PS3: YLOD Fixed. My thanks to click.

[Ancient_One]

Firstly I have to thank click who pointed me in the right direction, videos and required items.

Secondly I would like to thank myself for taking the courage to try it. Taking apart your beloved PS3 and then taking a heat gun to it is not for the faint hearted. If your willing you can resolve your problems for a fraction of the cost and get a personal boost to your ego.

Parts required:

Heat Gun (Bunnings $34.97)
Arctic Silver or Heat Sync Compound 25% Silver (Jaycar $6.95)
No Clean Flux Pen (Jaycar $11.95)

Total: $53.87 + 1hr 30min.

This guy has all the videos you need on fixing a ylod PS3, applying arctic silver and fluxing your chips.

YouTube - gilksy1's Channel

You can dismantle as you play each video 6 in total or watch them all first to get an idea of what you will be doing.

You don't need flux the first time you do it but I guess it would be better.Just make sure you buy the no clean flux and watch gilksy's video for application locations: http://www.youtube.com/user/gilksy1#p/u/7/MZRReDIHTe0


Just be careful not to go to close with the heatgun otherwise you might melt the chips. I had to use speed setting 2 on my Heat Gun and held it around 3 - 4 inches off the board due to the extra fan speed which was tied to the heat produced by the gun. Heat time I used a count of 30 on each location.

Don't forget to allow the cool down period of 20 minutes for each side of the board and try to keep the board an a even flat surface. I put mine on two house bricks turned on their edge.

This is gilksy video on how to apply the Arctic silver http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpvhhamGm5w

clicks classic quote:

Like I said before , I have done it 3 times now and each time I am sill amazed that it works. Coming from a pc background I was so scared to take a heatgun to the motherboard but it works.

Please note: This might only be a temporary fix but at least you will recover your disk if stuck in the machine and your save data which can be transfered by data network transfer method to ensure you get protected content as well.

Disk recovery update:

If your PS3 is an original 60GB release you will have to apply the fix to get your disk back unless your willing to strip down the blueray drive to get it.

If your PS3 is a more recent model then holding down the disk eject button and turning on the power will eject the disk before you get the YLOD indicator. (I get the feeling they built this in for this reason)

Hope this semi guide helps anyone else who might be thinking of trying.

[ozivillan]

good info, will bookmark this as my origanal phat maybe not to far away from the YLOD, although it is very rarely used nowadays

[Ancient_One]

Ozivillan you might head this off by opening her up, cleaning the insides of dust, replacing the thermal paste and ensuring when you use it that you keep it in an open space for plenty of air flow.

Mine was in a TV cabinet shelf which I think added to the amount of heat created in and around the unit.

A tell tale sign is the fan noise. If your fan is going hell bent for leather it's getting to hot inside.

After the fix my old PS3 is whisper quiet again.

Admitedly we currently have the house A/C cranked down to 21 deg to ensure cool air flow so I can get the data transfered to the new PS3 but I think you get the picture.

[Resolve]

Oh.... this post would of been awesome...........
A year ago.
Good news though I still miss my original. I had to buy a ps2 (FOR THE KIDS *WINK*)

[Ancient_One]

Originally Posted by Resolve

Oh.... this post would of been awesome...........
A year ago.

Better late then never my friend ad a few people still have the old machines in their possession.

[click]

Thx again A1
I'm just glad you got your disk back and was able to back-up all your info.

[Ancient_One]

Well........nearly. Data transfer has hung at 95% complete 12min remaining for some time now.

It's been running for around 6 hrs now. Driving me nuts to say the least.

The heat from the old PS3 is warm not hot so I think we are safe for now but I hate the fact it's running for so long after the fix.

I'll feel a lot more happier once the transfer completes.

[Cadder]

Pseudo-grats, A1.
I went through that process - post-heat-treatment, the PS3 lasted three and a half weeks.
(posted here) Then I did it again and it lasted four hours. Then it died in the ass altogether and I replaced it with a slim.

[Ancient_One]

Originally Posted by Cadder

Pseudo-grats, A1.
I went through that process - post-heat-treatment, the PS3 lasted three and a half weeks.
(posted here) Then I did it again and it lasted four hours. Then it died in the ass altogether and I replaced it with a slim.

I remember you did a fix on it. Didn't know the fix reduces in time.

Data transfer completed about an hour later then my last post between 1am - 2am in the morning. This is one area Sony lets the whole system down. It gives you an original estimate, in my case 2 hrs 30 mins, then ends up taking 7 - 8 hrs or more.

Just glad I have it all now on the slim.

[Cadder]

Originally Posted by Ancient_One

I remember you did a fix on it. Didn't know the fix reduces in time.

Yours may not. I think it may just depends on how much of a dry socket is under the chips. After all, that's all the "re-flux and heat gun treatment" is doing - softening/cleaning the solder in all the joints so it (hopefully) goes sticky enough to re-make contact with the minuscule legs on the chips.

Originally Posted by Ancient_One

Data transfer completed about an hour later then my last post between 1am - 2am in the morning. This is one area Sony lets the whole system down. It gives you an original estimate, in my case 2 hrs 30 mins, then ends up taking 7 - 8 hrs or more.

True dat. They seem to have picked up the habit of measuring time in "Microsoft minutes"

Originally Posted by Ancient_One

Just glad I have it all now on the slim.