Bricked PS3's

Brad2770

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I have PlayStation Plus. I have had it about a couple of years now. I have been quite happy with it even when Sony was hacked and I was without online play for a couple of months, I was not angry. The latest update, about 3 weeks to a month ago, bricked my system. I was told they would release a fix for this soon, so I waited. No big deal, I have been without it before.

The Update was released today and when I followed the instructions, I couldnt get into safe mode, so I called their support. Long story short, they said I need to send the system in and that I will be out the 99 dollar service fee plus the cost of shipping to them and back. I do not feel I should be responsible for this. What are my alternatives? I was quite angry, so I did not stay on the phone to escalate the call, but I would be willing to call them back once I have a better idea of what I can do to have my system fixed.

Thanks for the advice in advance.
 
Lenas

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I'm guessing your shit is out of warranty so your options are 1) send it in to Sony, 2) have some local dude try and fix it for you, 3) browse the PS3Hax or PS3iso forums for solutions, or 4) stay fucked
 
Lenas

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I'm willing to bet that not being able to get into safe mode is user error on your part.
 
Brad2770

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Yes, it is. I am not capable of holding the power button for 15 seconds, letting go and holding it for 15 seconds again.
 
Vaclav

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If you've got an extra laptop HD lying around "bricking" usually is pretty simple to fix with a hard drive swap. But yea, safe mode can be a pain to enter sometimes - when I had to reformat the first time took me.... like.... 12 tries to get it right since it's listening for beeps, if you look it up there's a means to do the reset off the controller instead though that was loads easier. [I think it was a "paperclip" contact on the controller IIRC during bootup?]

And that sounds nothing like the power button method from what I recall - it was holding it and letting go after the full sequence of beeps I thought - of which the last are a LOONNNNNG pause.
 
Tanoomba

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I dread the day my PS3 will conk out on me. I bought a used old-model PS3 because I insisted on backwards compatibility (damned if I'm gonna ignore my PS1 and PS2 collections), but due to the fact that it's super loud (I squirt it with compressed air to try to get some dust out once in a while) and that I often keep it on for long periods (either because I'm really into a game or because I'm downloading a large file, which takesforever), I imagine it's only a matter of time before it just up and dies on me.

By the way, I thought "bricked" meant the system couldn't turn on or receive power in any way. Was I wrong?
 
Vaclav

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Tanoomba_sl said:
I dread the day my PS3 will conk out on me. I bought a used old-model PS3 because I insisted on backwards compatibility (damned if I'm gonna ignore my PS1 and PS2 collections), but due to the fact that it's super loud (I squirt it with compressed air to try to get some dust out once in a while) and that I often keep it on for long periods (either because I'm really into a game or because I'm downloading a large file, which takesforever), I imagine it's only a matter of time before it just up and dies on me.

By the way, I thought "bricked" meant the system couldn't turn on or receive power in any way. Was I wrong?
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No, your definition sounds more like "YLOD" (Yellow Light of Death) - "bricked" is the OS locking the system in some way. Comes from people jailbreaking phones and the like and screwing up and then the OS makes it useless I think.
 
Lenas

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Slim or fat PS3? If it's slim, make sure you unplug the power cord and then plug it back in (since it doesn't have a physical off switch in back) before trying to enter safe mode.

Brick means your electronic is only good for being a paperweight, aka it's past the point of fixing. If you can fix something through software like safe mode, it's not bricked.
 
Pollo

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Tanoomba_sl said:
I dread the day my PS3 will conk out on me. I bought a used old-model PS3 because I insisted on backwards compatibility (damned if I'm gonna ignore my PS1 and PS2 collections), but due to the fact that it's super loud (I squirt it with compressed air to try to get some dust out once in a while) and that I often keep it on for long periods (either because I'm really into a game or because I'm downloading a large file, which takesforever), I imagine it's only a matter of time before it just up and dies on me.

By the way, I thought "bricked" meant the system couldn't turn on or receive power in any way. Was I wrong?
Click to expand...
Kinda off topic but I'm glad I'm not the only that has a Gen 1 that sounds like an Israeli jet. I will be sad as fuck if it ever dies.
 
Vaclav

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Brad: And that might be why I had such a terrible time getting it to safe mode, heh - looks nothing like the one I was following unless my memory is completely off.

Trying to find the controller method - not having luck yet - did see someone mention having a similar issue and then after sliding the drive out and back in he had no trouble getting into safe mode after "resetting" the hard drive placement. Odd, but who knows.
 
Ome

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My system once locked up on me when the power went off during an upgrade. I called them and they told me to send it in and it would cost me money to have fixed. I kept looking online and found a solution. Basically it was forcing a reformat of my whole system. Yeah I lost everything but sure enough the system was back to working and did not require me to send it in at all. They failed to even mention this as an option when I called so I'm sure they make plenty of money off the less informed. This was all done without the need for external HDs or anything of the sort and was done entirely using the PS3. Should be easy enough to find a how to online.
 
Vaclav

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Odd, had the opposite experience with the phone support myself - and they've actually (in warranty but my own fault for having it in a spot where a cat could push it off - most warranties would've told me tough luck) replaced a system for me with a brand new one when the cat pushed it out of the entertainment center onto hardwood for free. And they've walked me through how to bring an old one back to life with these same steps - although they were getting frustrated with my MANY failed attempts getting into the menu like Brad is experiencing. [as was I]
 
Brad2770

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So the hard drive went bad. It was a coincidence that it went bad when the Update was released. Going to buy a 500gb hard drive and replace it myself.
 
Alkorin

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Lucky guy. That's an easy enough fix, although I hope you had a backup of your saves and such.

YLOD is a pain in the ass. I've reflowed my 1st gen PS3 three times now over the last 3-4 years, and it's still working, but having to point a heat gun at the motherboard every once in a while makes me nervous. That, and it's just a band-aid.
 
Alkorin

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Good stuff. I'm going to switch the HD in mine soon as well, probably buy a cheap SSD so that the system doesn't run quite as hot. 1st gen models are horrible when it comes to heat.

That, or I might get a couple SATA extension cables and run the HD outside the box.
 
Noodleface

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Being too lazy to google.. does the PS only support a single harddrive at a time or is there any expansion? Also, not sure the 1st gens are the only ones that give off crazy heat. My slim could heat a small bosnian village for weeks.
 
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