Dead PS3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Hack&Lube · 09-02-2010, 12:51 AM

I've inherited a dead "fat" PS3. I was told something to the effect that "the HDMI port shorts out and fries the harddrive" from the guy who was getting rid of it. That sounded pretty dubious to me.

When I turn it on, I get the red screen of death. I've never troubleshooted or even owned a PS3 before. Any suggestions?

CMPunk · 09-02-2010, 01:01 AM

ummm why did you take it if you knew it was dead?

Hack&Lube · 09-02-2010, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMPunk

ummm why did you take it if you knew it was dead?

Because I own a screwdriver and an oven.

Update:
Connected the 80GB Toshiba harddrive to a PC and the drive seems to be working. Next I tried the video reset, then I tried to go into the PS3 Recovery Console but unfortunately, I don't have a PS3 controller so I can hit the "PS" button! I guess I have to find a PS3 controller.

I'm connected with an old AV connector to RCA jacks right now because while the explanation given that the HDMI was shorting out the harddrive sounded like BS to me, I know HDMI carries 5V on pin18 so I figured RCA jacks would be safer for a system reset.

DownhillGoat · 09-02-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

"the HDMI port shorts out and fries the harddrive" from the guy who was getting rid of it. That sounded pretty dubious to me.

That makes zero sense.

Unfortunately you need a PS3 controller for most updates, installs, etc.

GreenTeaFrapp · 09-02-2010, 10:48 AM

Thoughts and prayers to the PS3 family.

But at least they've haven't had to endure as much suffering as the Xbox family.

Hack&Lube · 09-02-2010, 03:34 PM

I've tried the recovery menu now to rebuild the file system, reset PS2, reset database, etc. I still get the red screen.

Maybe a firmware update would help? What do I do? Put it on a USB stick?

ChuckieNZ · 09-02-2010, 04:05 PM

Yup, you can put it on a USB stick. Download here: http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3/

Russic · 09-02-2010, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMPunk

ummm why did you take it if you knew it was dead?

Somebody doesn't understand the mindset of Hack&Lube. What most people see as a dead piece of technology he sees as a weekend project.

Hack&Lube · 09-02-2010, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

Somebody doesn't understand the mindset of Hack&Lube. What most people see as a dead piece of technology he sees as a weekend project.

Bascially, I'm a total dumpster diver

This one wasn't from the dumpster though although it would have been sooner or later.

Hanni · 09-03-2010, 07:10 AM

I'm actually curious how this turns out.

HeartsOfFire · 09-03-2010, 07:15 AM

Discarded electronic devices are gold mines for electronics enthusiasts.

I remember taking apart my Dreamcast to look at all the 'guts.' Man, was it fascinating.

Soldering the mod chip in... different story.

Yeah_Baby · 09-03-2010, 12:03 PM

The Dreamcast, now there is a console that lived fast and died hard.

Raekwon · 09-03-2010, 12:10 PM

I have my PS3 because of a similar situation. I saw an ad on kijiji and a guys PS3 died on him YLOD. His copy of MW2 was stuck inside and he made an ad that said if anyone can get the copy of the game out they could have the PS3. Well after talking with him to get a background I decided to take a chance and bought him a replacement copy of MW2 and took the PS3 home. 4 hours later i'm up and running.

So not only did I get to screw around with electronics but I also learned how to fix the YLOD and made a few hundred dollars doing over teh next couple of months.

Never seen this problem but would enjoy figuring it out.

Kipper is King · 09-03-2010, 12:22 PM

Good luck, HL! I also am curious to see how this works out.

Hack&Lube · 09-03-2010, 11:05 PM

I tried updating the firmware via USB flash but the red screen remained. The next thing I thought of doing was zero-filling the harddrive to fix any possible corrupt boot sector which I did on my PC with the utility @ killdisk.com

Unfortunately, I am still faced with the red screen of death and I am out of ideas. From my research online, the problem may be due to someone trying to update the firmware but then pulling the power or having a power outage which corrupts the Nand flash on the PS3. Unfortunately, I'm guessing that like the Blu-Ray drive, the Nand flash is uniquely paired to the PS3 unit and I can't simply replace it with one from another board (there are plenty of dead PS3s on ebay).

I don't know what to do. Any ideas fellas? It seems Sony doesn't do out of warranty repairs to Canadians. Canadians have to ship their systems to a company Sony contracts out to and they charge about $200 total (parts, labor, GST, shipping) to repair a PS3.