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PS3 problem

DarkSymphonyDarkSymphony Registered User regular
edited January 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
so I have had my PS3 since launch and it's definitely been used frequently over the years. well, one year ago it started to shoot out spikes from characters on screen in Assassin's Creed 2. No other game had that problem until about 3 months after the initial time I noticed it. Now most of my games do it, some less than others, and some games just outright freeze. It seems to me this is a vid card problem, but what i was wondering was:

is the warranty you buy from the PSN storefront able to cover something like this? and, with a warranty, would I be able to get back exactly the same PS3 I sent them? i do NOT want to lose backwards compatibility and I want to be able to keep all my DLC and Rock Band songs without having to wipe the HDD or re DL them again.

OR I could open the thing up, use a can of compressed air and really clean the fucker out. I live on a dirt road so the amount of dust that thing must have caked on the inside, I imagine, is quite attrocious.

thoughts?

DarkSymphony on

Posts

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    It would most likely just be replaced with one of the Slim systems.

    matt has a problem on
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  • Iceman.USAFIceman.USAF Major East CoastRegistered User regular
    edited January 2011
    I used psr1.com with a level of success. I did have to send it back because they (admittedly) broke the wireless when trying to fix my disc drive. However they shipped it on their dime and repaired it quick! (within a week or 2).

    Iceman.USAF on
  • OricalmOricalm MDRegistered User regular
    edited January 2011
    is the warranty you buy from the PSN storefront able to cover something like this? and, with a warranty, would I be able to get back exactly the same PS3 I sent them? i do NOT want to lose backwards compatibility and I want to be able to keep all my DLC and Rock Band songs without having to wipe the HDD or re DL them again.


    This is where you e-mail Sony's Customer Service/Support center and ask them all these questions. If it's anything like Microsoft's repair/support center the general process is this:

    They will attempt to repair the PS3. In the event the repair is too costly (aka the system is "totalled" if you will), they will send you a (random, different) refurb'd system. I would assume that since the HDD is internal, they'd copy over all your data but there again, call Sony and ask them.
    OR I could open the thing up, use a can of compressed air and really clean the fucker out. I live on a dirt road so the amount of dust that thing must have caked on the inside, I imagine, is quite attrocious.

    If you ever plan to send it to Sony for repair, this is a terrible idea. As soon as you "crack the case" you'll void any warranty you may have paid for or that may have come standard when you bought the system. a 3rd party might still repair it but Sony will probably tell you you're up shit creek without a paddle; if they're nice, they'll just charge you an arm and a leg to fix it.

    as an aside,
    It sounds almost like an overheating problem. Do the "spikes" and freezing occur the instant you start up a game or does it get progressively worse the longer you play. If it's instant, you're very likely hosed and no amount of cleaning is going to save your system (The damage is already done). If it's progressive, you might be able to clean up the fans/vent and get it to start circulating air again. You'll probably have (other) problems down the road, but you'll be able to salvage it for now.

    Oricalm on
    Xbox Live: Oricalm
  • DarkSymphonyDarkSymphony Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    yeah it's not an instant thing at all, some games straight up freeze seconds into the game, some just shoot spikes out (worst offender is Assassins Creed Brotherhood) and like, it's not all the time, it's not usually on the exact same models or textures. it's definitely progressive. I took a vacuum hose and sucked some dirt out which I think helped it some. The spikes happened still, but nowhere near as often or as bad. As well, the spikes didn't occur in Castlevania, which was another game where it happened relatively commonly. Now, I called today to find out about the warranty thing on the PSN and came to find out that I am unable to buy the warranty because it's an extension and not a straight up new warranty. You apparently have to have a warranty in the first place for it to be extended. So, now the current situation is that I do not have a warranty and cannot get one.

    So, I've had the system for 4 years, 1 solid year of the spike issue and some freezing on occasion and wanting to do anything to get rid of this issue.

    So even without a warranty, if I were to open the system at all they wouldn't fix it? even at the normal cost for fixing a system without a warranty?

    DarkSymphony on
  • Iceman.USAFIceman.USAF Major East CoastRegistered User regular
    edited January 2011
    yeah it's not an instant thing at all, some games straight up freeze seconds into the game, some just shoot spikes out (worst offender is Assassins Creed Brotherhood) and like, it's not all the time, it's not usually on the exact same models or textures. it's definitely progressive. I took a vacuum hose and sucked some dirt out which I think helped it some. The spikes happened still, but nowhere near as often or as bad. As well, the spikes didn't occur in Castlevania, which was another game where it happened relatively commonly. Now, I called today to find out about the warranty thing on the PSN and came to find out that I am unable to buy the warranty because it's an extension and not a straight up new warranty. You apparently have to have a warranty in the first place for it to be extended. So, now the current situation is that I do not have a warranty and cannot get one.

    So, I've had the system for 4 years, 1 solid year of the spike issue and some freezing on occasion and wanting to do anything to get rid of this issue.

    So even without a warranty, if I were to open the system at all they wouldn't fix it? even at the normal cost for fixing a system without a warranty?

    So far as I know, they'd fix it, but it's not cost effective. It was barely cost effective for me to send it to PSR1 for repairs. At some point it becomes cheaper/smarter to just buy a new Slim PS3 and a new PS2 Slim (if you can find one).

    Iceman.USAF on
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