PlayStation®3 Technical Help

[TTDegs]

Hi all 

This thread is NOT designed as a discussion thread - I've posted it up purely in an attempt to try and get suggested solutions into one place, hopefully saving having to re-type all the options each time someone asks what to do 

This thread is also written for owners in the UK - owners elsewhere may have different options, or different laws that apply, but I don't know those in any detail at all - sorry! 

Please note that it is NOT designed to look into WHY your drive failed 

The first thing to do...

It may sound obvious, but the first thing to do is double check that you drive really has failed.

Do this by trying other games & blu-ray discs.

Bear in mind that some dying lasers will work, then stop working, then work for a while - before dying completely.

ALL PS3s use 2 lasers - one (red) one for DVDs and CDs, and one (blue) one for games and blu-rays. Often, if a laser fails, it will only be one of these (usually the blue one).  

So if your PS3 happily plays DVDs, but not PS3 games, chances are the laser has died

You have MANY options, and I have tried to list them all below.

I would suggest trying option 1 first, just in case, but after that you can choose any of the others, and I have tried to detail the pros and cons of each option to aid your choice 

Wait for Sony to release a firmware update to fix it

I haven't given this option a number, as the chances of it happening range between zero and nothing.

I'm most definitely going to side step the whole issue of "firmware 3.x" or "game XYZ" broke my blu-ray, but suffice to say that once it is physically broken, it is broken.

No software fix from Sony is ever going to be able to resurrect a blown laser lens or motor.

That said, SOME blu-rays do stop working because of corrupt drivers in the PS3, which is why I have included option 1 below.

But if that doesn't work, chances are high that you have a hardware failure - and no amount of software fixes are likely to resolve it.

[TTDegs]

Option 1) Restore File System

TRY a safe boot, option 3, restore file system.  This doesn't often work, but is free and doesn't do any harm  

Follow the link below, taking particular note of the implications of choosing the wrong option.

Safe Mode 

Be careful when doing this, as selecting the wrong option could wipe your HDD - removing all game saves, music, photos, PSN IDs - the lot!

Pros - It's free, and it might work 

Cons - It might not fix your drive 

Option 2) Claim on your warranty

Check if your PS3 is in warranty.  If it is - claim! 

All PS3s come with a 1 year Sony warranty from new in the UK.

Some retailers give a 1 year warranty on pre-owned PS3s

Some retailers offer to sell extended warranties when you first purchase the PS3 (new or pre-owned)

Sony used to offer 'continuous play' which was a rolling warranty - but they stopped offering that becuase it was being abused 

But basically, if you have ANY kind of warranty, claim on it 

See the later posts for what to do with your save games etc first though, before sending it off, as you will be offered a repair, or a replacement 

Pros - It's free (or at very least you have already paid for it! 

Cons - Hassle of having to save your game saves, deactivate your account etc. 

Option 3) Return to Sony (replacement)

 Call Sony - who will quote you between £100 and £140 to replace it (for a refurb with 3 month warranty). A refurb is a unit which has previously been sent back by someone else and has been repaired with new parts as required and put in a new case.  A van will arrive with it, and take yours away, never to be seen by you again. 

Phone numbers are in the sticky thread at the top of the PS3 General Discussion board - click here

Again, see the later post for what to do with your games saves etc before sending it off.

Pros - you will get a shiny new (looking) PS3 of the same model as the one you send them.  So if you send them a 60Gb, you will get a 60Gb back.

Sony refurbs come with an intact Sony warranty sticker (which may be important if you wish to sell it at a later date)

You get a 3 month warranty.
Cons - although Sony claim to make no profit on this, it is rather expensive

You only get a 3 month warranty.

[TTDegs]

Option 4) Return to Sony (repair)

Call Sony and ask for a repair. Sony sometimes do this (same price ish).  It has the advantage of getting your PS3 back (if they can fix it) - but it takes 2-3 weeks typically.

I believe you get a 3 month warranty with repairs

Numbers are the same as above.  Make certain that you specify why you are looking for therepair option (game saves etc)

Pros - you get your console back. Which means that (in theory) all your game saves etc should still be on it 

As with replace, the console comes back with an intact Sony warranty sticker.

Cons - the time delay 

As with replace, not a cheap option.

Although in theory you should get your PS3 back intact, probably just as well to backup your game saves etc before sending it away. Just in case.

Option 5) 3rd Party repair

Definitely not an option to take lightly, as any 3rd party repair will involve opening the PS3, thus removing the warranty sticker and voiding any remaining warranty, and negating any chance of returning it to the retailer (see later).

Pros - 3rd party repair will possibly be cheaper, and may be quicker (check first).

You may get a longer warranty (non Sony), but check first

You should get your console back, so save games etc are still there.

Cons - no Sony warranty sticker, voided warranty, no chance of returning to retailer, lower resale value at a later date.

[TTDegs]

Option 6) DIY fix

At first glance, this may seem like an attractive option 

However, there are some serious pitfalls... 

In no particular order:

• Opening the PS3 will remove the warranty sticker - thus voiding the warranty,negating any chance of returning it the retailer, and lowering any future resale value.
• Poking around inside the PS3 could actually make things worse
• Risk of personal injury
• Risk of spending money on replacement parts that don't fit or work (see below).

In short - leave it to the professionals! 

The minefield of the DIY fix:

• To confuse matters, the replacement parts for the blu-ray drive are available as either 'just' the laser unit, or a combined laser and motor unit. 
  So if were to buy a laser unit, and then find the motors had died - you would end up with two laser units - which would be a waste.
  Conversely, if you were to buy a motor / lens combined unit, when only the laser had failed - you would be paying for something you didn't need.
• If that were not confusing enough, the PS3 has used three different kinds of lasers since inception - the 400, 410 and 450.  These can not be interchanged - so if you buy the wrong one...
• The drive has several data ribbon cables - which are held in place with fragile clips.  Breaking one of these is very bad news, as the clips are not replaceable, and will result in junking the entire drive 
• Each entire drive unit contains a circuit board, which is uniquely paired to a specific PS3 motherboard - so buying a complete drive unit doesn't work  
• Different 'models' of drive units had the drive circuit board mounted in different ways - so trying to source the same model as the one in your PS3 is even more complex that trying to get the correct laser.

Did I mention that you are best off having a dead laser fixed by professionals? 

Option 7) Take the PS3 back to the retailer

Some owners, having had a blu-ray drive failure, have received 'goodwill gestures' from retailers.

This usually involves a fair amount of effort on your part, but may be something that you wish to investigate further.

Pros - You could get some money back, or money towards a replacement PS3.

Cons - You might not, and you may well have to work hard to get anything.  You will also need to save your data etc as mentioned in previous options.

NOTES:

• ANY attempts at repairs (including Sony repairs) will seriously damage your chances at claiming anything from the retailer.

Option 8) Buy a new PS3

Obviously a tad extreme solution to a dead blu-ray drive, but it might be the impetuous you were waiting for 

Pros - you now own 2 PS3s! 

You can sell the dead one once you have all the data off it

You can use the 3.15 firmware option to transfer ALL data onto the new PS3 (including locked saves, but maybe not singstar songs). Click Data Transfer for details 

You can buy an extended warranty at the same time (from some retailers)

Con - selling your old PS3 takes time and effort

You will obviously not get a HUGE amount of money for it (at time of writing, PS3s with dead blu-ray are going for about £80 on ebay)

You need to be careful about how you describe the fault (ie VERY clear!)

You need to watch out for scammers who buy your PS3 and then claim they didn't know it was broken, and send you back a VERY dead (YLOD?) PS3 instead of the one you sold to them... 

[TTDegs]

Game saves - the issues

One more thing to consider before deciding what route to take...

Game Saves - specifically locked ones.

Many of the options above result in you getting a new (to you) PS3.

Before sending your dead one off (be it for repair or replacement), you should take a full backup of everything you wish to keep.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to do this with locked game saves 

The ONLY way to get locked game saves from one PS3 to another is with the 'data transfer' utility from firmware 3.15

And to do that, you need to be in possession of BOTH PS3s at the same time...

Account Deactivation

One other thing to note - your PSN ID account details.

If you are sending your PS3 away for replacement, or selling it / trading it in, you must ensure that you have removed your account from it first.

Not only do Sony only allow your account to be active on 5 consoles at any one time, but leaving your account on the old PS3 could make it available to whoever ends up with it (potentially).

NOTE:

Before doing anything at all with the data, sign in to PSN and sync your trophies.

This will ensure you don't lose any 

NOTE 2:

If using the 3.15 data transfer option - after transferring all your data (and checking it worked), you might want go back to your old PS3 and deactivate your accounts (XMB, account settings, deactivate) if you haven't already.

Some owners have reported that they could only data transfer with a 'cross over' network cable, whilst others worked fine with a 'normal' one.

The official info (link above) states either will work.

Connection does have to be direct though - not via a router.

Wrap up and disclaimers 

PLEASE NOTE:

ALL of the above, whilst gathered from my time on this forum and elsewhere, is MY understanding of the situation.

It is NOT in any way connected with Sony or Sony's official policy, or anything like that at all.

Unfortunately, I can take no responsibility for the outcome should you decided to act on any of the information in this thread, and I strongly suggest that you do further investigation before embarking down any of the routes mentioned.

In particular you should note:

• ANY attempt at a non-Sony repair will VOID your warranty, and remove the warranty sticker, which will negatively impact your chance of a 'goodwill gesture' from anyone.  It will also massively reduce your chances / it's value if you decide to sell it in the future.  So think very carefully before doing that.
• A Sony repair / refurb may appear to be an expensive option on the face of it - but you end up with a console that has a 3 month Sony warranty, and an intact warranty sticker.

[HBK7510]

I bought  my PS3 when they first came out and had it replaced 3 times due to DB failure so it was replaced for a ne 80GB PS3 which today failed to read any games or blue-ray movies, it has now started working again but am worried that the same problem is on the way with the PS3 7 months past warranty.

What are my options and where do I stand with this problem?

Thanks

[TTDegs]

Your options are all those listed above

But in your particular case, I'd suggest the 'contact Sony' one and explain your situation as the first thing to try

[HBK7510]

Thank you first of all, sony have told me the same thing as your options above and if that dont work it will cost £130 to get my PS3 replaced after having my PS3 replaced 4 times in 4 years which in my opinion is pretty poor.

Should have bought an X-box lol

Thanks all the same

[st3v3_da_gr3at]

you say that all ps3's have 2 lasers mine only has 1 only some have 2 lasers

[TTDegs]

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st3v3_da_gr3at wrote:
you say that all ps3's have 2 lasers mine only has 1 only some have 2 lasers

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I could perhaps have been a bit more specific, apols for any confusion.

All PS3s have 2 laser diodes - one for the red laser (DVD and CD), and one for the blue laser (blu-ray movies and games).

Some have one laser lens, whereas other have two.

I just used 'laser' as a term to include both the laser diode and the lens as a single unit - which was rather sloppy of me, sorry