Deep returns to B3D out of desperation

[deepbrown]

Hello B3D! Long time no speak - I'm sure most of the regulars are still here. Sorry for being away for so long, but I got myself a very busy job and no longer work from home. I no longer get free video games due to a change in occupation so haven't played games too much.

Anyway, down to business. My second PS3 has suffered the YLOD. The first suffered the same problem out of warranty, but I managed to get myself a free replacement.

The first made sense - I had been playing Heavenly Sword for quite some time, and it just packed it in. This second death is mighty strange - I was watching a DVD on a DVD player which started to skip, so I decided to try it on my PS3. It got to the very same point where it first skipped on the other DVD player and just turned itself off. Now it won't turn on, just goes to the YLOD - and the disc won't come out even after holding the eject button down for a long time (HS came out fine on my first YLOD). So what the hell is going on - why would a scratched disc mess it up and not let it start up?

Anyway, I guess I'm going to have to try and get another free replacement. I'm not too worried about that - I'm not a schmuck that will fall for this 'out of warranty' BS. In the UK, we have the Sale of Goods Act and an electric item like a PS3 should last for at least 5 years.

What the hell has Sony and Microsoft been doing this gen? Perhaps I should just give up on the 60GB original...

Cheers,

Deep.

 

[Arwin]

Your replacement was probably a refurb? If it was another 60GB it probably had to be (of course depending on when you got that).

No real harm in getting a Slim ... I've got two now and although they make a different sound that takes a little while to get used to, it really is much quieter and less power-hungry. Get a 320GB if you do/can, they seem to be newer and HDD seems to be a fair bit faster.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Sucky. It's more likely the drive failures were coincidental. There's nothing inherent about an optical disk that would cause system failure on a failed read. If course the real test would be to try the same disk in other drives, but that could prove a costly experiement!

Let us know how well you do with getting a replacement unde rthe Sales of Goods act. Lots of peeps have fallen prey to failure and it's unclear what people's statutory rights are, or how far a company like Sony can be pushed. So will you take it up with them or the retailer?

 

[deepbrown]

Since the refurb is from Sony, I'll take it up with them. Can't even remember where I bought the original from to be honest. I pushed them the first time around, I don't see why they shouldn't do the same again. I believe the actual 'warranty' they give with these refurbs is just an extra 3 months. Which is ridiculous.

I won't be buying another I don't think.

 

[Arwin]

Since the refurb is from Sony, I'll take it up with them. Can't even remember where I bought the original from to be honest. I pushed them the first time around, I don't see why they shouldn't do the same again. I believe the actual 'warranty' they give with these refurbs is just an extra 3 months. Which is ridiculous.

I won't be buying another I don't think.

I just meant that if you can get a replacement Slim or a refurbished Fat, no harm in going for the Slim if you ask me.

 

[deepbrown]

I just meant that if you can get a replacement Slim or a refurbished Fat, no harm in going for the Slim if you ask me.

Oh, I see. I don't know if i could bear parting with my original 60gb!

 

[Arwin]

Oh, I see. I don't know if i could bear parting with my original 60gb!

That's why I'm saying - been there, done that. And I think so has Shifty. Oh, and my colleague sitting across from me (everyone else I know irl who has a 60GB still has it though, so it's not that bad, but there's a pretty high percentage of Fats dying, that's for sure - could be up to 10% or more).

 

[Danalys]

I bought my PS3 at Woolworth's. So no replacing it for me. luckily replacing the optical read head of it wasn't that difficult, when I had to do that.

I do somewhat get miffed about the (as I see it) over representation of stories about PS3 hardware failure. People just don't talk about 360 failure any more because there is no advice to be sought.

 

[Arwin]

People just don't talk about 360 failure any more because there is no advice to be sought.

They do still talk about it, but clearly Microsoft's decision to give out a 3 year warrantee has helped.

 

[Rotmm]

I pushed them the first time around, I don't see why they shouldn't do the same again. I believe the actual 'warranty' they give with these refurbs is just an extra 3 months. Which is ridiculous.

I hope you have better luck than me. I'm in a similar situation as you, except that I paid for my first refurb from Sony support (it died just before Xmas 2009 and I wanted to ensure it was back for the holiday period so I didn't push that hard for a free repair) only for it to die some 9 or so months later.

No problem, I thought, I'll just get Sony to sort it out under warranty. Nope, 3 months and I have been fighting them ever since. Phone call after phone call, asked to write emails and getting stock responses and snail mail that has yet to be answered.

I am disappointed, to be honest. A few times now I've nearly picked up a slim as I have games that I can't play and I bought a Move kit just before it died. However, I really don't like the look of the slim as it looks more like a cheap chinese knockoff than a real console, and I'm still a fan of the piano-black fat.

So I'm gonna keep fighting the good fight, and if you have any success please post back here to give me a steer

 

[Cyan]

I bought my PS3 at Woolworth's. So no replacing it for me. luckily replacing the optical read head of it wasn't that difficult, when I had to do that.

I do somewhat get miffed about the (as I see it) over representation of stories about PS3 hardware failure. People just don't talk about 360 failure any more because there is no advice to be sought.

Ugh..HD consoles this generation...

Sorry you ran into this experience. (to the OP) I've seen two 360s die on me randomly, when in fact I didn't use them much. The first time I had went to play football -soccer- with a friend and I left the console switched on with Oblivion inside, and the DVD disc spinning constantly -typical 360 in the good ol' days-. When I returned home the disc was scratched, the lens had drawn a perfect circle.

It never worked well afterwards and the DVD drive stopped spinning at random, other DVDs, even new games didn't load properly. I wasn't able to play games for a while.

The next one died from an E74 error after one month.

Right now I have a 60 GB model and a Slim, the first one has been bought 3 years ago and works like a charm. The slim seems totally reliable, so no problem.

All I can say is... good luck and take care.

 

[makattack]

I would say most consoles have their share of hardware issues. For me, it all started with the Atari 2600 and those joysticks with the bloody plastic bits that activated the contact switches breaking off after extended use...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's not the fact things break that matters. It's the issue that it's a lottery whether your system breaks or not, and if it does, your cost of ownership rockets. A fair system would ensure you got a fair amount of use minimum from your initial investment; something EU laws try to enforce, although it deos get hazy when you talk to different people.

 

[deepbrown]

Well this is all very depressing.

My original PS1 and PS2 (both launch) still work perfectly well (just have to use a disc cleaner for the PS2 every now and again. I understand these both had problems - but I never suffered them!

I do play my PS3 more than I ever did those two... but still.

I'm still miffed about the PS3 shutting down at the exact same point as the first skip on the DVD player. Maybe the drive was working overtime trying to read it and just packed in.

The first time around Sony CS was very helpful and replaced it no questions asked. This time I hope for the same (haven't yet called... need a plan of action) but I have no doubts that I will get a free one once again.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

It's not the fact things break that matters. It's the issue that it's a lottery whether your system breaks or not, and if it does, your cost of ownership rockets. A fair system would ensure you got a fair amount of use minimum from your initial investment; something EU laws try to enforce, although it deos get hazy when you talk to different people.

Yeah it seems even more random than usual this generation. Both myself and a friend of mine still have lauch 360's that work just fine. My cousin has a launch PS3 that's still working. On the other hand also know quite a few that have had to replace their PS3 or X360. About equal rates of replacements for both companies from what I've seen. Luckily for my X360 friends, that extended 3 year warranty that MS put out has prevented most from having to buy a new one. Unfortunately, my PS3 friends haven't been so lucky with failures usually occuring after than 1 year warranty is expired. Some of those PS3 users just got a X360 when their PS3 died out of warranty instead of buying another PS3.

Regards,
SB