The Yellow Light of Death

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January 27, 2010 at 9:47 am #15335

pobert06
Member

Yup,My 80 GB MGS4 PS3 just died on me this morning while playing Modern Warfare 2 . While I was playing a game,the PS3 suddenly shut down and the red light starts blinking.It seems this game has tendency to cause YLOD on the PS3.

I have some questions to those who repaired the YLOD from their PS3:

1.) Will my HDD be formatted if I try to remove it from the PS3 to try if it causes the problem and put it back in?

2.) Are all my saves/data lost/corrupted inside the HDD?

3.) Is their a high chance that my PS3 will be irrepairable?

I hope somebody can help me out cause there will be good games coming out and I don't wanna be missing out.

January 27, 2010 at 1:57 pm #56311

DarkAssassin78
Member

Hi, uhm this never happen to me but if you can't fix it just buy the 120gb or 250gb they're pretty cheap and i think you loose all your data becasue nothing was saved properly.

January 27, 2010 at 3:05 pm #56317

Finch_92
Member

no game causes ylod its merely a coincidence i got it with tekken 6

im not sure about number 1 but number two i think if u can get the ps3 working ur saves wont be corrupted as for number 3 ive been told 9 times out of 10 ylod can be fixed easily i have my 40gb sitting broke in the corner of my room when i aquire a heat gun il be attempting to fiix it the only thing to worry about is how long it will last could be a week a month everyone is different. i got a refurb one from sony and it lasted 14 months before getting the ylod so it just depends. im seriously getting annoyed with this now ps3s are becoming NEARLY as bad as xboxs every week now some1s getting this there supposed to last at least 5 years not 1-2 sony need to offer a 3 year warrenty if it develops ylod like microsoft have with the rrod thats the only problem i have with sony atm. its not fair we payed 200 plus quid for a machine that breaks just outside warranty and sony expects us to pay 130 pounds for something that isnt even our fault its theres

January 27, 2010 at 3:16 pm #56318

BigWoopMagazine
Member

@Finch – you have to keep in mind that when a YLOD happens, the first or second place people will go is the forums… which reading them makes it seem like its happening a lot more, since theres a huge number of ps3 owners its bound to happen.

@Pobert – that sucks. If you remove the hard drive it will need to be formatted upon reinstallation. Your data is not necessarily corrupt, although it could be. If the game was saving or writing to the HD when the system shut down, its a definite possibility, but most likely the MW2 data will be the only thing corrupted. There is a high chance that your PS3 is repairable by Sony. There is some chance you can do it yourself. If you send it in to sony (which you should do if its under warranty), expect them to format your hard drive. If you don't, theres a pretty DIY guide on this forum. If you want your data back, I would look for an external hard drive adapter, it will allow you to remove the hard drive and connect it via USB to a computer as if it is an external, and back up your data. I'm currently looking into getting one, but debating on whether or not its worth the money. Good luck.

January 27, 2010 at 3:30 pm #56322

Finch_92
Member

i here what ur saying but everyone i know has had there ps3 brake and 75% of my friends list as well are on there 2nd or 3rd ps3 its hard to believe im on my third ps3 through no fault of mine yet my sisters wii which isnt looked after very well is still in mint condition with no problems what so ever im just miffed cos i expect them too last longer or at the very least not have to PAY half the cost of the ps3 to get it fixed because its overheated because its not been designed properly just my opinion and if it happens again to me im taking sony to the small claims court cos im sick of them and there crappy policyand i damn sure aint paying for another replacement

January 27, 2010 at 3:46 pm #56323

BigWoopMagazine
Member

Yea, I mean, I'm on my second one, and its definitely annoying. The other thing though, is I had mine for two and a half years before it broke. My friend on the other hand got his 6th xbox from his brother for his birthday – 3 months later it broke. The lifespan on the average PS3 is definitely much better…. although I still wish it was longer. Also, I only know one other person (personally, real life here, not internet people) who has had a ps3 break. All the others have had no problems. EVERY friend I have with an xbox is on at least their third one, or has given up on it. I guess its unfortunate that the horrible manufacturing of the xbox has made it seem ok that my ps3 took 2.5 years to kick the bucket… This is always a risk with high end technology.

January 27, 2010 at 6:00 pm #56325

ecurry
Member

1) no

2) no

3) unlikely, not in my experiences anyway

There is a topic in Forums>PS3 related discussion>.. on how to repair a PS3 if you are interested

Removing the HDD while powered down and dismantled does not require a reformat, it is as though the PS3 never broke. I have done this 5-6 times now and the biggest plus is that the HDD image stays intact and saves are still accessible

January 27, 2010 at 6:12 pm #56326

ecurry
Member

BigWoopMagazine said:

@Finch – you have to keep in mind that when a YLOD happens, the first or second place people will go is the forums… which reading them makes it seem like its happening a lot more, since theres a huge number of ps3 owners its bound to happen.

@Pobert – that sucks. If you remove the hard drive it will need to be formatted upon reinstallation. Your data is not necessarily corrupt, although it could be. If the game was saving or writing to the HD when the system shut down, its a definite possibility, but most likely the MW2 data will be the only thing corrupted. There is a high chance that your PS3 is repairable by Sony. There is some chance you can do it yourself. If you send it in to sony (which you should do if its under warranty), expect them to format your hard drive. If you don't, theres a pretty DIY guide on this forum. If you want your data back, I would look for an external hard drive adapter, it will allow you to remove the hard drive and connect it via USB to a computer as if it is an external, and back up your data. I'm currently looking into getting one, but debating on whether or not its worth the money. Good luck.

Don't buy an external HDD casing if you want to back up your data. It wil not be read on a PC. This could corrupt the partition and cause a reboot. PS3 use there own File system which isn't recognised by any PC system. If you connect it to the PC and any changes are made with out your knowledge,especially with Vista, then it will cause you to have to reformat and lose everything. The only way to back up your saves with a working PS3 is with a FAT32 file system flash drive or external HDD and copy them over manually. The only way to back up saves with a broken PS3 is by fixing it to access the XMB and do a manual back up with your external source!!!

NB

I forgot to mention before in my guide that if you choose to send your PS3 to be replaced by a refurb through sony then you will have to disable the system activation on the console, otherwise if you don't you will lose out on 1 account and be stuck with 4 accounts instead of 5.

January 27, 2010 at 6:16 pm #56327

BigWoopMagazine
Member

Damnit! ok… well now I'm glad I didn't buy that thing. Thanks for the heads up. Shit though, that kinda screws me in the goat ass.

January 27, 2010 at 6:25 pm #56330

pobert06
Member

thanks for the heads up guys.I could try and fix it myself using Gnilsia's guide but I have no knowledge on electronics and could easily make the PS3 worst than it is now.So I'll just send it to a repair shop and try getting it fix there hopefully without any data lost.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't saving or anything because I'm in a middle of a game. I'm considering buying a PS3 Slim cause I've read that a fixed YLOD PS3 won't last for long.

Another question,can I backup my data in my current Fat PS3 in an external HDD then transfer it to the Slim?

January 27, 2010 at 6:29 pm #56332

ecurry
Member

not unless you can get it fixed first, but yeah if you have it working then it is easy to transfer between consoles. I would advise the guide though you do not need to be electronic based to do it, why not get your dad or friend to help you out with the fix and double check everything

January 27, 2010 at 7:14 pm #56336

Knoxie
Member

pobert06 said:

I'm considering buying a PS3 Slim cause I've read that a fixed YLOD PS3 won't last for long.

sorry to hear it to yet another person. trust me, it probs wont last long at all i mean mine broke like 1 and a half month after repair (i was half a month out of warranty but strangely enough they still did it for free) and im gonna sell it while its still alive since ive got my slim now and had no problemo's at all!

January 28, 2010 at 1:06 am #56360

tdsoil2
Member

couple of questions because im getting scared for my ps3:

1) I have a 120 gig can i get it?

2) is the yellow light in one of the lit up buttons like the power or cd lights?

3) are there any signs this is happening or going to happen?

January 28, 2010 at 1:17 am #56363

Doc-B
Member

I guess any Ps3 could get it… The SKU's are all pretty much the same. I've a 320Gb HDD in a 80Gb SKU, so the HDD size doesn't matter… The “Yellow” light is just the one on the front of your machine that's red when it's on standby…

I think it just happens, I was playing Resistance2 and it just died…

January 28, 2010 at 1:50 am #56366
ecurry
Member
I have not seen any slim consoles experiencing YLOD. Majority of YLOD consoles are the original 60GB model, but more recently i have seen some of the 2nd generation of PS3's (40GB and 80 GB) have suffered the same fate

The HDD does not make a difference contrary to popular belief. It is mainly caused by poorly programmed games or games that push the console to its limits, which causes serious overheating.

Whether the console is standing upright or flat also makes no difference.

There is usually a warning when it is about to happen:
- Abnormal fan speed / noise.
- Game freezing, requiring a forced shutdown.
- Very hot air constantly blowing from the console.
Preventative action can be taken:
- Store PS3 in the open, not in TV units etc.
- clean PS3 of any dust, internally (without removing the clamps holding the fan and CPU in place) – simply blowing should clear the troublesome dirt.
- If any symptoms occur turn off the console immediately and leave for the rest of the day to cool down, then back up any data required just in case
The YLOD is in place of the Green and Red lights that appear on the power switch you will also hear the fan blowing really hard and a quick double beep. I dont think it will definitely happen to the majority of gamers i have seen original consoles played more frequently and still maintain a clean bill of health.

@tdsoil2

Don't worry about it happening to you too much or it will ruin your gaming experience! It may never happen, who knows
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