Sony Wants PS3s To YLoD? ...Wrong Company To Accuse
See Full ImageNormally, we don't bother with any "news" concerning hackers, but this bit seems to be sweeping across the Internet like wildfire.
According to MaxConsole, a hacker claims to have located a certain string in a PS3 .RCO file that apparently states, "msg_error_console_hot_pls_restart." This translates to, "the system has become hot. Please turn off the system and wait a while before turning it on again." Hence, the hacker has interpreted this as follows: Sony could prevent the deadly "Yellow Light of Death" issue by simply implementing a feature that would shut the system down when it was on the verge of overheating. ...and the reason they didn't is because they wanted more sales. I.e., a YLoD outside any warranty will force the gamer to simply buy another console, thereby artificially inflating sales numbers.
Now, I know absolutely nothing about coding. But I do know a little something about numbers. I know that according to retail estimates, the YLoD has never once been all that catastrophic, especially in regards to the new Slim model. It seems highly unlikely that Sony would earn extra significant revenue by "cashing in" utilizing the above hypothesis. But why is this news when the competition's "Red Ring of Death" on the Xbox 360 has indeed proven catastrophic...? So much so that Microsoft actually had to implement a free defective replacement policy? So bad that retailers at one time estimated a disastrous 30% sold : returned defective ratio? Microsoft went on record many times over the years saying they don't know what causes it, and at one time said, "it could happen to any system." Then, they go and release the new Slim saying they've fixed the problem. ...forgive me, but how can you fix a problem when you don't know what it is?
It has long since been theorized that Microsoft could very easily have fixed the issue early on, when it seemed like half the 360s sold at launch were dead within the first year. With any other product, that's simply a colossal failure and one that would require action. But years went by, and God only knows how many gamers had to buy new 360s...does anyone know someone who has been forced to buy any less than three? The RRoD has been covered by everyone from the smallest blogs to the New York Times and statistically speaking, is many times more destructive than the YLoD, which hasn't been anywhere near as widespread. Why exactly are we following a would-be logical train of thought on Sony's side when blatant evidence for the same hypothesis exists amongst the competition...?
By the way, for the record, Nintendo makes the most reliable consoles. They always have. Pretty sure you could let a train run over the Wii and and it'd still somehow work. But it's also a well-known fact that Microsoft has always been on the opposite end of the reliability spectrum, and if any company is guilty of artificially inflating sales numbers by conveniently ignoring a major problem...well, I'm not sure Sony should be taking the headline.
Tags: sony, ps3, playstation 3, ps3 ylod, ps3 reliability
9/26/2010 9:42:49 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (154 posts)
Highlander
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:39:45 PM
The thing is how many people who have a PS3 that overheats and shuts down, realize that's why and do something about it? How many more simply restart it again and again until it finally fails because whatever is preventing the cooling system from adequately cooling the system stopped it cooling at all?
That's a huge problem right there. People do not want to take corrective action if there is a non-fatal fault. Instead they keep on using the system until it dies.
7 up, 4 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:44:15 PM
3 up, 1 down
gangan19
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:37:25 PM
10 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:26:39 AM
what i found funny though is that when i left a comment on a kotaku article, this guy just kept replying to me that the 360 is the best console and all those other crap. i asked him how much times his 360 rrod, he said he was on his 13th 360. luckily for him microsoft fixed the rrod situation with the new slim.....
Last edited by johnld on 9/27/2010 1:30:10 AM
8 up, 1 down
main_event05
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 8:54:54 AM
7 up, 1 down
coverton341
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:01:04 AM
They were all on the top shelf in the stock room and one of them came out of a poorly put together box landed on the ground and busted the disc tray door off and looked like it severely harmed the system. We, for fun, threw a game in it and hooked it up to a TV and the damn thing still played! Lol, it was hilarious because the only thing we had to do was tape a piece of plastic in the switch that indicated that the door was shut.
That PS1 became a kind of store mascot.
3 up, 0 down
Crabba
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:07:29 PM
I have only upgraded the HD to a 160gb drive a few years back, but only because I wanted to get more space, not because there was something wrong with the original HD.
Take care of your electronic equipment and you'll be MUCH less likely to ever have any problems with them, and that includes the PS3 as well as anything else!
Keep it clean, especially around the fan intake & exhaust. Don't use it in a hot/humid or smoke/dust-filled environment.
2 up, 0 down
asdcxz321
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 8:23:54 PM
2 up, 0 down
Drake_RB3
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 @ 10:57:53 AM
2 up, 0 down
Rhys Keyne
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:11:31 PM
Reply
14 up, 1 down
Scarecrow
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:15:28 PM
Reply
Whether or not they are at fault, Microsoft is the one we should be flaming. At the very least ps3s last 2 or 3+ years without any problems compared to the usual 3 or 5 months with the 360.
So.....who's got the biggest nose here?
By the way Slim is the quietest, nicest console I've ever had. It even beats out the ps2. Though the ps1 is one fine console as well as far as reliability.
Last edited by Scarecrow on 9/26/2010 10:16:26 PM
7 up, 1 down
Snaaaake
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:16:40 PM
Reply
I can go on forever with all the articles bad-mouthing the PS brand and it's games.
And is this news?
How many years did it took Microsoft to "fix" the RROD? And since the failure rate was so damn high, they should have solved it quicker.
And after RRoD was "fixed", along comes E74.
And I heard that RRoD was never fixed, it was simply removed as I read from somewhere saying that it will shut down automatically if it's too hot. Right.......and my PS3 is still fine after 48 hours straight.
8 up, 1 down
Highlander
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:35:19 PM
I think that a lot of this kind of story relies on people not knowing enough about the hardware/software in the consoles. PS3 has thermal protection built into the hardware and software and shuts down to prevent hardware damage. This can look abrupt to users, they might think it's a failure, when in fact it's the opposite. If a PS3 has a fan that is performing badly, or the heatsink is no longer effectively removing all the heat, the PS3 will shutdown frequently, and again the user will see this as a failure. Sure, the fan or heatsink might need a repair, but the system is preventing catastrophic damage by shutting itself off.
10 up, 1 down
Snaaaake
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:40:24 PM
But I never had it shut down on me for playing for playing more than 24 hours.
2 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:15:35 AM
7 up, 1 down
Macavity
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:01:15 PM
0 up, 0 down
Akuma07
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:25:41 PM
I dont remember reading anywhere that they actually fixed the hardware problem though.
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:17:07 PM
Reply
I don't get this at all. Sony includes code in the firmware to detect when the system is overheating and an error handler to tell the user to shut down and let it cool off, and because they take this precaution, some hacker decides to take this and somehow turn an overheating warning into an accusation that Sony wants consoles to fail? If they want consoles to fail, why would they bother writing a handler for overheating events?
Honestly, what a bunch of BS.
13 up, 1 down
Vitron
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:19:36 PM
Saying BS is even kind.
2 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:33:23 AM
3 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:34:10 AM
2 up, 1 down
Fane1024
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 3:54:53 PM
I predict another million or so banned 360s right around the release of Kinect.
"No, really...it's a system seller."
Last edited by Fane1024 on 9/27/2010 3:55:43 PM
4 up, 0 down
jigokunohoono
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:21:31 PM
Reply
also my 1st ps3 broke after 2 years, 1st xbox 3 maybe 4 months
Last edited by jigokunohoono on 9/26/2010 10:23:37 PM
4 up, 1 down
CaptRon
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:29:03 PM
Reply
4 up, 1 down
Snaaaake
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:32:32 PM
3 up, 1 down
Lotusflow3r
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 7:45:35 AM
Still going strong. Had some odd moments at times like crashing and then when i restart, it rebuilds my hardrive :S. It's also suddenly went to a blue screen displaying allsorts of info once....had to restart.
I only have 6gig left! I'm constantly battling for space.
2 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:46:35 AM
It sounds like your hard disk has some data corruption on it at a low level. This can happen, and the problem is that the file system repair in the system utility menu can't fully fix the problem. the only thing that can is a real low level format that updates the drives bad sector table and removes the sector(s) that are corrupt from use. I have a 320GB drive that has some bad corruption on it, and have similar problems. The file system restore is simply a band aid, and the problem returns after a while because that utility can't fix the low level corruption, or remove the sector(s) from use.
Your best bet is to carefully copy your game saves to a USB stick, if you have a large enough external USB drive try a backup, it may fail if the utility tries to backup a file that is corrupt on the HDD. But it's worth a try. Once you have got everything you an off the system, deactivate it for games and video so that all your system activations for games and other content are preserved.
Then do either of these two things. Reformat the drive using the system recovery menu. Let it do the longer reformat, it's inconvenient, but works better for a bad HDD.
Or buy a new HDD and install it.
If you were able to get a good backup, now is the time to restore it. If not, recreate all your users using the PSN IDs, email accounts and passwords you used before, put your game saves back on the system, make sure it's activated for games and video, and then re-download any and everything that is in your transaction history download list.
Trust me, it's not a fun process, but it does work. You can find a better and more complete description and guide to all of this on Sony's PS3 support site.
4 up, 1 down
Lotusflow3r
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:44:16 PM
Ahem, i've been contemplating changing hardrives for awhile, but as you said, it may not back it up and i have a lot of music and music bootlegs on here (my PC died) and i can't risk losing them. It's a right pickle.
I'm gonna get tech-savvy with it soon and check if it's possible. I wouldn't know what external hardrive to get or anything!
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 9/27/2010 4:44:53 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:32:49 PM
Reply
Oh...probably because facts don't matter when your only goal is to smear.
12 up, 3 down
Temjin001
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:43:59 PM
Reply
THe PS3 for the first few years COSTED Sony money with every sale--even at $400-$600. It's idiotic to assume that Sony would want to sell two bottom-line draining systems to every one user. They'd much rather have $400-$600 of sales in software and services where the profitability would be.
And as far as I'm concerned, the defect ratio of the original x360 is 100%. The design is flawed (in most situations this would necessitate a recall) it's not a matter of "if" your 360 will fail in the next 5 years (that's generous) or so, but "when."
ANd most my buds opted for the lesser cost repair service (and warrantied) X360 replacement.. which for a few, was 3x or more... ouch.
10 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:45:56 PM
They came to smear. Nothing more.
4 up, 1 down
Killa Tequilla
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:48:25 PM
Reply
So to me it seems that this guy is with MS all the way.
11 up, 1 down
FxTales
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:49:38 PM
Reply
5 up, 1 down
Alienange
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:50:40 PM
Reply
Even though electronics can be brought to an early end by incompetent end users, if, by what is considered "normal use," your system goes up in flames, that's the manufacturer's fault.
Not coding in a shut down failsafe for the morons who have their PS3s sitting on a radiator is NOT the manufacturer's fault.
4 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:58:17 PM
3 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:31:26 AM
One thing that can, and I expect does, happen in the PS3 is that over time and with extensive use, the thermal compound used dries out, becomes brittle and fails to perform properly. What's the actual life of the compound? Not sure, but I'd bet that one of the best things you can do for a PS3 you are re-conditioning is removing the heat sink/fan and applying new thermal compound.
4 up, 2 down
eLLeJuss
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:51:14 PM
Reply
2 up, 1 down
tes37
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:53:27 PM
Reply
5 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:01:23 PM
Besides my 60gb of course which seems like a fluke at this point.
Last edited by Jawknee on 9/26/2010 11:01:54 PM
4 up, 2 down
tes37
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:04:34 PM
3 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:08:25 PM
4 up, 2 down
Fane1024
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:03:05 PM
Aside from my PS3 (2 YLOD repairs, but still working), that's the only Sony product I've owned that didn't last a long, long time without any problems.
1 up, 0 down
CharlesD
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:56:38 PM
Reply
7 up, 1 down
Killa Tequilla
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:56:43 PM
Reply
6 up, 1 down
RX78Zero
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:57:38 PM
Reply
You know, the Play Station 3 software updates and that code may not have been enacted at launch. Microsoft situation is a lot worse.
1 up, 2 down
Vitron
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:12:49 PM
4 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:38:39 AM
3 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:39:43 AM
3 up, 1 down
NoSmokingBandit
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:18:39 PM
Reply
I'm 90% sure ps3s will shut themselves off if they get too hot, a feature MS conveniently left out of the 360. So this string in the RCO must be related to it a different way. Perhaps Sony originally meant to have a heat warning pop up on the screen and instead decided to just have the console shut itself down. They may have just not renamed it in the RCO. When you get into coding something as massively complex as an OS you dont go changing things' names all willy nilly without plans to spend much time fixing everything that isnt linked properly any more.
5 up, 1 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:38:03 PM
MS has yet to make a reliable console. Or even a relatively decent one in terms of longevity.
7 up, 2 down
gangan19
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:40:48 PM
5 up, 1 down
NoSmokingBandit
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:55:17 PM
Its odd because MS makes some of the best mice and keyboards you can buy, almost as good as Logitech some times.
Last edited by NoSmokingBandit on 9/26/2010 11:56:13 PM
2 up, 4 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:25:10 AM
3 up, 1 down
NoSmokingBandit
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:12:12 AM
I dont care if a console is built completely out of off-the-shelf parts if its built and priced accordingly.
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:50:15 AM
1 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:32:53 PM
2 up, 0 down
gangan19
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 11:40:01 PM
Reply
3 up, 1 down
huh1678
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:00:06 AM
Reply
Last edited by huh1678 on 9/27/2010 12:01:10 AM
13 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:50:50 AM
Don't know why that wasn't obvious to me. lol!
1 up, 1 down
laxpro2001
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:26:36 PM
0 up, 0 down
booze925
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:12:47 AM
Reply
any educated user however, can discover that the YLoD is a very fixable problem that can cost you less than $30. in other words, when you send ur ps3 in for a YLoD fix... you've been made a fool.
deny if u want to... but as a ps3 user whos ps3 gt the YLoD 3 TIMES, and realized the truth of the matter, i find some merit to this.
1 up, 15 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:56:17 AM
16 up, 2 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:23:04 AM
As soon as you realize that the yellow LED does not indicate a single fault, but is a general indicator of any hardware fault, you have to realize that there is no single cure.
12 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:55:47 AM
I mean, come on... the slims were already out by the time they began making a profit.
1 up, 1 down
BikerSaint
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:26:25 AM
Reply
I did have to get Gamestop to replace my "used" 60gigger though, but it was due to the disc drive starting to make some bad grinding noises (Hey PETA, no discs ever harmed).
But GS found me another used 60Gigger which I've had no problems with so far, although the fan seems to kick in after about 10 miutes & stays running till I turn it off(BTW, it's not enclosed, it's vent's are vacuumed weekly, and it is set up on 4 small 3" wooden blocks so it get's all the air circulation it ever wishes to suck in. Plus, as 60 gigger's are known for throwing out heat compared to all the other SKU's.
I also have a tornado fan bolted to the wall near the side exhaust vents to siphon the heat away, and all while still keeping me "chilled out" when I'm playing any of my consoles(especially during any of my long 360, PS2, or PS3 marathons).
2 up, 1 down
Charger7302
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:37:31 AM
1 up, 1 down
GuyverLT
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:27:51 AM
Reply
Last edited by GuyverLT on 9/27/2010 12:30:23 AM
6 up, 1 down
xnonsuchx
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:03:15 AM
4 up, 1 down
GuyverLT
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:15:17 AM
1 up, 1 down
Kiri
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:42:04 AM
Reply
So even if it's true and Sony is making a small profit out of this... I really don't care...
Last edited by Kiri on 9/27/2010 12:42:27 AM
3 up, 1 down
Bloodysilence19
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:45:27 AM
Reply
i got ps3 slim now still working fine only over heats lil bit but no problems. it will last for another 4 or more years. Sony makes reliable consoles/gadgets they have always have. ms products always seem to be the worst in reliability. look at 360, vista, xp, windows 7, zune, etc they all have had major problems with them. overall Sony wanting the ylod to happen i think not. when Sony says their product is reliable and will last for a long time they mean it.
2 up, 1 down
Kai200X
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:47:10 AM
Reply
10 up, 2 down
Naztycuts
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:53:58 AM
Reply
7 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:26:44 AM
7 up, 1 down
xnonsuchx
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:59:48 AM
Reply
1 up, 2 down
th3_bLy
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:01:58 AM
Reply
Last edited by th3_bLy on 9/27/2010 1:04:25 AM
3 up, 1 down
Charger7302
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:23:43 AM
Reply
I've gone through 2 ps3, both 60 "gigers", and now currently on my 3rd. While I won't say that i agree with this accusation, because for the most part all my past playstation consoles have survived thier entire lifecycles(my launch ps2 still works)so i doubt sony would start a tactic such as this, BUT I also wont say that the 60 gig ps3s were built "too last". (My second ps3 only lasted me 6 months, almost quit playstation because of that)
2 up, 1 down
Shams
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:29:41 AM
My first check would be on my play habits (not leaving the system on when idle, avoiding frequent, continuous 1 hour+ sessions w/o cooling breaks, etc...). Doesn't mean you can't have an occasional all-nighter, but you should have at least 5 minute cooling breaks every 1 or 2 hours while doing so.
Second would be how i'm keeping the system (off of carpet, preferably on table top or tray/stand, and safely distant from other heat/static-generating equipment, keeping vents unobstructed and vacuumed, not tampering with system in an unprescribed manner nor with undocumented and non-sponsored procedures).
3rd is from where and how i get my system. Always buy new. There's no telling how the guy before you treated his, or how well the repair man fixed it. And of course, always purchase your products from an established retailer.
With these habits, my guess is that a ps3 purchased brand new (both fat and slim) should last you 4 years plus, in a hot/dusty climate, worst-case scenario before you should start getting worried. And if it does bust before then, it is highly unusual, and you should not expect the same thing happening to your next ps3.
3 up, 1 down
johnld
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:52:44 AM
Reply
3 up, 1 down
___________
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:43:00 AM
kinda pointless now since theres a special hack for that which automatically unlocks every trophy and assigns a different time date to each but still.
they dont want people downloading game saves than installing them and unlocking trophies they have not earned.
1 up, 4 down
Fane1024
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:14:22 PM
That's no reason to prevent people from backing-up their saves.
Locked saves are evil. They must be vanquished.
1 up, 0 down
___________
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:41:02 AM
Reply
what if the games saving, or installing to the HDD, you would end up with a corrupted disk.
yea, thats really going to make consumers happy!
i dont think this happens very often though, when i had my original 60GB it was running so freaking hot i could not touch it without burning myself and i never got a message to turn it off.
1 up, 5 down
Shams
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:50:16 AM
4 up, 1 down
___________
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 7:47:48 AM
o lord, imagine DR2, you could complete 10 missions and not save it than your ps3 turns off because its too hot.
i can imagine the phone calls now.
i think sony actually did the right thing for once, warn the user the system is to hot and ask them to turn it off.
if they refuse than its their fault they did not heed the warning!
1 up, 4 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:02:40 AM
HDD corruption happens all the time, if there is one thing Sony really needs to step up and fix in the PS3's firmware it's the HDD access routines. Even though it's really rare, corruption can occur during normal use very, very rarely.
I would like to see a slightly more robust handling of HDD errors in the PS3 so that if there is a read error, the console actually handles the situation instead of leaving it to the game. The trouble with leaving it to the game is that many games don't handle disc read or write errors at all, and either freeze or start behaving oddly, and then ultimately they freeze. It would also help if they built a utility for properly identifying and removing bad sectors during a file system restore.
4 up, 1 down
Shams
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:41:16 AM
Reply
A better comparison for overall design and reliability would be with a ps2, xbox, or gamecube. And in that way, i think it would be fair to say Nintendo is good for reliability. But even then, you'll be playing different kinds of games invoking different play habits.
5 up, 1 down
Lawless SXE
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:50:32 AM
Reply
It probably doesn't help that I run the absolute minimum maintenance on it. And keep it at ground level. Honestly, the way I use it, I expect it to die. And I can't be worried by that. I mean, it happens and I get it fixed again. Whatever.
The 360 failure rate is ridiculous. I have a friend on his seventh console. Hello! I keep telling him to switch to a PS3, but he says that the loading times are too long. I put this to any multiple console owners: Is there any difference?
Eh, I don't care. Nintendo though, I know a guy who still has his launch Gameboy (original). Unreal. Finally: 'On a large enough time scale, all survival rates will drop to zero.' I'm not sure who said it, but that's the way it is.
Peace.
2 up, 2 down
phade2blaq
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:22:56 AM
Reply
Now I'll say this about the Playstation consoles ; the ones that I've owned dating back to the PS1 and PS2 and currently a PS3, have all had with the exception of my PS3, overheating and disc read issues !
In fact when the PS1 debuted, I purchased mine on launch day as I've done with all Playstation consoles that I've owned over the past 15 years !
I went through 6 PS1 consoles in less than a year's time ! The only good thing in my case was the fact that unlike some Playstation owners, my PS1 consoles were all under warranty so it cost me nothing to exchange them !
After getting the 6th and final exchange under warranty, my PS1 finally died and I was forced to buy a new one or get it repaired ! I opted to get it repaired because I had a stockpile of games that I had purchased for it and 6 months later it died !
The 7th PS1 console that I purchased, lasted about 1 year and it too died and after talking to Sony customer service and being told I had done something wrong to cause the issue, I decided not buy another PS1 console for several years until the PS2 came out !
The PS2 with BC was perfect because I could still play my PS1 games !
Well low and behold after 2 months, my PS2 console introduced me to an all new playstation issue, the now infamous and dreaded "DRE" or Disc Read Error" issue that is well known among most owners of the PS2 !
In addition to the DRE issue, my console for some odd reason stopped playing any DVD movies period !
I was told that I hadn't played an equal amount of dvd movies and games therefore, the PS2 wouldn't play dvd movies any longer !
This was the Fat PS2 BTW ! Fast forwarding here, I went through 3 fat PS2's and 2 Slim PS2' all because of DRE issues !
In fact I still have all of my PS2 consoles sitting in my basement all rendered useless because of DRE !
My PS2 consoles read less than 20% of the games I have left for my PS2 ! And none will play a DVD movie period !
Now so far, my PS3 has performed well no issues except my disc loading tray stopped working 1 month after buying but Sony repaired it and returned it in a timely manner and no issues since !
All in all, I wouldn't be surprised to find out Sony has added this .RCO file to force people to buy a new PS3 considering what they charge to repair them !
These corporations unfortunately are GREEDY now days !
I still have a N64, SNES and a Sega Dreamcast that all play fine and all are the original launch day consoles and I've never had a problem with any of them so go figure !
Last edited by phade2blaq on 9/27/2010 6:27:53 AM
2 up, 15 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:56:46 AM
The early systems didn't do well with dual layer DVDs. But to have repeated failures early in the life, either you had terrible luck, or you were doing something with the systems that caused the laser head to move slightly out of alignment. The way those drives were built, it wouldn't have take much to make it happen.
5 up, 1 down
WolfCrimson
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:59:06 AM
But your case is weird mate, my PS2 lasted me a long time and it's still the same as I bought it. It did have DREs alot, but I have a fix for it, and can probably still keep playing it now. And mind you, mine was modded, so those fake games did take their toll on my PS2.
1 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:28:32 AM
7 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:35:49 PM
2 up, 0 down
Clamedeus
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:51:08 AM
Reply
5 up, 2 down
Temjin001
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:57:49 AM
3 up, 1 down
CreamCracker
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:58:58 AM
Reply
1 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:51:12 AM
1 up, 1 down
Godslim
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 7:44:29 AM
Reply
3 up, 2 down
Hezzron
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 8:42:54 AM
Reply
5 up, 3 down
WolfCrimson
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:03:58 AM
Last edited by WolfCrimson on 9/27/2010 10:04:17 AM
5 up, 1 down
Alienange
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:53:19 PM
5 up, 0 down
RebelJD
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 8:43:38 AM
Reply
I've heard stories that placing your 360 or PS3 vertically heightens the risk of it failing. Through my experience, when I had a 360, it worked like a charm and it never sounded like sh** either. Then again, I always took care of it and never abused the thing. Also, I made sure that I didn't force it during hot temperatures. When I sold it, I was confident in the fact that my buyer was getting a solid system, like new.
Now with my beloved PS3 Slim, I do the same thing, I care for it, and I take care of it like all my other electronics.
Overheating can definitely cause damage to anything if one doesn't take the necessary steps to prevent it from overheating in the first place. Use an automobile for example.
The PS3 has gotten such a bad rep since it came on the scene, I just don't understand. Seems ppl where just waiting to see a fault in something superior, that once found, they attacked it.
Just laugh it off my fellow gamers.
6 up, 1 down
daus26
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:09:30 PM
0 up, 0 down
Arvis
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:07:33 AM
Reply
In other news, Nintendo could have saved many gamers from having to buy new DSes by programming them to shut down automatically every time they are dropped in a bucket of water. Because clearly this would prevent permanent hardware damage from occuring.
Idiots.
-Arvis
2 up, 2 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:50:17 AM
;)
Sadly, this is something that most consumers don't know, understand or care about.
5 up, 1 down
Fane1024
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:24:13 PM
Neither of my YLODs were due to damage to the motherboard (according to the repair logs). If anything, the YLOD occurred to PREVENT damage to the motherboard.
0 up, 0 down
pavlovic
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:09:15 AM
Reply
My launch PS2 died after 3+ years, got another one in 2003 and still working.
My 60GB launch PS3 died with the YLOD about a month ago, I have it back and now is working just fine.
I also have a PSP 1000, PSP 2000 and a PSP Go and all 3 are working just fine.
So, IMO, the PS consoles are made to work for some years. My experience, my opinion.
Still, love the PS experience
6 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:48:56 AM
Of course the PS2 had the alignment problem with it's DVD lens. I had to adjust mine several times to maintain game and movie playback.
3 up, 1 down
WolfCrimson
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:06:52 AM
1 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:33:01 AM
1 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:06:15 AM
Reply
I've NEVER had a system fail. Ever! I keep my systems in well ventilated areas, I clean the vents, I stop playing if the room I'm in gets too warm, and the material I set it on is not a material that conducts heat like glass does!
Keep in mind, my PS3 is a release 60gig'er. The biggest culprit of all PS in terms of YLOD. Some of the conditions people put their systems through is like they're TRYING to torture test it.
I have a friend who kept his system in a small, enclosed entertainment centre made of glass. It sat probably only 2 cm from glass on back and side. He had no A/C, nor did he have fans running in the room. Additionally, he would leave it running 24/7. His PS3 hasn't failed yet, but it's WAY too noisy for a slim. (it's probably a matter of time) He's already gone through 4 360's. I would not be surprised if his PS3 dies soon, either.
Now, I don't know if his 360's would have failed anyways, but I'm willing to bet large sums of money that if he had taken proper care, he DEFINITELY wouldn't have lost 4 360's.
I'm also willing to bet, that a majority of people here who have lost systems of any kind, likely have not read the user manual nor do they take care of it properly.
I mean, I know it's a long and boring read, but it can save you a few hundred dollars.
7 up, 1 down
Fane1024
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:43:28 PM
I'm also willing to bet, that a majority of people here who have lost systems of any kind, likely have not read the user manual nor do they take care of it properly."
...the key words being "probably" and "majority". S**t happens, no matter how well you treat your equipment.
That does remind me that I have to vacuum my baby tonight, though.
1 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:16:45 PM
But the *shit happens* group is probably microscopic. A random fail for no reason is definitely not the norm and is probably an issue that you would encounter very early in the system's life.
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:30:40 AM
Reply
Over the weekend, my 60GB system locked up no less than 6 times. Once in Home, four times playing Blade Kitten, and once while attempting to check my trophies while playing Wipeout HD. I know that the system is not overheating, and I know that it's otherwise well, the games all running from the HDD rules out a BluRay problem.
On three of the occasions the system was unable to shut itself down when I pressed the power button on the front panel. So I had to do the press and hold to force a power-down. Every time you force the PS3 to shut itself off, you are more than likely creating some level of corrupt data on the HDD, either file corruption or low level data corruption. Every time a game freezes, it can create file level data corruption.
So, I know that my system has a flaky hard drive. I know it because I understand the system, the symptoms and have seen it before. How many other *ordinary* PS3 owners without a technical background will realize this? I will take some corrective action to fix the issue. I'll probably replace the HDD. But most consumers won't, they don't know how, they don't want to know how. To them this would be a system failure.
The thing is, because the system is freezing regularly, there is a chance that it will corrupt something more vital than a game resource file. When that happens the system could well cease to start or halt with a general failure condition. Again, the consumer doesn't know, or care, they simply want their system to work.
The best course of action for a consumer would be to take out that lovely Sony extended warranty plan, so that if this ever happens they simply send the thing to Sony who then fix it and everything is lovely again.
Regarding overheating. There are two ways this can become a problem in any system. The first is a fault of some kind, either the airflow through the system is somehow interfered with, the fan doesn't work well (or at all) or the heatsink stops efficiently conducting the heat from the chips it protects. This can cause permanent damage unless it's addressed - quickly. Time to replace a faulty fan or clean the innards of the PS3 and/or replace the thermal compound on the heat sink. 95% of consumers are better leaving that to a professional. Time to call Sony or a third party that actually does repair things properly.
The second is age. Arvis called this one. Over time the thermal cycles of warming and cooling cause some components to develop tiny physical flaws. the most common is cracks in solder joints. This happens to all electronics. This is one reason why heatsinks and fans are so important, they not only protect the chips, but also the motherboard and other components.
One thing to be really clear on, you cannot permanently fix this kind of failure with a hot hairdryer or a heat gun. You can't 'reflow' solder at those temperatures, and if you got a high enough temperature out of a heat gun to do it, you'd damage everything else that receives the heat. You might - at best - cause slight deformation that temporarily restores function, but ultimately the heat from the 'fix' simply causes further damage through the heating and cooling of the system components. The only true fix if a motherboard goes fault, is to replace the motherboard and then professionally repair the faulty one.
The reason we never saw this kind of issue with PS1 and PS2 is that neither of those systems produced much heat. The PS3 and 360 produce lots of heat, and it has to be carefully removed from the system to prevent failure.
9 up, 1 down
Temjin001
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:41:01 AM
Multi-layered fun. The system is built like Fort Knox.
5 up, 1 down
WolfCrimson
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 10:47:13 AM
Last edited by WolfCrimson on 9/27/2010 10:47:41 AM
1 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:00:46 AM
4 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:34:45 PM
Indeed. Does anyone remember when things like game consoles came with labels that explicitly stated "Does not contain user serviceable parts"? I think that may well apply to the insides of the PS3 - excluding HDD replacement of course.
0 up, 0 down
JPBooch
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:03:32 AM
Reply
YLOD primarily happens when the joints for the main chips crack and you get a hardware failure. It is from overheating. The opinion that it only happens on the 60GB launch is not true. I've had 2 40 GB purchased a year after launch do it too.
Either the fan gives out or the thermostat that regulates the fan speed doesn't do it's job. It's not that the people who get this don't take care of their system (though I'm sure there are many who don't). I take very good care of my system and it is exposed to open air at all times. A failure is a failure.
I would like to note that if this guy found this line in the bios code for the PS3, they were obviously trying to fix it. I think that the reason it overheats is just not addressed by the code. It may look at a sensor that is away from the chips...say in the power core.
Last edited by JPBooch on 9/27/2010 11:04:43 AM
1 up, 1 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 5:17:23 PM
Besides, you cannot generate sufficient heat to re-flow solder using a heat gun. that amount of heat would roast the motherboard and other components nearby. Unless you have supernaturally good soldering skills and a very tiny soldering iron, I don't see how you're going to fix those solder joints you believe are at fault. If those systems you 'fixed' did indeed have bad solder joints, then they still do, and ultimately will fail again, because the fault is still there.
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 11:53:58 AM
Reply
Sometimes, particulary when playing mw2 or u2, the ps3 fans start running like crazy inside that box, make me wonder "hmm should I shut down and cool things down now?". But since there are no heat indicators anywhere I usually go on playing, hoping that the system takes care of itself.
Now on all other computers I've got there is a feature to monitor temp, fan speed etc. So why not on the ps3?
2 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:29:08 PM
Your console gets loud when playing U2 because the PS3 is streaming everything from the disc. Does the same thing when playing God of War III. Not sure why it gets hot when playing MW2. Chances are your PS3 gets hot enough to kick the fan into over drive but the fan keeps it cool enough to continue gaming without damaging the system.
Last edited by Jawknee on 9/27/2010 12:34:00 PM
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:15:07 PM
Now if this was an open platform such tools would already be available...
Last edited by Beamboom on 9/27/2010 1:19:09 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 1:36:01 PM
0 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 8:04:10 PM
And we got a battery monitor for the controllers, so why not a visual monitor for the temperature too? Why should that be less "console" than a battery monitor... Especially considering that the data (the temp) is already available on system level.
Last edited by Beamboom on 9/27/2010 8:08:19 PM
1 up, 0 down
Highlander
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 10:48:53 AM
Consoles are not PCs, I'm not talking about the technology or basic system configuration, I'm talking about the purpose for which they are designed. They are consumer electronics like a DVD or BluRay player, not a PC.
0 up, 0 down
SolTrain
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:32:03 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
THEVERDIN
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 12:45:30 PM
Reply
1 up, 0 down
AcHiLLiA
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 2:06:23 PM
Reply
1 up, 0 down
sirbob6
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 3:01:26 PM
Reply
On the topic of Nintendo. I have a SNES that I might of dropped from a slight height of 15ft. I stuffed all the exposed guts in the remains of the shell and wrapped it up with electrical tape. It is still working today. Then there is the Game Cube my friend hit with a sledge hammer a couple times that still works.
Last edited by sirbob6 on 9/27/2010 3:06:47 PM
1 up, 0 down
Victor321
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 3:03:56 PM
Reply
My random observations aside, I totall agree with you Ben, the YLoD isn't that big of a catastrophe, and so is the RRoD, in my opinion. I myself don't hear it much from games sites, and my friends that have 360s, RRoD is the past to them (and not because they have slims, we all have elites =D).
My 360 is still going strong, aside from a few freezeups (my PS3 does too, but unlike my 360, it resets itself when it does) every several months lol
The most recent incident for my 360, all my friends proclaimed my 360 dead, that it Red Ringed, but boy, were they proven wrong...lol
Last edited by Victor321 on 9/27/2010 3:04:40 PM
1 up, 1 down
Zorigo
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:03:20 PM
Reply
however, Sony have been a brilliant company when it comes to fan service. so... i'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
and MS are just complete money-sucking twazzocks. Thats obvious.
one mate had to buy 2 xboxes then a ps3.
another bought 3 then a ps3.
MS are stupidly greedy.
0 up, 0 down
Deleted User
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 4:25:55 PM
Reply
0 up, 9 down
Highlander
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 5:13:23 PM
Never mind the fact that the yellow LED indicator means that some kind of general hardware fault has happened, there are many potential causes for the general hardware failure to be indicated.
4 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 7:28:58 PM
...then I remembered a french fry has a higher IQ.
5 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 9:22:00 PM
The reason PS3 is of a higher quality than XBOX360, is because the PS3 sells on it's software and performance quality. Not on the number of overall units sold. If they wanted to practice like Microsoft and RROD the wallets off their fans, Sony would put self-destructing mechanisms on their game disks like we were all Inspector Gadgets.
1 up, 0 down
ezwiep
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:10:00 PM
Reply
Last edited by ezwiep on 9/27/2010 6:10:20 PM
2 up, 0 down
DeathOfChaos
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 11:49:05 AM
0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 12:14:32 PM
But you're right. My uncle is a professional hacker, basically. What I mean by that, is that he gets contracted out to various companies (lotto, police, etc.) to test their security systems. Basically, he hacks them to find all the holes, then patch them up.
Hacking can be done for good or bad, just like any other skill out there.
0 up, 0 down
tazbrat
Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 6:43:11 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
DeathOfChaos
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 11:47:52 AM
0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Thursday, September 30, 2010 @ 2:33:51 PM
You're right. The reason it doesn't work permanently is because the CAUSE for the YLOD still hasn't been removed. If you were to fix the cause AND do the repair to the damaged parts, it might be more permanent.
0 up, 0 down
alcrowley
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 10:33:29 AM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
DeathOfChaos
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 11:46:59 AM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
Robotros
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 1:59:29 PM
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No YLoD from that.
I did EVENTUALLY YLoD but yea.. unrelated completely.
not sure but Never heard of a slim Ylod... or even any system that doesn't have the old 60mm chip
0 up, 0 down
Robochic
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 @ 2:35:37 AM
Reply
also for people to say that you only get the YLOD due to consumer not taking care of their system i call BS on that as well, I just had my 20gig PS3 die about 2 months ago on me :( and I will have to tell you that I took care of that fat beast like I gave birth to it, i always cleaned it, always kept it well ventalated ect.. and trust me i know how to take care of a system I use to work for xbox call centre in the hardware department so I am not stupid, it's like sony said to me I played the sh!t out of it alot and it was well used and well taken care of, i know some might have issues with hardware due to consumer error but not all of us out there are complete morons just sometimes it happens no one to blame. What happened to mine i have no clue I do think its the fans cause the system a day before was running hot so I shut her down for the day and night and thats when we got the ylod. Anywase I have a slim now just cause my parents are giving me money to get my fat princess fixed for christmas but I couldn't wait that long.
0 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Reply
Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 10:07:04 PM
From what i can tell, its only the 60gb models that seem to be affected the most. Not saying other models haven't gotten the YOLD, but 99% of the time when people complain of the problem, its a launch PS3 that was affected. Given it has quite a bit more hardware in it it will naturally run hotter and over time wear out faster.
I can't believe this garbage is still going on.
The internet, a bless and a curse. Full of information but also full of morons like these hackers who misread a line of code and try to turn it into "Soooony is teh Devel drrrrrrrrrrrrr!!" moment.
I haven't had any issue with my Slim model. Never gets too hot or too loud. My refurb 60gb seems to be running strong as well though i do use it less. As for my Wii, my dog was playing one day and snagged the GameCube controller wire while i was playing Resident Evil Remake pulling the Wii off a shelf where it fell 4 to 5 feet off the shelf to the ground. Crashing hard, breaking the controller and memory card lid. The game didn't even freeze. Been almost 2 years since that happened. Wii still runs great. I have never had a piece of Nintendo hardware die on me. Never a Sony piece of hardware either besides my 60gb PS3. Still have my PS2 from launch and gave my launch PS1 to my dad. It still works too.
Besides, doesn't the YOLD indicate a general hardware failure, not just over heating?
Last edited by Jawknee on 9/26/2010 10:13:34 PM