PS3 Freezing issue

Ryadic

So last night I turn on my PS3 and it goes to the XMB. Fine and dandy just like always. I set the controller down go to the kitchen to get some water and come back and start to move around the XMB and notice... well it's not moving. It's frozen. But... well... what? I can hear the "clicking noise" of the XMB.

So that's that. What do I do? What are my options? I've been having a lot of problems with my PS3 lately doing things like this, but it would usually only freeze up during really heavy games (Fallout 3, Oblivion, Assassin's Creed), not the XMB. I have one of the original 60 GB PS3s. I bought it used from Gamestop a few months after the PS3 release, so I'm pretty sure that it's not under warranty anymore.

Am I just shit out of luck and have to purchase a new PS3 or do I have options to fix this? I've not tried contacting Sony yet.

Please help me. A little over a month until Christmas and there's so many awesome games I want to play.

Arivia

first thing first: back up all saved games and media you care about. can't get them off with the ps3.

Ryadic

Arivia wrote: »

first thing first: back up all saved games and media you care about. can't get them off with the ps3.

What's the best way to do this?

matt has a problem

Ryadic wrote: »

Arivia wrote: »

first thing first: back up all saved games and media you care about. can't get them off with the ps3.

What's the best way to do this?

USB thumb drive/external HDD. Just plug it in to one of the PS3's USB ports and copy everything over.

Ryadic

Alright. I'll give that a whirl. Hopefully my PS3 will allow me to do it before freezing.

Aside from backing up, what should I do after that? I assume the problem is the GPU since when it froze everything else was still working.

matt has a problem

Have you checked to make sure you have the most recent firmware? Otherwise you can always use the "restore to default settings" option.

:edit: Here's the guide for doing a backup, also http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/backuputility.html

Ryadic

Yeah, I have the most up to date Firmware. I know that. I guess I'll restore to see if that helps at all.

Iceman.USAF

Is it your controller? Sounds like it could be your controller freaking out.

Ryadic

Ok, sorry to necro this thread, but nothing so far has worked. I backed up the files I cared about, which wasn't much of anything. Reformatted and still froze up on me on Oblivion last night. I still saw graphic tearing prior to the freeze up. =\

I'm pretty sure that the fan is the problem, but it doesn't sound it's running sometimes so I think it is overheating.

Gilbert0

Ryadic wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that the fan is the problem, but it doesn't sound it's running sometimes so I think it is overheating.

The ps3 does have a variable fan. When I first turn it on, it barely makes noise but if I play anything for over an hour it does kick up. If I then quit to the XMB it'll go quieter again after a few minutes.

Biggest question is there enough space around the side / back exaust to actually cool it? If the input air is pulling in the same hot air it just blew out, it'll eventually overheat.

Ryadic

Hmmmm. That may be the problem. It is pretty enclosed. I guess I never thought about that. I'll try moving it elsewhere to see if that alleviates the problem. Thanks.