PS3 won't turn on, yellow light then flashing red light.

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

My 40GB PS3 which I got around late 2007/early 2008 (I can't remember which) is having this infamous Yellow Light of Death (YLoD) problem that I have heard about.

When I attempt to turn on my PS3, the red light turns to the usual green, but only for half a second, after that it turns yellow for a split second and then it turns red, and the red light flashes until the power switch is touched, which turns it off.

And to make matters worse, my copy of GTA V is trapped inside. So does anyone know how to fix this issue, obviously the PS3 is out of warranty and I with the PS4 out, I am worried that help will be hard to find.

[Finn 7 five 11]

YLOD is usually caused by the solder cracking usually, which happens from excess heat. There's a couple other less common causes like the PSU breaking and other odds and ends though.

Your PS3 is screwed, there are some fixes you could try, but they aren't sure fire and might not last long, could end up being a waste of money.

Your best option would be buying a used PS3 slim, they can be had for relatively cheap.

Unfortunately unless you get the original PS3 working, you can't get the save files off the PS3, the HDD requires formatting to be used...which deletes all data.

Edited January 19, 2014 by •¿F¡ññ4L¡ƒ£?•

[Algonquin Assassin]

Your best option would be buying a used PS3 slim, they can be had for relatively cheap.

 

Agreed. I was actually going to suggest calling a repairer (such as on gumtree), but I don't think all the hassle would be worth it. Do like Finn said mate.

 

Speaking of which this makes me a bit worried about mine as it'll be approaching that age later this year.

[Finn 7 five 11]

 

Your best option would be buying a used PS3 slim, they can be had for relatively cheap.

 

Agreed. I was actually going to suggest calling a repairer (such as on gumtree), but I don't think all the hassle would be worth it. Do like Finn said mate.

 

Speaking of which this makes me a bit worried about mine as it'll be approaching that age later this year.

 

Unless you absolutely must have your save files back, then the only way would be to try getting it fixed, then backing the files up via USB or PS+

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

YLOD is usually caused by the solder cracking usually, which happens from excess heat. There's a couple other less common causes like the PSU breaking and other odds and ends though.

 

Your PS3 is screwed, there are some fixes you could try, but they aren't sure fire and might not last long, could end up being a waste of money.

 

Your best option would be buying a used PS3 slim, they can be had for relatively cheap.

 

Unfortunately unless you get the original PS3 working, you can't get the save files off the PS3, the HDD requires formatting to be used...which deletes all data.

Thank you for the advice, even if it is not what I want to hear, I will give it some time and hope it starts working again, and if it does, I ain't leaving any games in it.

What about my copy of GTA V which is trapped inside, do you think I can get that out alright?

[Finn 7 five 11]

 

YLOD is usually caused by the solder cracking usually, which happens from excess heat. There's a couple other less common causes like the PSU breaking and other odds and ends though.

 

Your PS3 is screwed, there are some fixes you could try, but they aren't sure fire and might not last long, could end up being a waste of money.

 

Your best option would be buying a used PS3 slim, they can be had for relatively cheap.

 

Unfortunately unless you get the original PS3 working, you can't get the save files off the PS3, the HDD requires formatting to be used...which deletes all data.

Thank you for the advice, even if it is not what I want to hear, I will give it some time and hope it starts working again, and if it does, I ain't leaving any games in it.

What about my copy of GTA V which is trapped inside, do you think I can get that out alright?

5 Minutes and a screw-driver you can get your game out.

Look up "opening PS3" on Youtube when you've decided it's definitely not going to work. Keep trying though, it might randomly start working, at which point you need to get a USB and back your sh*t up.

[AndyGanteks]

This will help you get the V out, works 100%

 

 

 

Then,

If you want your saves back and you don't have saves backed up already, you're gonna want to repair your PS3 (20-30-40$, it depends), once it's repaired, backup saves immediately once you start it again. Then just keep on playing and backing up every time until it breaks again.

Then once it does, just get a new super-slim or slim PS3 and then you're all good and set to go.

Edited January 19, 2014 by AndyGanteks

[sivispacem]

Moved to the correct section.

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

This will help you get the V out, works 100%

 

 

 

Then,

If you want your saves back and you don't have saves backed up already, you're gonna want to repair your PS3 (20-30-40$, it depends), once it's repaired, backup saves immediately once you start it again. Then just keep on playing and backing up every time until it breaks again.

Then once it does, just get a new super-slim or slim PS3 and then you're all good and set to go.

Thanks, that worked like a charm, GTA V is safe.

As for repairing the PS3, how long do you think it would last for if I did pay to repair it?

It's a shame that the PS4 isn't backwards compatible, it it was, I would just buy a PS4 once they are in stock again.

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

Does anyone know if the Yellow Light of Death is a hard drive problem?
I was wondering if it would be possible to buy a 12GB PS3 and put my old hard drive in it.

[sivispacem]

Don't double post.

[Finn 7 five 11]

 

 

 

Does anyone know if the Yellow Light of Death is a hard drive problem?

I was wondering if it would be possible to buy a 12GB PS3 and put my old hard drive in it.

I told you what YLOD was. No it isn't a harddrive problem, Yes you could buy a 12GB PS3 and put your old HDD in there, but all your save game data would be wiped off it.

 

 

As for repairing the PS3, how long do you think it would last for if I did pay to repair it?

It's a shame that the PS4 isn't backwards compatible, it it was, I would just buy a PS4 once they are in stock again.

Well it could last for a year, or it could last 15 minutes, or it might not even work. The only worthwhile reason to repair it is if you can do it yourself for free, or if you want your save game data back, you repair the PS3, copy the save game data to a USB or upload it to PS+ and to sync your trophies, then buy a new a new PS3, put your saves onto it and then forget about the old one.

 

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

 

Does anyone know if the Yellow Light of Death is a hard drive problem?
I was wondering if it would be possible to buy a 12GB PS3 and put my old hard drive in it.

I told you what YLOD was. No it isn't a harddrive problem, Yes you could buy a 12GB PS3 and put your old HDD in there, but all your save game data would be wiped off it.

You did already tell me, sorry, I forgot about your post after I read somewhere that the YLoD can be caused by a hard drive problem. Anyway, I tried removing the HDD and than turning on the PS3 with no luck, so that just confirmed that this particular YLoD issue is not a hard drive problem.

Has anyone tried this fix:

[Shmoopy]

If you got a Heatgun , then you can try to do a Reflow , it is worth a try since you cant do anything with a dead PS3 , this method has a 90% chance rate of working if you do it correctly

 

Edit : Google how to reflow a dead PS3

Edited January 22, 2014 by Manfred Von Karma

[111]

Does anyone know if the Yellow Light of Death is a hard drive problem?

I was wondering if it would be possible to buy a 12GB PS3 and put my old hard drive in it.

When a hard drive is used in a PS3, it is encrypted by that system and cannot be read by any other. If you take your hard drive out of your PS3 and put it in another, it will prompt you to format it.

Edited January 23, 2014 by 111