PS3 Yellow Light of Death

[GSZX1337]

is this a regular normal thing for the ps3? I thought they were indestructible.

This seems to be a recent problem with PS3s. Also, they are not indestructable, I had to send my PS3 in twice.

[itsamemario]

I've heard of this... it just doesn't get as much press coverage since the 360's RRoD is so common... I've had a ps3 slim since release, and that thing is pretty loud, but no problems yet (knock on wood)... My wii that i've had since launch gives me an occasional disc read error...

IMO all 3 consoles are disturbingly fragile compared to previous generations... before, it seemed like as long as you weren't an idiot and kept your console somewhere ventilated, it would survive... this generation it seems like a crapshoot whether your system eventually dies or not...

[ieatramen]

Mine bit the dust a year ago. The system would turn on fine, but wouldn't read any kind of disc -cds, dvds, games, nothing. I tried formatting the hard drive (read somewhere that that might fix it), but to no avail. I ended up sending it in for repair for $150 I think.

However, regarding the game saves, I backed them up onto a usb stick and when I got the ps3 back I copied them back onto the hard drive and everything worked fine.

Everything breaks -except for my badass snes which i gladly played the ps3 was gone.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Mine bit the dust a year ago. The system would turn on fine, but wouldn't read any kind of disc -cds, dvds, games, nothing. I tried formatting the hard drive (read somewhere that that might fix it), but to no avail.

Any dirt or dist (No matter how small an amount) on the drive laser will instantly kill it unfortunately.

[fingersmaloy]

Yup, like I said, the repair requires a heat gun, not a soldering iron. And this isn't like sticking a mod chip in a Saturn that can be replaced for eight bucks.

[corn619]

At first I was worried about mine but, I think these failure rates aren't nearly as wide spread as the 360s was.

I've gone through 3 360s since launch and my 60GB PS3 is still kicking. Although, I don't see this generation of consoles lasting long at all. Certainly not as long as my Genesis or NES has. Hell I think my Dreamcast and Saturn will outlive my newest consoles and thats just plain pathetic.

We as a consumer must show the big 3 that we care about build quality first over everything else. No matter how good the games on a console are. I don't see the point in having a great library of games when your console is breaking constantly.

Unfortunately, people are really stupid and will continue to buy crap hardware. I however will never buy a Microsoft product again due to the nightmare I had to go though between my original Xboxs breaking, my 360s breaking, my steering wheel breaking and then there was my major Vista issues that no one at MS had any answers on.

While, Sony's and Nintendo's hardware has been anything but perfect, I personally have had much better luck with Sony's and Nintendo's stuff compared to Microsoft.

[Niode]

The problem with these systems (the 360 and PS3) is that lead-free solder that they are forced to use due to ROHS restrictions is just not cut out for the job. The high levels of heat that is generated inside these (relatively) small cases causes the motherboards to warp and crack the lead-free solder. It's this that is causing the consoles to break down. Nothing short of a full BGA rework station is going to fix the machines permanently (read temporary; until the same problem causes the system to break again). Anything else is going to be the equivalent of patching a leaking ship with an elastoplast. Sure, it might buy some time but your ass is gonna get wet no matter which way you look at it.

It doesn't matter whether you have a 360 or a PS3. It's going to break. The main difference here is that while the 360's may appear to break more often than the PS3's, at least MS give you a 3 year warranty. Sony pretty much give you the finger, lose all your saves, don't even guarantee a like for like repair and then charge you for the fucking privilege. I still cannot believe the audacity of Sony in that they blindly refuse to accept there is a problem with these units. It's absolutely disgusting.

[elvis]

I still cannot believe the audacity of Sony in that they blindly refuse to accept there is a problem with these units. It's absolutely disgusting.

You're surprised?

Sony is yet another mega-corp that puts dollars (and shareholders) before customers. Nothing is going to change this until there is a fundamental shift in thinking by consumers (who are generally brainless sheep).

It's only going to get worse from here.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

The problem with these systems (the 360 and PS3) is that lead-free solder that they are forced to use due to ROHS restrictions is just not cut out for the job. The high levels of heat that is generated inside these (relatively) small cases causes the motherboards to warp and crack the lead-free solder. It's this that is causing the consoles to break down. Nothing short of a full BGA rework station is going to fix the machines permanently (read temporary; until the same problem causes the system to break again). Anything else is going to be the equivalent of patching a leaking ship with an elastoplast. Sure, it might buy some time but your ass is gonna get wet no matter which way you look at it.

It doesn't matter whether you have a 360 or a PS3. It's going to break. The main difference here is that while the 360's may appear to break more often than the PS3's, at least MS give you a 3 year warranty. Sony pretty much give you the finger, lose all your saves, don't even guarantee a like for like repair and then charge you for the fucking privilege. I still cannot believe the audacity of Sony in that they blindly refuse to accept there is a problem with these units. It's absolutely disgusting.

Well if you know or can find me someplace or someone with a BGA workstation and leaded solder to fix my PS3 then I'd be much obliged.

[Niode]

Well if you know or can find me someplace or someone with a BGA workstation and leaded solder to fix my PS3 then I'd be much obliged.

There's a few businesses springing up in the UK who either own a BGA workstation or have easy flexible access to one. A lot of them will rework the BGA and have it back to you within 48 hours for £50-70 (depending on the machine). There's one near me in Manchester who I will be planning on sending my 60G PS3 to when it no doubt kicks the bucket.

Personally if I had the start up capital I'd go into the business myself, in the next few years there's going to be a LOT of PS3s that need fixing because the smart people will refuse to blindly give Sony £150 to do a worse job than somebody local who will actually give you your system back. For every 1 person sending a PS3 to sony for £150 I can bet you 3 will be willing to give me £50 to do the same job. Especially when Sony don't actually fix the fucking things, all they do is fob you off with a different but currently working PS3 until it breaks 91 days after you get it back.

You're surprised?

Sony is yet another mega-corp that puts dollars (and shareholders) before customers. Nothing is going to change this until there is a fundamental shift in thinking by consumers (who are generally brainless sheep).

It's only going to get worse from here.

I've known Sony's stuff is bullshit. Seriously, read some of my previous posts, EVERYTHING Sony i've ever had has fucking broke. They make flimsy nondurable pieces of shit. It doesn't surprise me one bit that their customer service stinks just as badly. What does annoy me though is the fact that Microsoft have such a shitty reputation for the RRoDs yet they do a damn site better job dealing with it than Sony do, at least Microsoft have seen their mistake and rectified it to the best they can. A 3 year warranty at 0 extra cost to the consumer is a helluva lot better than a flakey 1 year warranty.