PS3 Freezing

G

Gatorsfan35

CAGiversary!
Ok so not sure where to post this...

I have a launch PS3. I have never had any freezing problems or errors while owning this system. A couple of weeks ago I started playing Sly Collection. The game would start to go in slow motion( kind of like it was buffering or something) and then the sound would quit and then the game would freeze on the screen. All of the buttons on the controller were disabled as were the buttons on the console. The only way to clear the screen was to turn the console off from the back. I thought maybe it was the game so I played a movie from the Hard Drive. Same thing, after about 3 minutes it froze up with the same symptoms. Once i restart the system it will work for a little while (30 mins or so) and then it will freeze up again. Any ideas or suggestions as to what might be happening? Or is there another forum I can post this on? Thanks as always for your help fellow CAGs.
 
Your PS3 is dying my friend. I had the same thing happen to me about three weeks ago. Sucks cause it was a 60gb backwards compatible model. Having it repaired by Sony will set you back about $120-$150. I figured a new 160gb Slim would be a better choice considering all the deals out there. I installed my 250gb hard drive that was in the old one into the Slim and put back the 60gigs it came with on the broken model. Most of the games I want to play that were on PS2 are either downloadable now or coming out in an HD collection. The Shadow of the Colossus/Ico collection is gonna rule!
 
Mine did the exact same thing about 2 weeks before dying completely. I say back up your hard drive now while you still can and be careful about playing disc based games because you never know when it is going to go and lock your game in it. Sorry dude.
 
sounds like an overheating issue. if you have it in a tight inclosed area put it somewhere more open or it might just have a lot of dust that is suffocating it. if that is the case u can try and open it yourself and dust it out. also some people use the usb mini vacs to get some dust out but usually open is the best way to get most of it out. there a some business that will do this for cheap. either way you want to take care of it quickly before you warp the motherboard and have a 500 dollar paperweight.
 
[quote name='cgm92284']sounds like an overheating issue. if you have it in a tight inclosed area put it somewhere more open or it might just have a lot of dust that is suffocating it. if that is the case u can try and open it yourself and dust it out. also some people use the usb mini vacs to get some dust out but usually open is the best way to get most of it out. there a some business that will do this for cheap. either way you want to take care of it quickly before you warp the motherboard and have a 500 dollar paperweight.[/QUOTE]

Another thing you could try is opening it up, dusting the insides with compressed air, and replacing the thermal compound.

I did that to my semi-BC PS3 a few weeks ago and it sounds a bit quieter and doesn't use the 3rd or 4th level fan speeds as often. There was nothing wrong with my system, I just figured that after 3 years, it probably wouldn't hurt to clean out the insides (I do it annually on my PC). But believe me when I say the insides were dusty and Sony's idea of using thermal compound is grossly mistaken (you're supposed to use a little, they used wayyy too much).

A lot of people with YLODs have been successful in repairing their systems by cleaning out the insides and replacing the thermal compound so there's a chance it might help.

BTW, I believe Sony charges $180 to repair the original launch systems.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, kinda figured I would have to replace. Anyone receommend a good way to back up all of my data?
 
for backing up your data, use a external drive and if you got plus use their save feature (not a ton of storage but better than nothing), good luck man.
 
External HD if your planning on waiting it out until your console gets back from repair (Then again, i'm guessing your warranty expired).

Otherwise, "Maybe" you can buy a new PS3, then just do a Data Transfer between the two. (Only if you have a ton of stuff you dont want to lose/redownload, seeing as External HD only works on the same system that backed it up)
 
Thanks. I just want to transfer some game saves, trophy information, and some movies that I d/l. I can just transfer all of that to the new PS3 right? I've seen some walk throughs on how to transfer the info. I mostly use it for gaming, so the saves and trophy info are most important to me.
 
It depends, some saves are locked (Like Demon Souls), and the only way to transfer them is either using the PSN+ Backup Save feature, or doing a direct data transfer.

Aside from that, the majority of saves can be transferred with a USB or PSP or something.

Your Trophy Data is saved to the server, so just log on and Sync to the Server and that will be safe.
 
I did sign up for the PS+ deal free for 30 days. Is the Backup Save feature on there decent, Can i log on and retireve a lot of data from there?
 
I'm going to bump this topic as I have similar problem with my slim 160gb model from Dell

In my case, sound/gameplay is out of sync on disc based games (Valkyria Chronicles in particular)
I can access the XMB for now if the game freezes but I'm assuming I should prepare for an inevitable failure.


Question is, how good is are the refurb/repaired unit that Sony gives out? This is a ~7 month PS3 if that makes any difference.
 
Lucky for you that you can still access XMB while frozen. Mine went straight from running top notch to freeze altogether where a hard reset was required to do anything.
 
So I take it no one tried the file restore thing to alleviate the freezing issues?

By the way, another thing to try if it's freezing ONLY on a certain game, try deleting and reinstalling the GAME DATA(not the game saves) as that may also help.
 
So I took the PS3 to a repair center and they said that the problem was an overheating issue. The part they say is overheating isnt being cooled by the fan and can't be replaced. So as a temporary solution, I bought a small clip on fan and directed it at the spot where it is heating up and there have been no more freezing issues. Wish I could get it fixed permanently but I don't want to send it to Sony for $150 or whatever they charge these days. When there is a new deal on PS3's (credit or price cut) I will get a new one.
 
[quote name='Gatorsfan35']So I took the PS3 to a repair center and they said that the problem was an overheating issue. The part they say is overheating isnt being cooled by the fan and can't be replaced. So as a temporary solution, I bought a small clip on fan and directed it at the spot where it is heating up and there have been no more freezing issues. Wish I could get it fixed permanently but I don't want to send it to Sony for $150 or whatever they charge these days. When there is a new deal on PS3's (credit or price cut) I will get a new one.[/QUOTE]
Here's a redneck solution that may help to keep the PS3 cooled even better. A buddy of mine had his internal fan on his PC fail and couldn't afford to get it fixed or replace the system as of yet.

So what he did was he took one of those side by side window fans and turned that on and directed it through the vents on the PC's case while using the system.

It worked pretty well for a long time for him. Just a thought....

When I said side by side window fan, I meant one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HW-628-Enviracaire-Twin-Window/dp/B0000CGQYA
 
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