dead PS3...

[ColJack]

I know that it's not a PC, but it doesn't specifically say PC or MAC only in the forum title so I thought I'd ask..

I got the YLOD / blinking red light on my PS3 last night..
looked around on the internet a bit and found a trick to try with a hair dryer..
you blast it into the rear vents for 15 mins after you turn it upside down..
seems to re-melt something in there and did the trick.. ( didn't realise that SMT solder was so low temp.. )

I originally just did it as a temp fix to retrieve the disc in the drive so that if it was FUBAR then I didn't have to buy another copy along with a new console..

but after several hours on the internet and playing downloaded games ( I wasn't risking the disc again ) it seemed fine so I stuck the game back in and it's been ok..
anyone got any idea if this is the start of it's death spiral now or will it be ok for a few more months?

 

[madder]

Not trying to state the obvious but if it's under warranty, annoying and all as the wait might be, it could be worth getting it looked at now?
It's very difficult to say if it'll last a few more months. I'd like to think so, but you never know.

 

[ColJack]

it's an original 60GB one, from the actual realease date over here, so it's way out of warranty.
to be fair though I've not had any problems with it up 'til now.

 

[tapir]

ok, the longer term (but not necessarily permanent) fix is:

open it up, take everything apart. make bloody good notes on what you removed, the number and type of screws, EVERYTHING i took photos and made lots of notes

when the guts of it are exposed, you'll see that there are two big chips that have white thermal paste residue on them. you need to CAREFULLY remove this - I used nail polish remover and cotton buds, and was careful not to leave anything behind. Take a look around the GPU and CPU, there may be some small rubber thermal pads - remove these carefully

now get a hot air gun, something that does +400 degrees

gently heat the entire board for a couple of minutes, so that there's a roughly uniform temperature across it.

now for the scary part - you need to concentrate the hot air gun on the CPU and the GPU - the solder on one of these is the problem. Do both CPU and GPU, then spend 2 minutes running the gun over the entire board again to return it all to uniform temperature

now, leave the board where it is for 20-30 minutes to fully cool down.

turn the board over, repeat the entire heating process, then leave to cool again.

whilst it's cooling, clean up all the other components that you can - remove the white heat sink paste from the cooling blocks, and all the dust that accumulates

now comes the fun part

apply a very VERY thin film of new heat sink paste to the GPU and CPU

put the heat sinks back on

re-assemble your PS3, taking care to put every thing back as it was

then power up and keep your fingers crossed.

My died 3 times in total, got to the point where I couldnt be bothered to repair it, so bought the inferior slimline

best of luck, let us know how it goes. there are some ylod guides on youtube that are handy

 

[Mickymoody]

XBox had their RSOD, and PS3 also had problems, so they both issued extended warranties...so take it back to the retailer, if they don't care, the manufacturer. As they both accepted issues relating to these faults.

 

[tapir]

XBox had their RSOD, and PS3 also had problems, so they both issued extended warranties...so take it back to the retailer, if they don't care, the manufacturer. As they both accepted issues relating to these faults.

I contacted Sony, and was offered a replacement refurbished console....for £135, as mine was out of it's 2 year warranty. they could only guarantee it for 3 months, as it was a launch console with the YLOD problem

 

[andyb30]

i think mines just done this .was halfway through a game on cod and it just froze and switched its self off.i put it back on and it froze on the load up screen and then came the lights and off it went.
after 20 mins downtime it loaded up and ran cod but just as i was about to start the game it froze agin then off it went.
ive hooverd all the vents out and removed the hard drive but it just keeps doing it.
its well out of warranty so that isnt an option.

 

[4Qman]

From what I understand, the CPU is overheating to such a degree where the cores themselves are breaking connection.

the idea of overheating the core with a hot air gun it too re seat the cores, ie fix the break. Please note this is a temporary fix, I have repaired in excess of 20 Xbox 360s' and tried my own cooling methods along with all the tricks to re seat the core.

The newever consoles have better cooling and more up too the task for prolonged use. I would suggest allowing the console proper ventilation if you do the fix and keep it as cool as possible.

Id buy a new console personally, due to knowing that a good 75% of the time the problem will return.