Advice Please - PS3 has just packed up!
Advice Please - PS3 has just packed up!
Author
Discussion

EvoSlayer

Original Poster:

1,952 posts

214 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Morning all,

We have one of the early 60gb PS3s which has decided to shut itself down, When attemptimg to switch it on the green power light comes on briefly, followed by a yellow light, the machine then shuts itself down and the power light flashes red. After twiddling on t'internet I beleive this is known as the 'yellow light of death'?!?!?
Question is, if I were to buy a new console is there any way to retrieve the game data from the old hard drive or is this gone forever. Just wondering what the best thing to do is, and if it is a case of a new machine which is considered the choice version of PS3 to go for these days?
Finally, is there any way to get a stuck disk out of the machine - the 'fan test' as described on t'internet doesn't work!

Thanks for any help

Nasta

372 posts

278 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
It is repairable, although, how long the repair will last may vary.

I have just helped a mate to repair his, took it apart, removed old thermal paste, new on, rebuilt and is now working. Like I said about how long the repair lasts, YMMV.

Not sure if you can retrieve the data, unless you repair it. Hopefully someone will come along who can advise a bit better

freecar

4,249 posts

216 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Without a working PS3 there is no way to retrieve the data.

To get at your save games you need to have it repaired then backup the harddrive to an external drive, you can then use this to put it onto a new PS3.

Sadly, the data is encrypted so if the old harddrive were to be inserted into a new PS3 it would require a format before the PS3 became functional.

Composite Guru

2,499 posts

232 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Apparently this problem can be stopped by cleaning the machine out every year.

I have an old 60gb version and mine started to shut down every now and again but allowed me to start it back up.
I took it to work and stripped it down following instructions from the net and found that the machine was full of dust. I used a compressed airline to gently remove the dust. I could not believe how much dust was inside the machine, it took me almost 2 minutes to get clean air out of the thing.

I did this 2 months ago and have had no shut downs since.
Also i understand that if you stand the unit vertically then the dust intake is even worse so try and keep the thing horizontal.

There are plenty of places on the net to find new spares for them so don't ever throw them away as sometimes it can only cost £20 or so to get it running again.

EvoSlayer

Original Poster:

1,952 posts

214 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Thanks guys,

So, it appears to retrieve the game data the only thing is to get the machine repaired. Just to confirm, if I got the machine repaired and backed up the game data to external storage this could then be transfered to a new console should ours fail again?
There seems to be dozens of companies on the net offering to repair this fault from around 50 quid upwards, (don't fancy taking it apart myself!) just wondering if anyone has any experience of any of these?

Cheers

Ian_sUK

735 posts

209 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Where did you buy it from? I went down the sale of goods act with Game with mine went and got it repaired for free (twice)

wiggy001

7,335 posts

300 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
Was just going to say that legally it should be in good working order for a "reasonable" amount of time which, for expensive electrical goods, is deemed to be 5 years.

It's the only decent thing the EU has done and allowed me a replacement TV after 4 years when it started playing up.

If you have a proof of purchase it is surely worth a go?

freecar

4,249 posts

216 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
EvoSlayer said:
Thanks guys,

So, it appears to retrieve the game data the only thing is to get the machine repaired. Just to confirm, if I got the machine repaired and backed up the game data to external storage this could then be transfered to a new console should ours fail again?
There seems to be dozens of companies on the net offering to repair this fault from around 50 quid upwards, (don't fancy taking it apart myself!) just wondering if anyone has any experience of any of these?

Cheers
Yes, if the original ps3 is working you can select a "backup" option that will load everything onto your external drive and allow ONE instance of copying the data off again (for some reason they don't allow you to backup to multiple PS3s) to put all your game saves and installed data onto your new PS3.

Jaykaybi

3,494 posts

250 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
EvoSlayer said:
Thanks guys,

So, it appears to retrieve the game data the only thing is to get the machine repaired. Just to confirm, if I got the machine repaired and backed up the game data to external storage this could then be transfered to a new console should ours fail again?
There seems to be dozens of companies on the net offering to repair this fault from around 50 quid upwards, (don't fancy taking it apart myself!) just wondering if anyone has any experience of any of these?

Cheers
My PS3 had the YLOD. I had a handy mate repair it following a guide (this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70SgRDVcBo) - it was an easy job, the only 'tools' required being a screwdriver, heat gun and thermal paste.

The repair lasted about 6 weeks. YLOD again - repaired again - lasted at least another 6 weeks, by which time I'd resigned to doing a full backup to an external hard drive and just buying a new PS3 slim, then copying onto it.

Best of luck, but my point is that paying someone to repair it will not permanently fix your PS3. You are going to need to keep repairing it, or buy a new one.

It's worth knowing there is a market in YLOD repaired PS3's on Ebay. As long as your description is honest and you are upfront about the 'indeterminable' remaining lifespan, you may well make £90 or so back from your knackered machine.



EvoSlayer

Original Poster:

1,952 posts

214 months

Monday 19th September 2011
quotequote all
wiggy001 said:
Was just going to say that legally it should be in good working order for a "reasonable" amount of time which, for expensive electrical goods, is deemed to be 5 years.

It's the only decent thing the EU has done and allowed me a replacement TV after 4 years when it started playing up.

If you have a proof of purchase it is surely worth a go?
Unfotunately, ours is one of the original 60gb machines released c2007 and any receipt/proof of purchase is long gone! Tbh, I can't even remember where it was originally bought from. Looks like I'll have to stump up for a repair...not too confident with the DIY option!

wiggy001

7,335 posts

300 months

Tuesday 20th September 2011
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EvoSlayer said:
Unfotunately, ours is one of the original 60gb machines released c2007 and any receipt/proof of purchase is long gone! Tbh, I can't even remember where it was originally bought from. Looks like I'll have to stump up for a repair...not too confident with the DIY option!
Bank statement showing payment should be sufficient if you can get hold of them for 2007 (you should be able to)