Official PS3 FAQ Master Thread - Page 99

That cable looks fine.

Historically it's been between 1 and 2 weeks.

Brandon

Soooo... if you've read my recent posts, you know my blu-ray freezing plight. I just got off the phone with Sony Support (1-800-345-7669), and I have about 5 hours to kill while my system restores (reformatting the HDD). So I thought I'd share my journey and all of the recommended fixes that my new friend Jason (who was very helpful and seemed like a decent guy to have a beer with) had me try before apologizing and letting me know I was out of luck.

First step was confirm the troubleshooting steps I had tried. Different blu-rays, check. Downloaded HD video, check (with one freeze up, oddly enough). PS3 games on blu-ray, check (30 minutes of MGS4 without freezing). Messing with the video settings, not enough.

So the first step was to go in and turn 1080p 24 output off. I had it set to automatic, and he indicated that this setting caused problems with some players. No joy. "Milk" froze before it even got to the credits.

2nd step, he talked me into "safe mode" which is reached through the following actions: Get the PS3 to standby mode (red light on). Place and hold the finger on the power icon (above the red light) and hold it there until you hear 3 beeps. The first beep is immediate and the light turns green. The second beep comes a few seconds later, and then a few more seconds to the 3rd beep. Once you hear the third beep, remove your finger, the light turns red, and you are back to standby. Then you put your finger back on the power icon, and do the same thing. This time, the third beep was actually a quick double beep, and when I removed my finger, the light was green, and I was instructed to plug a control in via USB and press the PS button. Doing so brought up a menu. There may have been an intermediate menu, but nothing I really remember. The important menu has 6 options, and the third or fourth one was "restore file system." I selected it and approved the operation, and it came up with a screen indicating: "file system corrupt. restore file system?" I approved again and it took a minute or so to do it.

This was the most informative part of the call, as Jason explained a few things to me. First, this has been happening to a fair amount of users, due to corrupted file systems. They trace these corruptions to a few sources: hard shutdowns while the HDD is spinning, downloading content through a wireless connection (?). I think there were others, but that last one blew my mind. The operation finished before I asked how wireless could corrupt the system, and while I was following the steps to set up the display, he indicated that this file system restore is currently fixing 89% of the issues that they get. I was pleased that there was something concrete that I could do without reformatting the HDD. While chatting about that, he indicated that if it was my blu-ray laser that was failing, I should not be able to play games from disc, or watch movies at all.

Needless to say, if you read the first paragraph, I got back to the XMB, popped the movie in, and it froze again during the credits. He went to his tech support (less reassuring) and came back with the suggestion to turn off the network connection, as the PS3 may try to hunt for codecs during playback? Things were going downhill, but I tried it. No luck, and we froze when I tried to FF through the first scene.

So now I am reformatting. He did indicate that I should be under warranty (even if it was purchased through eBay) as long as my warranty sticker is intact, and my receipt does not indicate that the unit is anything other than a new sale from a real company and not an individual. So one way or another, I have some hope. I'll let you know how the restore works out in a couple of hours.

Wow! You did work!

The guy I spoke to on Sunday never said if my BD laser is failing then I wouldn't be able to play any discs... Strange. I told the guy I talked to that I had tried reformatting the HD, and restoring the system, and after he told me to shut off the 1080p 24 thingy, and the system still not loading a BD, he said that I needed to return the system. I think you may be headed down that same road.

This sounds like it would be good addition to the FAQ.


That is what I was thinking when I read your initial post. Also the fact that you can play MGS4 without any issues is important.


This is why I asked what firmware you were running. A while back, users with wireless network connections were reporting intermittent skipping/stuttering during BD playback. It turns out that when the network connection is enabled during BD playback, every once in a while it tries to reconnect (or hunt for codecs?) which causes the issue. A firmware update later disabled standard internet connection (though BD-Live still works) automatically during BD playback, which served as a work around to this issue.

Going back to your problem. You say the movie pauses intermittently? So the video pauses and you lose audio? Or do you get any skipping frames and audio sync issues?

On a hunch, have you tried disabling the BD-Live connection?

Brandon

Well. Back from the wars, and not feeling too hopeful anymore. I have reformatted twice now. The first time, I went through set up, re-established wireless networking, and popped Milk back in. Froze after a few minutes.

To go into more detail, the image freezes, and all sound stops (although the sound keeps running for a second or two after the image stops). I can press any video control, and the icon of the first action I press usually registers on thh bottom left corner of the screen (like the play arrow, pause lines, or FF arrows) but the image and sound stay frozen. I can hit the circle button, and it will overlay and ask if I want to quit playback. I select yes, but nothing happens. I can't get back to th XMB or any other screen. The only action I can take is to hold down the PS button until it gives me the option of shutting down the system or shutting down the controller. Shutting down the controller and turning it or a different one back on does nothing. So I have to shut down the system and start over. I think I can access the menu through triangle, and it will overlay, but none of the options to FF, RW, Skip, or go to the main menu or pop-up menu will work there. I think that describes it all.

Anyhoo, I reformatted again overnight, and this morning, I declined to set up a network connection. I always keep BD Live set to confirm and decline access before each movie, but I did that again. I restarted it, popped in the movie, and it froze after about 8 minutes.

I'm now mostly resigned to sending it in for warranty service. I found my receipt, and based on the wording there, and the fact that the warranty seal is intact, I think maybe I just have a unit that was returned in good condition. So I'm going to call again today (since the online service request isn't working for me), and try to get Sony to fix it.

Before I do, I may try going through all of the settings one more time to disable anything that hints at BD Live or networking. If that doesn't work, I may reformat and plug it into the LAN to eliminate wireless but allow networking. Just getting more bummed out the more things I try (and fail).

Your lockup sounds like a bad internal Hard Drive or a bad IC in the unit. If you have a spare 2.5" HDD (laptop HDD) your can swap it in and do the format and see if the issue is resolved. Your lockup does not sound like a optical laser failure.

BTW - Changing the internal HDD does not void the warranty. Plenty of instructions and videos on the web.

I was laboring under the impression that the HDD swap would void the warranty. Now I'm intrigued. I have an old 40gb HDD sitting in a laptop with a dead power supply. I may run an experiment this afternoon, if I can convince my wife that a second day of my vacation should be spent with the PS3 instead of her and the baby.

Incidentally, I have disabled networking, and turned every optional processing, video, or sound option to "off." I started Milk again, and I'm 15 minutes in and playing...

If it turns out that disabling all of the options that the PS3 brings to the table as a Blu-Ray player and media server is the only thing that will allow it to play Blu-rays, am I justified in returning it for service? Since it used to work in the manner it was designed for, I don't see settling for a crippled unit being an option.

Has overheating of the unit been ruled out?

Make sure you keep the original HDD for if/when you return it.

Good point, the fan in the PS3 might have failed and after 15 minutes it over heats. Is the PS3 fan blowing? Can you run the Folding app for an hour without a lockup (Folding will stress test the PS3 for over-heating issues)?

Yes. I pulled it off the shelf it sits on, placed it on top of a table, and powered it completely down for a couple hours to let it cool to room temp. I fired it up, put a Blu-ray in, and it froze during the credits.

And I am currently at minute 34 of Milk with all settings turned to off. Keeping the fingers crossed.

See my last post, but maybe I'll try to folding thing just to ensure that the fan is fully functional. The first night of troubleshooting, I put in a DVD and set all 3 image processing functions up to 3. The fan kicked up during playback, and when I popped the Blu-ray (Role Models) back in, it played almost to the end (about 1.5 hours of playback) befre it froze.

At minute 40 of Milk now.

Completely agree. That's kind of good news in that optical laser failure is a more major problem, but also since it's more common there's more info on how to fix it. If a HDD swap doesn't improve things then I'd just suggest sending it in for Sony to repair. No need to pull his hair out trying to find the failing mechanism.

Brandon

OK. I made it 50 minutes into th movie efore I had to run out for lunch. Didn't want to push it, so I shut everything down. I'm going to start again. If it plays blu-rays without freezing when I have the internet conection and all the video options disabled, does that support the bad HDD theory, or am I back to square one with a miscellaneous freezing glitch?

Never mind. Froze during the opening credits.

OK. I'm going to start researching HDD replacement.

I bet you never watch Milk after all this. LOL!

You've never met my wife. It's already in our blockbuster list on DVD. Not seeing the end of the movie and the possibility that we may end up paying $149 are the only downsides for her. She's not exactly sad to have the PS3 gone for a few weeks.

Forgot to post last night. The old 2.5" drive was somehow not SATA, or just not compatible, so I called Sony and opened a service ticket. Interestingly enough, they would not open a ticket over the phone, but just emailed me a link back to the website, which wouldn't accept my ticket the previous day. This morning, I figured out that I was inputting a zero as an "O." Not that I can tell the difference on the Serial # sticker.

So now I wait for the mailer to arrive. Thanks, everyone for your support and suggestions.

If I get me hands on a HDD before the box arrives, I'll try it and post the results.

Otherwise, I'll let you know in about 3 weeks if I'm another satisfied Sony customer or not.

The procedure for gaining access to the recovery menu is already at the very end of the FAQ (post #1 of this thread). However, no specific description of the available actions are currently provided.

Looks like you guys are a few steps ahead of me.

Cheers,

Brandon

So, I'm still waiting for the shipping container to arrive so I can send my freezing PS3 in for service. But now I have a dilemma.

Working from home yesterday, I played Iron Man on BR 3 times, back to back to back, and it didn't freeze once. I had the network disabled for the first run through, and for the second and third, I had wireless networking, 1080p/24, and everything else on. Prior to the run of Two Lovers, Role Models, and Milk, Iron Man had never frozen on me. While I was swapping it in and out with Milk, Iron Man froze the same way Milk was, three or four different times.

I sent Milk and the other BRs back to blockbuster, and Iron Man is the only BR I own, so I don't have any other test material to try to replicate the freezing. I'm trying to get some more BR's in from blockbuster now, but that boils down to my question:

Should I keep the unit and the service shipping container until I see another system freeze, or send it as soon as possible on faith that Sony will be able to reproduce, analyze, and correct the fault in my system.

My fear is that I send it to them, it checks out as fully operational based on the disc that that they use to test it, and the next BR that I play when I get it back freezes and I need to start the process all over again.

Any thoughts or philosophical musings would be appreciated.

Quick question.
My friend has a 40Gb PS3 around 18 months old. Moderate use. Well ventilated. Firmware is 2.6

When any disc is inserted, nothing happens - No autoplay, no disc icon.
Pressing Play on the remote also does nothing. I've tried powering off and moving the console.


Certainly seems there's a problem with the drive. Is there nothing else we can try to wake it up, or should we just give up and sent it off to Sonyland?

Thanks in advance.

That does sound like the problem a lot of people have experienced.

There is INFO ONLINE about doing the repair yourself - if one is
Technically Competent.

Any threads posted here on that topic?

This may sound silly to some. I just set my ps3's 24p (hz) setting to ON because my new TV supports it. Do I need to go into my tv's settings and enable 24p or does the ps3 automatically force it?

Also, in the FAQ it recommends using RGB on the limited setting unless using a computer monitor. Is this what you guys would recommend as well?

1) The PS3, when set to the "on" position, is forced to send a 24Hz signal to the TV set when playing a Blu-ray with native 24Hz content. The TV that supports it, as far as I know, will either accept the signal or it wont. You shouldn't have to change any settings.

2) Yes, I would recommend the limited setting.

Brandon

I don't know if there are any threads on it, but the only talk I know about 3D on the PS3 are some rumors that the PS3 would only need a firmware update to be compatible with stereoscopic 3D material. Nothing has been confirmed as far as I know.

Sony had a tech demo of 3D games at CES, but did not detail any plans to roll it out.

Brandon

Hmm. I have a Toshiba 52xv540u. Should I set up my PS3 for 24hz?

It's my understanding that the Blu-ray (and possibly HDMI) standard(s) for 3D are just now starting to be developed and we won't see any players until some time after these standards are finalized. Probably the earliest for any compatible products would be the end of 2010. HERE is an article from 3 months ago that the plans to form a standards group to work on 3D for Blu-ray had just been announced. I suspect they will need at least a year to get the new stardards group up and running and then to develop the standard then another 6 to 18 months to start producting products that conform to the new 3D standard. At this point it would be just speculation on whether the PS3 will be able to add 3D capability thru just a firmware update or if new hardware is required (e.g., I've seen mention that a new version of HDMI may be required to support 3D). This may very well turn out to be a new BD feature for products in 2011 or 2012.

The above applies to Blu-ray but Sony would be more-or-less free to do whatever they want for 3D PS3 games since these will be under the control of Sony (in coordination with their game developers). However, one would hope that Sony would use the same console-to-HDTV interface for games as is ultimately used for BD, but that may not be possible if the BD 3D standards are not compatible with the current PS3 hardware or if Sony wants to rush 3D game capability out the door before the BD 3D standard is finalized.

According to your model's spec sheet, yes. It's a 120Hz set with 5:5 pulldown, which means it should show the 24Hz content without any conversion. I also looked in the owner's manual and it lists 24Hz (23.976fps) as a compatible refresh rate while watching a 1080p source. In theory, that means you should have a smoother looking framerate than if the 24Hz option is turned "off".

If your PS3's 24Hz option is already on "auto", it may already be sending a 24Hz signal to the TV. Just check your TV's display information the next time you are playing a blu-ray. You only want to turn the option to "on" if "auto" isn't detecting a 24Hz display device (and/or chain) intuitively.

Brandon