The PlayStation has gained a reputation as an “unkillable” console. The reason for this is the amazing longevity of the PS 2 - many of these old consoles still work today. When announcing the PlayStation 3, Sony also announced a 10-year life cycle for the console.
But a 10-year cycle does not mean “10 years without repair,” and such cases are the exception rather than the rule (although such exceptions are associated with proper care of the console). Of course, the PlayStation 3 is a fairly reliable console, but it can also break. Here are the 5 most common faults that people contact our service center about.
The BD drive is broken
All PS3 owners can be divided into 2 types: those who have already encountered disk reading problems, and those who still have this problem ahead. Drives fail in 99.9% of set-top boxes.
According to our observations, the average service life of a PS 3 BD drive is 3 years, but, first of all, this depends on the intensity of use. Using a hard drive can significantly extend the life of your drive, but most likely it will still need to be replaced someday. In this case, contact our workshops - specialists will install a new drive, and you will be able to enjoy your favorite games for another 3 years.
Connection via tulip
How to connect PS3 to a CRT TV? Outdated equipment is not equipped with an HDMI interface. Therefore, users have to resort to using other connectors. Mostly, the connection of devices is configured through tulips. Experts note that a tulip is an elastic concept. AV, S-Video, RCA connectors are all tulips. Just different modifications.
Which of these cords is better to use? A very difficult answer. To answer objectively, we will carefully analyze each of these options.
AV connector
If we evaluate all available interfaces for connecting PS3 from the standpoint of the quality of the broadcast image, then the undisputed leader is HDMI. In second place is the AV cable. This wire has 5 inputs with which you can connect your game console to your TV. At the second end there is a special plug, which is inserted into the corresponding socket on the back panel of the set-top box.
The standard cable for PS3 is HDMI. Therefore, the AV cable will have to be purchased separately. Please read the instructions first to see if the TV supports the ability to connect additional devices via the AV interface.
The connection is configured according to the standard scheme. One end of the cable is inserted into the TV connector, and the other into the game console socket. The plug is inserted into the input, which is labeled Multi Out. All 5 inputs have the appropriate color, so there should be no problems with connection.
For maximum user convenience, absolutely all inputs are marked accordingly. The elements responsible for audio output are marked as L and R. The video signal is transmitted through the inputs: PR/CR, PB/CB, Y. This approach allows you to achieve decent image quality.
S-Video connector
Quite an outdated format that produces low-resolution images. Therefore, the image quality leaves much to be desired. The lack of proper clarity will be noticeable to the naked eye. However, if you want to set up a connection between the Sony PlayStation 3 and an old TV, then the S-Video interface is suitable for this task.
The cable is not included in the basic package of the TV and console. Therefore, the cord must be purchased separately. On the one hand, the cable is equipped with two inputs for transmitting audio signals. They are marked accordingly - L and R. At the other end you will find a standard plug that is inserted into the connector of the set-top box.
All inputs have a different color. Therefore, focus on this aspect to connect the connectors and avoid making mistakes. When everything is connected, reboot the set-top box and then turn on the TV. When the new device is detected, change the signal source. That's all. The console is ready to use.
RCA connector
An option that is suitable for owners of the oldest TVs. The advantage is that the RCA cord is included in the basic package of the game console. Therefore, the user will not have to spend money on buying a cable. You shouldn't expect a high-quality image. The only positive aspect of RCA is the fact that this interface is supported by almost all TVs without exception.
It is possible that your TV is equipped with a SCART connector instead of a standard RCA connector. In such situations, you need to buy an adapter - AV-SCART. In the process of connecting the game console, you will have to experiment. Because older TV models do not have color-coded connectors.
The “yellow fire of death” lit up
Like the Xbox 360, the PlayStation has its own “death fire”, indicating that the console is overheating. When overheating occurs, the power supply indicator turns yellow and then starts flashing red. At the hardware level, the soldering of the graphics processor is most often broken, so the set-top box does not turn on. To resolve this problem, contact specialized PS3 repair shops.
It is worth noting that most often the “yellow light” appears on FAT console models. Slim and SuperSlim versions overheat much less often.
Connecting to a TV via an RCA cable (“tulips”)
If your TV is quite old, it may not have HDMI support. Here the good old tulips that come with the console will come to the rescue. The procedure is the same as with HDMI - insert the tulips into the TV connectors according to color, and the other end into the multi out Playstation 3.
We turn on the AV channel on the TV, then start the set-top box with the power button directly from the console and be sure to hold it until the second beep, otherwise nothing will work. You only need to hold until the second signal the very first time. If the TV is not broken, everything is in order with the connector on the console, and you did everything as described above, then there should be no questions. One problem is that the image will be of lower quality (576p).
Brick on update
Another fairly common problem is the so-called brick console. This may happen when installing an update on the set-top box. For example, firmware version 4.45, released in June 2013, became notorious - after its installation, consoles with hard drives larger than 500 GB stopped turning on.
Such large-scale bricks have not yet happened to the PlayStation 3, but some users are still encountering problems caused by a failed update. If, after installing the new firmware, you were unable to start the console, contact our service center - specialists will eliminate all the consequences of the unsuccessful update and install a stable official firmware.
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Today, the community of players and happy owners of Playstation 3 has grown to many millions. The third Sony has proven itself to be a fairly reliable technology, but after years of daily use, many users are faced with the problem when their PlayStation 3 game console freezes while playing. This exact situation happened with my favorite, a two-year-old PS3 Super Slim 500 GB. Namely, it happened like this: When I started playing my console, during the first 15 - 20 minutes of the game, sometimes up to 1 hour, the console simply froze with the picture frozen on the screen and remained frozen without any reaction, even with my further pressing to the joystick buttons. Afterwards, I had to press the on/off button located on the console, as a result, a short beep was emitted and then three more beeps and the PlayStation rebooted. Then the console automatically launched and a message appeared on the screen, Restore the File System, while asking you to confirm the start of the operation by clicking OK or clicking Cancel to go to the main menu. At first, I often ignored it and pressed the cancel button. And so everything went on for quite a long time. PS3 freezes: Reasons why PlayStation 3 freezes Afterwards, I finally gained patience and began my own investigation into why this was happening. After studying a lot of information on various gaming forums, as well as reading dozens of articles on the Internet, I found out that the main problem with this defect is the not entirely correct operation of the internal hard drive. Another version of the freeze was that a possible cause could be overheating of the console due to dust and contamination of its cooling channels. My instinct told me that I still need to pay attention to the first option of this problem, although the second point with overheating has a right to life. Solution to fix the problem when the Playstation 3 (PS3) freezes during the game. What to do: The first thing that should definitely help is to remove bad sectors from the internal HDD of your gaming system. We carry out this operation by completely formatting the hard drive, in the menu item: Restore system. It is important to remember that during the formatting process, all data will be deleted without the possibility of returning it; your account and saves will also be deleted. Therefore, take care of the safety of your important files before starting this task, and the system will also return to its original factory settings. So, go to “Menu” - “System Settings” - “Restore PS3 System”. After completion, we start everything from scratch, as if you had just connected a brand new PS3 to the TV. It was this method that personally helped me eliminate the problem of frequent freezes. In the future, when you have some kind of failure during the game, such as the electricity went out, or the power cable was accidentally pulled out, etc., and when you turn it on again you will see this picture, you should click OK to check the file system, and not CANCEL. What if suddenly the problem continues in your case? You may then need to contact a service center to replace the internal HDD. Or replace it yourself, but I will try to write about this in my next post.
Source
HotPlay
Self-modification of the console
Special modifications have been developed for the PlayStation 3 that allow you to run copies of games without licensed discs. This is custom firmware or installing a drive emulator.
To flash the firmware, you need to connect a special programmer to the console, and installing ODE requires soldering additional modules. Carrying out these operations requires some experience, so trying to make your own modchip may not be successful. Such consoles are brought to us for repair quite often.
Therefore, if you want to modify your PlayStation without the risk of getting bricked, bring it to our service center. Specialists will flash your console, and if this is not possible (the model cannot be flashed), then they will install a drive emulator on it.
Other actions if PS3 does not show the picture
- First, double-check all cable connections on your PlayStation leading to the TV device. Make sure that all cables are connected correctly and are securely seated in their appropriate sockets. The correct connection of HDMI cables is also important here. If in doubt, it’s better to read the operating instructions for your TV and PlayStation 3 about where the “correct” interfaces are located. Pay special attention to the “Out” and “In” labels near the connectors.
- Try different HDMI channels on your TV. It is possible that the HDMI channel has changed if you inserted the HDMI cable into a different connector than you used before.
- Alternatively, try connecting your console to your TV via an AV cable or Chinch (or via HDMI if the AV cable stops showing pictures). If the alternative output now begins to output an image, you can avoid the need to apply a soft reset.
- If in this case the picture begins to be shown again, then go to the PlayStation 3 settings menu and select “HDMI” to broadcast the image. After that, connect the console to the TV device again via an HDM cable.
