18 replies to this topic

[Mendon]

Out of nowhere ....no freezes, no lockup's, no disk-read-errors, no crashes, no nothin.... my launch 60gb PS3 turned itself off in the middle of a game yesterday and the dreaded YLOD appeared. I can't really complain, though, as I got almost 4 rock solid years of use out of it.

Called Sony and they gave me three options:

1) Send mine in for repair, get a 60gb refurb back. Cost: $149 plus $29 shipping plus taxes. 90 Day Warranty

2) Send mine in for a trade-in on a refurb 120gb Slim. Cost: $119 plus $29 shipping plus taxes. 90 Day Warranty

3) Buy a new 120gb Slim and an Extended Warranty. Cost: $299 for the console plus $59 for the warranty plus taxes. 3 Year Warranty

(NOTE: only **NEW** consoles qualify for the Extended Warranty. Trade-in's and/or repairs do not qualify)


So now I play the option game: Option 1..... I'd prefer a 60gb system but with only a 90 day warranty, I could be back in this same situation in 6 months. Option 2..... Trading mine in on a Slim is the cheapest option but again, only a 90 day warranty. Option 3... is probably the most cost effective for the long term but I hate to pay out $350 plus tax right now.

Or I can just say screw the whole thing and use my Limited Edition 40gb Metal Gear Solid unit (which has only had the box opened to admire the system) and see what the future brings.

Decisions, decisions....


Mendon

[Tr3vor]

Have you tried taking everything, like the hard drive and all the accessories off? if a ps3 is like a pc or xbox, or any computer, one thing might be causing it to die.

if not, i would say get a refurb slim, probably like new, 2x disk space, and it costs less than the other options.

[boog]

My 60GB PS3 hit the YLoD a few months ago. I sent it for a reflow repair on ebay for $60+postage. The repair didn't quite last through 100 day repair warranty. Sent it back for re-reflow and it's working for the moment but I doubt it'll last long. Slims can get the YLoD too, so I think getting any refurb/used console is a risk and you may not get more than 90 days out of it... depending on how much you play it. I'd definitely go with a new console. The new 160GBs are quietly replacing the 120GB as retail stores restock. They're the same price as the 120GB but larger HD and they run cooler. Should last longer before the eventual YLoD.

The biggest problem with replacing the PS3 is that you'll lose some/all of your game saves unless you make a direct PS3->PS3 transfer. If you move the hard drive to the new PS3 it will immediately ask to re-format the drive. Some saves can backup to an SD card/MStick and copy to another PS3, but many games are locked and either won't copy or will only backup/restore on your original PS3. I went for the repair to preserve my saves, and now I'm barely using my 60GB until I can afford a 160GB to do the direct transfer.

[moycon]

Was the 60 GB the unit that was 100% BC with the PS2?
Is it possible to get extended warranty on PS3s like you can on the 360?
I think on the 360's it's $30 a year. If Sony has something similar it might be worth looking into if you are afeared of it breaking again.

[boog]

Yup. The original 20GB & 60GB are the only models that included the PS2 chipset and many are now failing with the YLoD.

I think the only extended warranties on early models were through retail stores. Sony offers an extended warranty for sale now (discounted for PSN+ members), but it's only available as an extension while you're still within the 1 year base warranty. The problem with Sony warranty repairs is that I think they always give you a random refurb and not your repaired PS3. So, you can't restore all of your game saves because the console id is different.

[FLANNERY]

I would use the 40gb untill you can get a new 160gb slim. I love my slim. Cool and quiet. Although it did freeze up the other day on youtube and I had trouble shutting it down. I was finally able to turn it off and when it turned back on it sent a error report to sony. Mabye I should have gotten that extended warranty.

[madmax2069]

FLANNERY, on Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:02 PM, said:

I would use the 40gb untill you can get a new 160gb slim. I love my slim. Cool and quiet. Although it did freeze up the other day on youtube and I had trouble shutting it down. I was finally able to turn it off and when it turned back on it sent a error report to sony. Mabye I should have gotten that extended warranty.

It probably would have been a good ideal to get a extended warranty (it is with any console). But i have found out that the browser is a bit unstable and will cause lockups most of the times ( i know because my PC was down and used my friends PS3 to surf the net with, and ran into quite a few times where it locked up constantly), I am glad it has one or i would have been going nuts.

but it hasn't ever locked up during a game yet. his is a phat that doesn't have backwards compatibility, although it hasn't really been played with much (other then when i used it to surf the net).

Another one of my friends owns a Slim PS3 and he to (just recently) joined the YLoD camp, boy was he ever pissed. His 360 dvd drive died so he was without anything to play.

I have done a bit of internet research about the YLoD and it can be caused by a failing PSU (on the older models mainly) as well, and the other reason is the board warping away and separating the heat-sync from the GPU and CPU and causing the BGA's to fail due to overheat.

Its be a bit more but i would opt for a new slim with a extended warranty.

Edited by madmax2069, Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:29 PM.

[rxd]

This might be worth looking in to....

http://www.gophermod...uct_detail&p=37

$70, might be worth a shot.

[cimerians]

Same here. 60GB launch system PS3 YLOD after 1 year (2008). They replaced mine with another 60GB unit and I have had no issues since. It's been almost 3 years.

Before you do anything, try pulling the drive out. Got another drive? Try it out.....install it and see if the yellow light comes on. Try it without a drive as well.

I would get another 60GB unit without question. You want that model.

[atarian63]

Mine recently had the shutdown problem and disk read problem but only with netflix. Bought a dead unit and scavenged the HDD and Blu ray out of it. Seems fine now. Only cost me $20 for the dead unit. Maybe I should trade in the parts machine for a ps3 slim?

[Mendon]

rxd, on Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 PM, said:

This might be worth looking in to....

http://www.gophermod...uct_detail&p=37

$70, might be worth a shot.

Thanks for the info!

I did a slight bit of research and there are a couple of repair places in nearby Tampa that will repair the YLOD for $75 and do a 24hr turnaround. I'm going to give them both a call today and see what they have to say.


Mendon

[Mendon]

I tried pulling the HD and doing the 10sec system reset and still the YLOD. Methinks its needs a reflow.

I've given it some thought and decided that based on the amount of use my PS3 has gotten this year, I'm just going to use my 40gb unit for now. If I can get my 60gb unit repaired for around $75, I'll do that so that I have a back-up.

But spending another $190 for a refurb 60gb from Sony or $350 for a new system.... just so I can purchase an extended warranty to protect my investment... really isn't a smart financial decision for me based on the number of hours I'd use it. Between my Wii, Xbox360, Dreamcast, Saturn, SNES, and PS2 my entertainment needs are pretty well met.

If nothing else, I'll sell the 60gb AS IS because listings on eBay and Craig's List show people paying several hundred dollars for these old tanks, even when they are busted.


Mendon

[frank_c]

crack it open and reflow it yourself. it's not that hard, i bought a broken PS3 on Ebay and fixed the YLOD. haven't bothered fixing the BR drive yet though, so far all i use that PS3 for is a bedroom media player. i think i got it for $70.

Edited by frank_c, Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:37 PM.

[Mendon]

I took my PS3 to a local computer store and they got it up and running in 3 hours. Cost: $60. I have **MY** PS3 instead of a damn refurb and they gave me a 30 day warranty. Who knows how long the repair will last but so far, I'm happy with the price and results.

I highly suggest that before shipping anything off to Sony or MS, you might want to check your local TV and computer stores as many are doing console repairs that are much, much cheaper than exchanging your system for an unknown refurb.


Mendon

Edited by Mendon, Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:55 PM.

[moycon]

Mendon, on Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:54 PM, said:

I took my PS3 to a local computer store and they got it up and running in 3 hours. Cost: $60. I have **MY** PS3 instead of a damn refurb and they gave me a 30 day warranty. Who knows how long the repair will last but so far, I'm happy with the price and results.

Awesome news Mendon and smart thinking to take it someplace local for a cheaper and a quicker fix!
Hopefully this fix will last. Next year if it's still going strong bump this thread and let everyone know!

[Austin]

That beats a $179 (minimum) repair, for sure.

[thegamezmaster]

Glad to hear it worked out for you!

[cimerians]

Great news thanks for letting us know

[Mendon]

Thanks to everyone for posting your thoughts; much appreciated.

It really was easy to find a local repair business: I simply opened up the yellow pages and called three computer stores and one TV repair business; all answered Yes when I asked if they repaired PS3's.

Two computer stores gave me a $60 price quote, the other computer store said $75, and the TV repair place said $65. I decided to go with a computer store since I figured my PS3 was more like a computer than TV and went to the closest shop. I talked with the repair quy a few to find out how much experience they had with repairs and what they usually found when they opened a system up. After talking with him, I felt extremely comfortable that they knew what they were doing. They told me it would be ready the next day but then called me in about 3 hours and said they had to wait on a part for another repair and jumped right on repairing mine and that it was done. Hooray!

Again, I highly recommend checking out local places for repairs as it can be much cheaper and quicker than sending your PS3/Xbox to Sony/MS to exchange for a refurb (as that's what you will receive in return).


BUT.... it might also be risky! My son brought up a good point that I hadn't thought of when I was talking to him about my repair: if the repair shop can't repair your system, will Sony/MS still allow you to send it to them for repair/exchange?

My son asked this because the repair shop will break any "SEALS" that are on the system when they open it up and supposedly Sony and MS refuse to repair/exchange consoles that come to them with the seals broken.

Maybe this refusal to repair is only a factor on systems under a warranty and not on a paid repair...... I don't know. But I thought I better add this factor into my recommendation about using someone other than Sony or MS repair your console.



Mendon