The PS3 in question is a friend's PS3 Slim 320 GB.
The problem began on Sunday morning. The PS3 had no display. He switched HDMI cables that didn't work he then connected it to his monitor the result was same there was no display.
The audio in the background was playing. After about half an hour the display came to life and he was able to use it normally.
On Monday the same problem was back but lasted only for the first 8 minutes.
At times there is a black screen, at times a screen similar to the older tvs with no signal, sometimes the screen flickers or turns green momentarily.
One of the problems is it is not in warranty. The other being the friend he had brought it from had 3.6 jailbreak on the said PS3. My friend tried to get Fifa 12 to work on the jailbroken PS3 and accidentally updated the FW. Since then he has stuck to the right side of the fence.
Problem is he never removed the files that were related to the Jailbreak and they are still on the system. Looking at the way the PS3 is deteriorating should we risk formatting the hdd using the PS3 or remove the hdd and format it via a PC before taking it to the service center.
Also considering it is out of warranty - Will it be repaired or replaced? In case of a replacement how much difference is to be paid and can we choose the model that we want. He would like to stick to the model he has.
This is what happened with my friend. His JB console died and later we learned that it was a faulty hard drive but it was too late for him and was asked to pay 6k and he got a new PS3 that could not be JB due to the FW.
I believe Sony does not repair the consoles here. At best, they would attempt some preliminary diagnosis which most of us may have already attempted before approaching them.
This could be because of a corrupt hard drive. You could try taking it out of the console, connect it to the PC, format it, run a health check using CrystalDiskInfo/HD Tune. If there isn't anything wrong, you can replace it back. If there are any bad sectors or issues with the drive, there's nothing much you could do here since it is an OEM drive - they would not be replaced by the manufacturer. A new drive is the only go - if there is a healthy 2.5" spare drive lying around, you can use it to test it.
The PS3 has its own file system and will format any drive newly installed into the console. Just follow the onscreen instructions after powering it on. All your user content would go however. Since trophies and other personal content is synced online with PSN, those can be retraced back AFAIK.
@Fenix: 6k seems to be a very decent amount for a new console. When was this? Does it come with any warranty because we are paying for a new unit? And I assume they replaced only the console not the accessories which were bundled with the previous one?
I too initially thought that the problem might have been the hdd which probably caused a delay in booting but then when he said it happens while playing as well, it made me think otherwise as there was no display but the audio suggested that the game was still going on. Maybe an auto-save triggered the problem in the hdd at the time. He doesn't install games onto his PS3 so basically he has nothing to loose except his saved games which can be backed up easily.
If bad sectors are found in HD Tune can a simple fix done through HDD regenerator fix the issue temporarily?
6K doesn't sound bad at all considering a new HDD will cost half of that and there maybe still a few problems within the current unit which may surface later but will he get a new unit or a refurbished one?
@Fenix - Was your friend's PS3 still jailbroken when he took it to the service center? Also how long do they take to replace it?
With 'GTA V' around the corner this is the worse thing that could have happened to anyone.
@max_demon - I think my friend will be taking the console to the service center sometime this week. Do they replace consoles out of warranty or just repair them?
@max_demon - I think my friend will be taking the console to the service center sometime this week. Do they replace consoles out of warranty or just repair them?
Here is what transpired today -
- We walked into the service center with the PS3. (He had removed cfw a long time back but still formatted the hdd to remove any traces. Had made a updated to PSN+ Account and uploaded his saved files there)
- We were told that if the PS3 is in warranty he will get a spanking new 500 GB PS3 in 10-15 days. If it is over a year but less than 3 Years he would have to shell out 50% and if it is beyond 3 years he will get a discount of 20% in short pay 80% provided he had a bill.
- The friend that he had bought from had bought it without a bill and was modded from day 1. So we left there. Even we had a bill there was no way he was going to pay 50%. 80% was not even in the picture.
- We headed towards Kid's Corner to see if they knew someone who could help and in the mean time called up justdial.
- We called up 1 such number and the guy said he could repair it but would need 1 hour to reach his shop at Vile Parle so we continued towards Kid's Corner.
- The guy at Kid's Corner was not sure when we were looking at the games that he had for display he said it could be repaired when we started to leave he said it is as good as dead and can't be repaired.
- As we headed to Vile Parle we decided to stop by Alfa where we tried to get details of anyone who repairs console, he was adamant that it can't be fixed then we contemplated with the idea of selling it to Alfa and purchasing a new one. The Price he quoted for the PS3 with the move kit was 6500/-. So we moved on.
- With a lot of doubt in our minds we reached the place to find out that there was no one there.
- A seedy guy standing on the street alongwith a few more guys told us that his boss was on the way and he had the keys to the shop.
- The guy we spoke to earlier turned up and he opened the shop we realized that all he does is repair and mod consoles and felt a lot better.
- He told us it was a common problem which he has noticed and repaired a number times over a year and he needed an hour to fix it.
- We went back after an hour and true to his words he had fixed it.
- My friend took it back home and played 'GTA V' for over 2 and a half hours without any issues and I kept calling up FedEx and Flipkart and yelling at anybody who would pick up the phone (In between managed to complete Uncharted 1).
Summary - Sony Service Center is useless. If warranty is over buy a new console or look elsewhere and they should hire this guy.
