PS3 YLOD fix..reball...reflow?! Help please!

[kirbykirb]

But it makes me wonder...if after a good "reballing", cleaning, and using good thermal paste (say Artic Silver 5), shouldn't the console last?

Only if there is sufficient cooling. The small form factor of the console is horrible for cooling as there is not enough air flow and therefore allows the heat to stay. With more then one object creating heat (several IC/cpu/gpu/heatsinks/power supply) all in one central location with no sufficient air ventilation and combined with lead free solder (environmentalists/costs savings) all equal to the YLOD.

[goatdan]

Interesting topic, lots of good info. I have a few questions, as I've been thinking about what to do with my PS3 situation in the future...

- If I have a 60 GB model with the PS2 memory card adapter thing, can I transfer my saves off the PS3 hard drive and onto the PS2 memory card for play on a PS2?

- If I have a 60 GB model and I back up the hard drive, can I save this backed up data to eventually restore on a slim model?

- I understand that the 60GB models are the worst with the YLOD stuff, is that true? How solid are the Slims? Is it worth just ignoring the 60 GB models altogether?

I'm looking into getting a second PS3 and I'm just trying to think about what to do with it. Thanks!

[Cornelius]

Interesting topic, lots of good info. I have a few questions, as I've been thinking about what to do with my PS3 situation in the future...

- If I have a 60 GB model with the PS2 memory card adapter thing, can I transfer my saves off the PS3 hard drive and onto the PS2 memory card for play on a PS2?

dunno on this one

- If I have a 60 GB model and I back up the hard drive, can I save this backed up data to eventually restore on a slim model?

no. As I understand it, the only option is to do a transfer from your old ps3 to the new one, directly, with both drives in their respective consoles. This was discussed earlier in this thread if you want to review that.

- I understand that the 60GB models are the worst with the YLOD stuff, is that true? How solid are the Slims? Is it worth just ignoring the 60 GB models altogether?

My understanding is that it is pretty common among any of the early ones, both the hardware and software BC ones. But I haven't read specifically about that aspect.

My plan is to replace the thermal compound in my 60 GB and hopefully avoid the problem. I'm also considering replacing the P/S with a newer model one, but I've heard mixed things about that.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Interesting topic, lots of good info. I have a few questions, as I've been thinking about what to do with my PS3 situation in the future...

- If I have a 60 GB model with the PS2 memory card adapter thing, can I transfer my saves off the PS3 hard drive and onto the PS2 memory card for play on a PS2?

Absolutely yes as I do this a lot. It's interesting to note that, when I transferred all the old data from my 60GB to the Slim, it transferred all my PSOne and PS2 saves So, even though I can't play my PS2 games on my Slim, I can still make some virtual memory cards on it when I need more room

- If I have a 60 GB model and I back up the hard drive, can I save this backed up data to eventually restore on a slim model?

It sounds like you can. Here is the direct link to Sony's explanation on the Backup Utility:
http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...uputility.html

[goatdan]

Absolutely yes as I do this a lot. It's interesting to note that, when I transferred all the old data from my 60GB to the Slim, it transferred all my PSOne and PS2 saves So, even though I can't play my PS2 games on my Slim, I can still make some virtual memory cards on it when I need more room

It sounds like you can. Here is the direct link to Sony's explanation on the Backup Utility:
http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...uputility.html

Awesome, thanks -- that's also really good information. I have an old PS3 and have been thinking about picking up another and / or replacing that one. I'm trying to figure out what is the best options, and this gives me some stuff to think about.

Also, unrelated completely, but does anyone know of a site that can teach me how to easily convert and upload videos to the PS3? I have a HD Kodak camera that records in .MOV file format (up to 1080i) and my computers can't even handle the data properly. I figure (??) the PS3 could, and upgrading to one with a bigger hard drive is a big part of why I'm thinking about it at all...

Sorry to be off topic. Back on topic, is there any shot of the 60GB models NOT getting the YLOD? Is better ventilation known to stop this?

[Cornelius]

Not sure if it will do what you want, but you might check out TVersity. Free software that allows you to stream video from your PC, and automatically converts many different file formats on the fly to whatever it is that the PS3 can use. If you need the files on the PS3 itself, I think you'll have to convert the files in advance and then move them. Google should tell you how to do that conversion.

[mattimeo310]

My understanding is that it is pretty common among any of the early ones, both the hardware and software BC ones. But I haven't read specifically about that aspect.

I am as well under the impression the 60gb are more suseptible because I own an original 40gb ps3 and I think I've heard its fan kick on to "turbo" mode once since last summer. My friend on the other hand has a 60gb and his enters "turbo" mode on a regular basis, so it seems his overheats quite frequently.

[goatdan]

Not sure if it will do what you want, but you might check out TVersity. Free software that allows you to stream video from your PC, and automatically converts many different file formats on the fly to whatever it is that the PS3 can use. If you need the files on the PS3 itself, I think you'll have to convert the files in advance and then move them. Google should tell you how to do that conversion.

Cool, that sounds like an interesting idea I'll have to explore, thanks!

I did try Googling the file conversion stuff, and I found like 10 different programs, two or three of which were crap (videos down converted, had sound issues, etc), two or three of which didn't work (started converting and hung, or just crashed), and the rest that wanted money for them. I don't want to pay for something unless I'm certain it will actually function properly... and I couldn't find a consensus online about what to do.

If anyone else has any insight into this, I'd be interested. I'm willing to spend a little bit of money on a program, but I don't want to waste it on stuff that won't work.