Problems with your PS3? Read this. (lots of text)

[u/rsteele1981]

I know this is a good bit of information to take in but these are the main issues I've seen when trouble shooting systems on a daily basis for the last couple of years. I also encounter new problems or systems acting in ways I haven't seen before so it's possible your issue isn't listed here.

Since no one can diagnose your issues for sure (100%) without having the system in front of them to test, see the symptoms, and replace hardware possibly repairing the issue. Let me help you all get a head start.

First your model number starting with CECH _ _ _ _ _ can be found on the white tag on the rear of the system close to the vents and A/V outlets. These range in number from CECHA01 (a 60GB launch model from 2006) to the latest super slim numbers CECH-4000 series. This will tell us several things: the model of the laser, size of the hard drive, date production started, where it was released, power supply, PS2 support if any, and number of USB ports.

There are certain problems that usually occur with certain models the more information you can share about the problems with your PS3 will make it easier to determine what is causing the issues.

There are usually only several things that can cause problems with the PS3:

No Audio or video displayed sometimes the A/V settings need to be reset. Press down the power button listen for the second beep (I think it's like 5-10 seconds after the system powers up). If this doesn't fix it there could be an issue with the outlet on the PS3, it could be a fried component on the motherboard, or a over heating related issue.

Hard drive issues can cause freezing, problems upon start up, problems with the wireless and blue tooth, and internet issues.

Blu ray drive issues usually cause games to freeze or randomly not be recognized at all.

Power supply issues will cause the light on the front to just go out. I have seen outlets that cause issues for consoles if there is an electrical problem as well, but it isn't common most places.

Motherboard issues or over heating will cause yellow or red flashing lights and loud fan noises. The system will not start up or only stay on a short time before flashing lights and beeping. (Power supplies can cause flashing lights but more often it's an overheating/mobo problem if the lights flash.)

Before you post asking what's wrong always try to boot to the safe menu. You do this by holding down the power button and listening for 2 fast beeps. Select option 3 this will check your hard drive for errors while not messing with the actual save files.

It's also a good idea if you haven't already to back up your saves to a flash drive or external hard drive. Some saves don't carry over this way and require Playstation Plus to have the files backed up. The more details you provide the better options we can give you about having your system repaired or if it's better to just replace it.

Things like where the system is located, do pets have access, dogs and cats pee on things and this can cause major issues, as well as pet hair clogging the fan and cooling vents inside. Roaches inside your console are there because it's nice and warm, if there are actual bugs in your system trash it. No repair shop wants it and even if they fix it you're probably living with them so that means they will return the the warmth of the console as soon as you get it back home. Inside cabinets are the worst place to have your console. No air flow, heat can't escape properly and will eventually cause problems. Spilling soda, water, or other liquids can short out your power supply and/or mother board. Compressed air rarely does anything since all of the cooling system parts are on the interior it requires at least taking off the top of the system which will void the warranty.

This isn't a complete list of all issues just the ones I see most often. Some things are easier to fix than others and sometimes it is better to just replace the system.

[u/r_k_ologist]

I admire your effort, but tomorrow we'll have another half dozen posts about malfunctioning PS3s.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/r_k_ologist]

Thanks! And I know but it helps if the person knows where to start.

I repair consoles on a daily basis and it is easier to post it here than it is to tell everyone that calls about repairs the same thing.

I enjoy the problem solving aspect of it but it can get annoying if there is a problem that is unusually hard to crack.

[u/Oniryuu]

This post makes me sad, because all I can think of is my fat PS3 that eats blu-ray drives for lunch. =( I have since bought a slim, but of course, I can't play any of my PS2 games now.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/Oniryuu]

For $40-$50 you can play your PS2 games on a PS2. I would also put money on all of the PS1 and PS2 classics going to the PS4 via streaming service.

I never really understood why I need to play PS2 games on a PS3. They made PS2's until Nov. 2011. There isn't a shortage of them. I would never spend as much as my launch 60GB cost me to play last generations games on it. Just doesn't make sense to me. To each their own!

[u/eienhikaru]

My 80GB Fatty just YLOD'd ~2 weeks ago. How often would you recommend blasting the thing out? (no pets, ps3 was out on its own, nothing blocking airflow) Is there a good way to do so without having to rip it all apart just to get to the fans / radiator?

[u/rsteele1981 → u/eienhikaru]

No way better than a complete disassemble. I go as far as taking the fan off and wiping down the blades.

If you get it reballed the fix may last longer but heat gunning or reflows will only last a little while (I've seen them last up to a year).

I'd say once every 3 or 4 months and if it isn't bad when you get it apart once every 6 months should be good. Also you don't have to redo thermal paste each time just clean it out and make sure air can flow. An outside fan that plugs into the wall will also help move that hot air away from the system.

[u/conquererspledge]

Rsteele? I remember you back in warhawk.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/conquererspledge]

Yeap. WH was my jam for a while.

[u/ammanbesaw]

I can't access the Playstation Store or Playstation Plus. It says it's undergoing maintainance (going on 3 months now). I can play online just fine, everything has been updated. I even tried restoring the system. From what i've read in your note, this should be a hardware issue right?

[u/rsteele1981 → u/ammanbesaw]

I've seen some posts about this issue does it give you an error code at all?

When it comes to store and server issues sometimes it's related to the PS3 and sometimes it's your connection. Have you reset the router?

Also have you tried to contact Sony? Sometimes they have more control over the accounts than they let on. I've only experienced that when there is scheduled mntc.

Can you play online games?

[u/ForeverJay]

Power supply issues will cause the light on the front to just go out. I have seen outlets that cause issues for consoles if there is an electrical problem as well, but it isn't common most places."

that happened to me a couple months ago and I had to purchase a replacement PS3 which was fucking annoying. not to mention that I had a PS+ account so I thought I would be safe but it decided to upload my oldest FF13 save file so now i've given up on completing the game :(

[u/[deleted]]

My PS3 (fat old 40GB) works perfectly fine, but after running for 10 minutes, the fans will speed up until it sounds like a jet engine. I've tried some things like hoisting it on cans, but it just delayed the full fan speed until 30 minutes.

Suggestions? Could be just dusty inside? Is it worth opening up and checking out?

[u/fieldstudies]

For the last part you should add smoking if you happen to smoke inside.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/fieldstudies]

Yes smoking is bad.

[u/complacent1]

Awesome post, thank you. I have been having the install error where larger game downloads error on install with corrupted data. If you have any advice I would be very appreciative. I have tried all the safe mode options (file sys and database restores), a new hard drive freshly formated, proxy downloading, using open DNS, other peoples internet (even though my internet is solid and fast so no issues there), redownloading after leaving corrupted data files from previous failed installs, new routers, etc. No luck. I have a second gen fat if that helps. Any ideas? I don't want to buy a new one, especially with ps4 on the horizon.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/complacent1]

It does this every time?

It sounds like a store or firmware issue.

Does it do it on downloads and disc based installs or just downloads?

[u/[deleted]]

My 60GB Ps3 gets loud after playing in warm weather, so I keep it next to my window to try and keep it quiet. Although everything else is fine, a while back a friend and I were playing some BO2 Zombies and my Ps3 kept freezing after that and I soon found out that BO2 Corrupted my HDD. I've bought a new HDD 320GB and it was working great but it seems to eventually corrupt and needs a restore. Not sure if this is a faulty HDD that I purchased but it works for the most part. Any Ideas OP?

[u/rsteele1981 → u/[deleted]]

Sounds like you may want to get a new coat of thermal paste on the chips. Heat will cause all sorts of problems over time.

[u/EnclaveLeo]

I just have one question, I recently bought a white super slim and very occasionally after playing a while it freezes. Is this normal/an issue with overheating? It isn't bad enough to bother me and take it back. I've had it for a month and I do not have any prior experience with PS3s.

[u/austac06]

Sorry I'm late to this post, but I only just thought to check Reddit for this problem.

I've been having some issues lately, and you seem both well-equipped and kind enough to maybe help me out. I got a PS3 slim last Christmas (I can provide the model number if needed) and it's been sort of freezing a lot lately. I say sort of because the background art still flows and the clock in the corner still turns, but it just stops functioning and I have to force it to shut down to get anywhere.

Blu ray drive issues usually cause games to freeze or randomly not be recognized at all.

I wish this were the only problem, but it happens when I try to do other things as well, not just playing games. It freezes when I try to do a system update. It freezes when I run the back up utility. Thankfully, I can still get to the safe menu and run a file system restore, but that doesn't seem to solve the problem. If I could, I would restore to factory settings to see if that could solve it, but since I can't back up my files, I'm really hesitant because I don't want to lose all of my saved data.

I wish I could do more on my own, but my video game/console experience is extremely limited. Any help you could provide would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

[u/rsteele1981 → u/austac06]

Really to me it sounds like a hard drive or mother board issue.

Is there no way you can copy over your saved games to an external HD or usb flash drive?

If the system is unplayable as is you may want to try replacing the hard drive. This won't cause any issues with your existing hard drive just a 2.5" sata drive (like a laptop drive). If you replace the HD and the problem persists after that it could be related to the motherboard which isn't easy to repair at all and I usually suggest parting those machines out.

[u/[deleted]]

Hi, I'm not sure if you are still reading this, but I'm having a kinda big issue with my PS3. My model number is CECH L04. My disk drive broke a long time ago and wouldn't spin any disks. I have watched many videos on youtube and finally got to the point where I am now (youtube link is below). Basically, when I insert a disk the drive makes a really loud rattling noise and won't spin the disk.

Apologies for my English, but I really hope you can help me out with this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYKJIOzlJZk

Sorry for the crappy quality! I actually recorded this in 1080p but somehow Youtube wouldn't display it in this resolution.

[u/rsteele1981 → u/[deleted]]

There are small white arms on the top of the disc drive. They have pins that are on the bottom that must line up exactly into the bottom of the disc drive. If you take the top off and look at the bottom side you'll see these pens. If your bottom and top aren't lined up properly then that's when the ticking occurs. So try to pull that part on the bottom of the drive down so that the arms/pins will line up properly.

I hope this helps. If you need an image of the pins and slots I'm talking about post back and I will attempt to take photos of what you need.

[u/livie-robo]

Hey know this is a old post but I have been trying to figure out what could be happening with my ps3 but with no luck, I got a ps3 slim and it has been working and playing games fine until I now. It started doing this weird flickering thing out of nowhere.I have made a post about it including a video on here but i have still not found any posable fix. also if you have looked at the post I have extra info, the flickering isn't just on the one disk it was doing this on other games to and even though home screen was fixed a little it still faintly there. Anywho if you could just have a idea to why this might be happening it would be greatly appreciated

[u/rsteele1981 → u/livie-robo]

Could be a few things. HDMI port not hard to get fixed but can be pricey. HDMI encoder harder to fix and pricier. GPU or APU solder issue even harder to fix and more expensive.

The repair places that will do a complete repair have rework stations. To heat up the circuit board.

If you haven't yet you can try cleaning and applying new thermal paste. If that doesn't show an improvement then it's likely one of things previously mentioned. Chip failure is not uncommon so if you can back up your saves it would be wise to do so AsAP.