My PS3 got messed after 3.41 update

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***UPDATE*** (12/06/2010)

Console is fine now - local service changed the (main|mother)board. Thanks for comments.

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See the video [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU8BjNh-gG8]YouTube - PS3 Slim with Graphics glitch[/ame]

My new PS3 Slim 120GB, worked less than 20 hours since i bought, 2 weeks ago, come with this now...

The console don't appear be a refurbished unit. The mess started when i did the 3.41 update (console came with 3.15). Since this is supposed a new unit, i think it's not related to Age/BGA solder defects from old models, appear to be a defective memory (video or main - idk). It's not related with heat, because the glitch appear just after the console boot up

What i did to try to solve the problem - w/o sucess:

- Change/modify Theme
- Create/change User
- Check the internal fan
- Swap from HDMI to A/V Cable
- Re-install 3.41 Firmware from main menu
- Format Hard-Disk from main menu (quick)
- Format Hard-Disk from main menu (Full - I spent 7 hours for nothing...)
- Used all options from Safe Mode menu
- Used another Hard-Disk
- Found a dev_flash dump from another Slim with 3.41FW and compared with mine - exact same files (except for the data dir, that folder is missing on the dump)

What still working:

- XMB with all menus
- Web Browser
- Homebrews

How video shows, when game load then back to XMB, glitch disappear from menus, but still on games. Game loads sometimes - WHEN they load, they freeze the console in a short time.

I'm afraid to try a Reflux/Reball and stay with same error.

PS: Where i live it's not a option send console back to Sony.
PPS: Someone known if the folder data under dev_flash its the same for any console? (Because have alot of .cert files there)

Someone got/saw something like that?

[]'s

Serious shit. Maybe try to re-download the 3.41 firmware from a different place and re-install it? Just i a case it's a corrupted firmware. But I think it's rather a hardware issue...

Were you using 3.41 v1 or v2? If you did v1 before, try installing v2 and see if that's doesn't fix anything.

I'd return it for a refund/replacement asap. Assuming you didn't break the warranty yet.

@greyest and chesh

The 3.41FW it's the v2 (MD5:e07d2b84c9e9691c261b73e5f1aada20), necessary to work with homebrews (2~3 weeks ago was the only choice)

Someone have a link to the 3.41FW v1 to try a pseudo-downgrade?

[]'s

get correct 3.41 firmware from this site.

h**p://www.ps3break.com/Download.asp

i hope this helps you, and i bought a jailbreak from here, works 100%

and only £19.77

@6six6

Thanks for the link, but my file still correct.

[]'s

They say when your GPU goes bad that images become distorted. Seems like you've got a good CPU but your GPU needs to be reflowed or ideally reballed. Anyway, your console doesn't have to age to have bad solder connections. A 2 week old ps3 should be returned to the store it was bought from. An out of warrenty ps3 should have the GPU reflowed. Its easy. I've done it twice for a couple of coworkers.

@Tmsmith

Thanks for the reply

Reflux maybe can be a option to test. (a bit cheap and not so - lets say - intrusive)

I'm afraid to do a reball because on my city the price of this kind of service it´s so high (around 25~40% console price) and the shops don't have spare parts (GPU or memory) to exchange if they are deffective.

PS: I bought a PS3 just to avoid this kind of problems from Xbox360... =/

PPS: I still thinking about the FW update and Homebrews... all started just after that.

[]'s

Quote:

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Originally Posted by avr_noob

@Tmsmith

Thanks for the reply

Reflux maybe can be a option to test. (a bit cheap and not so - lets say - intrusive)

I'm afraid to do a reball because on my city the price of this kind of service it´s so high (around 25~40% console price) and the shops don't have spare parts (GPU or memory) to exchange if they are deffective.

PS: I bought a PS3 just to avoid this kind of problems from Xbox360... =/

PPS: I still thinking about the FW update and Homebrews... all started just after that.

[]'s

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Well, Its hard to imagine for me that you'd get that type of distortion from a bad firmware flash. Usually bad firmware flashes tend to result in unbootable bricked consoles don't they? You can take homebrews out of the equation fairly easily by just not booting into JB right? Either way, those reflashes should have fixed any firmware issues. Seems more like a coincidence. Anyway, I think part of what supports the bad GPU theory is that the menu works just fine. The menu works mostly off of CPU or at least it should. Its not very graphic intensive. Your games can't boot too far because the bad glitching from the GPU is causing the game to lock up to the point where the CPU decides to quit to the XMB.

ON reflow vs a reball of the solder, the thing is, as long as you don't WAYYY overheat your motherboard, you shouldn't have a problem attempting a reflow and then having a reball done on it by a professional 3rd party repair service.


The thing I don't get though is that in your original post, you said it was purchased 2 weeks ago. How is it you don't just go back and get an in-store return? You don't have to bother with Sony.

P.S. All ps3s and Xbox 360s have solder issues apparently. What I seemed to have come up with in my research is that recently as in like around 2006 there was a major switch to lead free solder. It seems that countries started to ban lead solder for environmental and health concerns. Well for high heat electronics, it appears that lead-free solder has a higher tendency to crack under thermal stress. To make it worse, apparently the quality check process is harder in manufacturing because poor solder joints are harder to see with the less shiny lead free solder. More energy efficient components help to reduce thermal stress but its a mute point if the original solder didn't take very well. What should be noted is that its far far far more likely that you have a cracked solder joint then a defective GPU. It seems like the actual component has far better manufacturing quality or is at least far easier to quality check before it is assembled into the PS3/XBOX 360.