, flashing red light.

Onto the DIY repair I guess.

Anyone want to buy this when I'm done?

[Omegaice]

Originally Posted by toef

I think I'm going to go ahead with the DIY repair, and then consider selling it. But I have a few questions.

1) If the warranty sticker is removed (which it will be, if I do the repair), will Sony still accept it for repairs? I''ve read that they won't, but I've also read the warranty sticker is only for when the PS3 is under warranty (which has long passed for me).

2) Is there a possibility that a hard drive issue is causing the problem? If so, is there a way to test this? Can I take the HDD out, and try booting up the PlayStation, or will it not boot up without an HDD inserted?

The reason I'm wondering about question 2, is because of how this whole YLOD happened:

-I was playing a game of MLB '10, no problems at all. Watched the replay, messed around in the menus for a bit after the game was over, and then finally saved my franchise to call it a day. As soon as I saved the game, the PS3 shut off.

-I turned my PS3 on later in the day, and wandered off. Came back a few minutes later, and decided to install a demo I downloaded. As soon as I began installing the demo, the PS3 shut off.

So in both cases, the PS3 shutting off seemed to be related to doing something to the hard drive, which is the only reason I'm wondering if it could be related.

The only reason I ask, is because I wouldn't want to bother going through the whole reflowing process if that's not even what's causing the problem.

Anything is possible. When my PS3 YLOD'd, I had been playing Assassin's Creed II when the game locked up which has NEVER happened B4. So I just rebooted the PS3 & finished playing the game. However, when I came back later in the day 2 play some more AC:II the PS3 booted up only momentarily & then cut-off giving me the dreaded YLOD. So, while it is possible that the HDD could be the culprit & I would more likely go with the solder connections on the CPU/GPU. As far as the warranty sticker goes, well the warranty has long expired on the unit so if U've decided to do the repair yourself than jump on in! I personally wouldn't send it to Sony for repair. But that's my opinion. Good Luck!

[Propellarhead9]

I couldn't even get XL to work the other day

[toef]

Originally Posted by omegaice

Anything is possible. When my PS3 YLOD'd, I had been playing Assassin's Creed II when the game locked up which has NEVER happened B4. So I just rebooted the PS3 & finished playing the game. However, when I came back later in the day 2 play some more AC:II the PS3 booted up only momentarily & then cut-off giving me the dreaded YLOD. So, while it is possible that the HDD could be the culprit & I would more likely go with the solder connections on the CPU/GPU. As far as the warranty sticker goes, well the warranty has long expired on the unit so if U've decided to do the repair yourself than jump on in! I personally wouldn't send it to Sony for repair. But that's my opinion. Good Luck!

Yeah, I knew the warranty was long over, but I read conflicting reports about whether Sony will take it in for repairs with the sticker missing.

If I try the DIY repair and it doesn't work, I may send it to Sony for lack of a better option. But I just wasn't sure if they'd take it at that point (since I'd be taking the sticker off when trying to fix it myself).

I picked up a heat gun today, but didn't have time to make it to a store that sold thermal compound (WalMart, Target and Home Depot didn't have it... everything else was closed). So I'll have to wait to give it a try until tomorrow.

[wesnah]

JD Electronics in Owosso, Michigan is who repaired my PS3 & it's running like the day I bought it! All of my game saves, demos, & most importantly my movies were intact! Here is his eBay page: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=180399253009

I just used this company myself.And I couldn't be more pleased. $90 Jd Electronics vs.$195 Sony Repair. If the Ebay seller is an option for you. You should give them a try. And they somehow leave the warranty sticker intact. And if they cannot fix it.They will give you your money back -shipping. Or if it needs other repairs they will call you first.

[owa]

Originally Posted by toef

Yeah, I knew the warranty was long over, but I read conflicting reports about whether Sony will take it in for repairs with the sticker missing.

If I try the DIY repair and it doesn't work, I may send it to Sony for lack of a better option. But I just wasn't sure if they'd take it at that point (since I'd be taking the sticker off when trying to fix it myself).

I picked up a heat gun today, but didn't have time to make it to a store that sold thermal compound (WalMart, Target and Home Depot didn't have it... everything else was closed). So I'll have to wait to give it a try until tomorrow.

Be sure to post here if you find out the answer to that. I've been wondering the same thing.

I bought a heat-gun and artic silver a while back but still haven't decided what I want to do just yet. I finally tracked down my receipts yesterday and discovered that the 60-gig PS3 I bought in Jan. 07 is still working but the one I bought at the end of March 07, to run folding@home, is the one that died. It ran folding@home 24/7 for several months so I guess that's to be expected. At the time, I didn't realize consoles were prone to dying, otherwise, I wouldn't have done that. I'm using the launch 60-gig for gaming/movies now but I backup my save games after every gaming sessions since I feel like it's only a matter of time before it dies as well. I have a slim that I've loaned to my parents to use as blu-ray player and to give me something to do when I visit but I prefer the original models so I'll probably just leave it with them. The bottom-line though is that I want my original one back or fixed since I don't want to lose the copy protected game saves. IMO, they really need to do something about that problem. Having a console die wouldn't be nearly as bad if you didn't have to deal with copy protected game saves. That is, what good is a backup if I can only restore it to the original system and not being allowed to backup some game saves to a thumb-drive/external drive is just ridiculous (imo).

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by saprano

That makes sense.

I always wonderd when peoples PS3 died, how do they know if it's the PSU, GPU, or HDD?

If it's the HDD, it will work by swapping in another.

The DIY/heatgun/toweltrick method involves doing both chips, though you have a 50/50 chance if you didn't want to do both for some reason.

[toef]

Originally Posted by owa

Be sure to post here if you find out the answer to that. I've been wondering the same thing.

I bought a heat-gun and artic silver a while back but still haven't decided what I want to do just yet. I finally tracked down my receipts yesterday and discovered that the 60-gig PS3 I bought in Jan. 07 is still working but the one I bought at the end of March 07, to run folding@home, is the one that died. It ran folding@home 24/7 for several months so I guess that's to be expected. At the time, I didn't realize consoles were prone to dying, otherwise, I wouldn't have done that. I'm using the launch 60-gig for gaming/movies now but I backup my save games after every gaming sessions since I feel like it's only a matter of time before it dies as well. I have a slim that I've loaned to my parents to use as blu-ray player and to give me something to do when I visit but I prefer the original models so I'll probably just leave it with them. The bottom-line though is that I want my original one back or fixed since I don't want to lose the copy protected game saves. IMO, they really need to do something about that problem. Having a console die wouldn't be nearly as bad if you didn't have to deal with copy protected game saves. That is, what good is a backup if I can only restore it to the original system and not being allowed to backup some game saves to a thumb-drive/external drive is just ridiculous (imo).

Yeah, I don't think consoles should be breaking after 3 years. At this point, the consoles are more or less specialized computers, and even if a computer slows down and doesn't run as well as it did when you purchased it, I would think you could expect it to at least still work 3 years later.

I've started the DIY fix and have everything taken apart. It gives me a new perspective of a PS3, after you see it disassembled into all of its parts. Before it seemed like a giant black brick of a machine. Now it seems like a pretty basic set of parts screwed together, and tucked inside of a cheap plastic case.

Despite the PS3 controllers being made of a semi-transparent black plastic, I would've never guessed the console used the same stuff.

Also, I thought I kept my PS3 pretty clean, so I was amazed/surprised at just how much dust had built up inside. It's unbelievable.

[toef]

After a few breaks, including a long one for dinner, I'm almost done with the DIY repair.

Everything is apart, side one was reflowed then cooled for 20 minutes, side two was then reflowed and cooled for 20 minutes.

So now I just have to put the new compound on, re-assemble everything, and then cross my fingers.

[toef]

Got it all back together, and it still doesn't work.

Not sure what to do at this point. It's possible I didn't heat up the chips enough for the reflow to work properly, or it's possible that that was never the problem to begin with.

Oh well.

[Groo The Perverted]

I'm planning on getting a new HD for my PS3 next month, and am wondering what people's experiences with this are.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I was all set to get it on the 1st, but then I saw this bit on the forum for Amazon. He's not an X-box fan because the three items he's reviewed are all PS3 items and he gave them 5 stars.

I upgraded my PS3 with this 500 GB drive, soon after the PS3 started to get a lot hotter in less time than before. I took the necessary measures to give my PS3 the best cooling conditions and still i got the Yellow light on January 29, 2010. It might be wear and tear of using the PS3 for over a year and a half, but i still wonder if it was because of the HD getting hotter than the stock one. If anyone has any info on this matter, i would apreciate the help, because after getting mine repaired i might change the HD for a smaller one

Then someone asked about whether he used a 5400 RPM or 7200, and he replied that he used a 5400.