Our PS DIED

what a coincidence my 60gb died lastnight. i was wondering about the save data too.

Sorry about your dead PS3. Unfortunately unless you try gilskys fix on youtube for the YLOD you are SOL. You will be able to redownload everything you bought from the PS store but any game save data is lost. The HDD are tied to the system it is installed in so when you put it in another PS3 it will format itself and all data is lost.

HERES a link to gilskys YLOD fix if you want to try that. If you can get it back up and running then you can get all your game save data

If you have copy protected game saves, you need either PS+ Cloud Storage to back them up.

This is one restriction I hate the most that Sony enforced to PS3.

Yeah, I still don't understand the protected save thing. If you want to protect saves to prevent people from sharing DLC that gets stored in the Game Save file, why don't you make it so that the user has to be signed in to the PSN under the name of the user who created that game save in order to play it? It's stupid to lock down saves like that. I was VERY fortunate in that when I upgraded from a fat to a slim PS3, I was able to use the data transfer utility to move everything over. Without that, I'd have spent weeks re-downloading all of the DLC I've bought for Rock Band. (RB saves are "protected" since the DLC gets moved to a game save/data file. So it's protected to prevent people from transferring over their DLC).

I really wish Sony had thought of a way to allow people to copy over their protected save files to an external drive, connect that drive up to a computer and via the internet, validate the files as belonging to that PSN UserID. Then, when they transfer them over to the new console, connect to the web through that console to validate the transfer. This way Sony could prevent any further transfers since they won't validate that specific file again.

Regardless, any type of copy protection on game saves, or storage of DLC within game saves themselves, is stupid. If you're going to store DLC data, store that in a file on the installation part of the system so that if someone's console does die, at least they can just re-download everything. But the game saves? Those should never be copy-protected. EVER!

Saves are lock to prevent decompiling and save game editing, and especially as a way to prevent trophy abuse.

There's ways around it, but developers seem lazy, especially when they can simply check off a box that says "copy protected".

DLC is not stored in game saves, but in the gamedata installations.

PS3 as an entertainment device, users are generally not costumed to think about how to retrieve the data stored on the player's hard drive when they bought it. Most users only replace the player when it fails or when they need a different model with more functions. Only then, they think about all the data they have on the older player. The player manufacturer is expected to provide a method to retrieve the data especially if the older player has failed. Sony is overly paranoid in encrypting the PS3 hard drive and refused to provide any tool to retrieve data off a dead PS3 console's hard drive.

I really wonder what Sony execs were thinking when they decided to enforce PS3 hard drive encryption when PS3 was in development. I can understand Sony wants to protect the PS3 hard drive contents, but do they actually believe if the PS3 hardware fails, the user data on the hard drive is completely non-accessible which is as good as lost? For the first 4 years, there was no tool available to migrate PS3 hard drive data to another PS3.

Even now, there is still no way to retrieve any data off a dead PS3 console hard drive on other PS3. All the workarounds provided such as Migration Utility to another PS3 and Cloud Storage (too little capacity and only good for game saves) expect your PS3 still functions. Full hard drive backup is almost as good as useless since it will fail to restore if it detected any copy protected data and can't restore any game related data to another PS3.

(If you ask Sony support about why there isn't a way to retrieve the data off the PS3 hard drive when the console fails, they will say you should have known about it when you bought your PS3. Seriously how many new buyers know about this?)

If you follow the PS3 modders, there's a CFW that disables the PS3 hard drive encryption.

This is where I give X360 hard drive design a thumb up (more expensive but lost data locked on PS3 hard drive is unreplaceable). The data on X360 hard drive is also encrypted but you can move the hard drive to any X360 console and all the data are accessible as long you login with the Gamertag that owns the encrypted data such as game saves. If you want to migrate all the X360 hard drive data to a new hard drive, all it takes is a special cable. The original X360 console is not required.

If you get your phat up and running again, you can use the Data Tranfer Utility. Connect both ps3's with an ethernet cable and it will copy everything, including copy protected saves.

A few more steps you also need to do. Your old PS3 must be able to connect to PSN to deactivate each PSN account before the Migration Utility will let you move the data. Second, the new PS3 hard drive will also be erased. So, if you have any new game saves or data you want to keep on your new PS3, back up them. If your old PS3 has large files especially movies, erase them before the migration starts in case the old PS3 couldn't start up long enough. After the migration has completed, the old PS3 hard drive will be erased. If you are only able to get your old PS3 up for only a few minutes at a time, paying for PS+ Cloud Storage could be your only option to backup copy protected game saves.

As with PSN account, if you download movies from PSN Store, you need to deactivate your old PS3 from the account (if you can get your old PS3 up running). Each PSN account is only allowed for one PS3 console for downloading movies.

I know this doesn't help now, but you should definitely make a habit of actively backing up your game saves (whether externally or through PS+ cloud saves). If nothing else, your experience might serve as a lesson to others.

Your only solution now is to do as other posters have said above: try a short-term fix to get the unit running again. Then do a backup and transfer. Short of that, you're SoL. Sucks. Sorry.

looks like the OG ps3's are expiring rapidly..

My 60 and 40 both went YLOD within 48 hours of each other.

i just woke up and tried to turn on my PS3 and got a RLOD (80g fat). Second one in 3 months.

My 60gb stopped reading discs last week. They're dropping like flies.

I'm sorry to hear your 60GB died. Mine lasted about 13 months, so at least you got solid use out of it

Picked up a 160gb slim today to replace it.

Anybody know of a "cooling" base or some sort of hardware I can put it on to help keep them cool?

My 60gig from launch day is still running strong, although I have a feeling that its days are numbered. Attaching these fans helped a lot even though it looks terrible.

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LOL! You weren't kidding, were you Simon?? hey - if it works man, that's what matters!

Should have just got a mini fridge and put it in that

Trying to do a reflow, but getting conflicting messages .. should the heat gun be at 350 degrees, or 750 degrees? that's a wide gap.....

The bottom of the PS3 is one of the hottest area that don't have much cooling. A laptop cooling pad works well because the fans will cool the bottom of the PS3. For extra front cooling, you want slower fans that blow a little more air under the Blu-ray drive because there is only so much air that can get into the small vents. Too much air pressure just blows more dust at the PS3 and reduces the air intake at the small vents.

Didn't want to trade in your YLOD for Sony's $99 offer?

350 degrees celsius converted to F is 662 dgrees F. Formula is Celsius x 1.8 + 32

Sony will still take it even if the warranty sticker is removed. I took mine apart to get the game out and in less than 2 weeks had a new one. They also told me to take the HDD out and the one they shipped was sans HDD.
So if the reflow doesnt work you can get one that way or just buy a new slim for $249

I'm no expert but it sounds to me like you're internet coaxial attenuation may be to hot. You should have your ISP come out and make sure there isn't a fire in the junction box

but on a serious note maybe that last firmware update Sony sent out had a secret file in it to destroy all old model PS3's forcing them to buy new unaffected slim models. OK that wasn't serious either but what if.

HERES the link to get you started. If you cant (or dont want to) get it to work with gsilkys fix make sure you call them to deactivate that unit.

Wow Canada screwed on that deal to .. can only use that link if we are still under warranty ..

After the reflow (thanks for the temp conversion tip!) i was able to get one of my systems up and running.. but i managed to kill my network adaptor card in the process (no bluetooth, no wireless, and no lan connection). I plugged in the card from the unit i hadn't reflowed yet and it works fine.. so i have ONE working machine and one that i need a network card for.. ebay here i come.

Mine still going, don't you jinx me!! Time to send it in.