Help! broken PS3

[ikickpigeons]

Hello all,

I own a launch 60gb PS3, got it in like the first month of launch, and it's been running great except the disc drive no longer works. It will no longer take discs all the way in and fails to spin them up. However, I can boot the machine up and get into the xmb and even boot up demos, movies, and anything else stored on the hard drive. I suspect the tracks on the disc drive broke or dislodged when I shipped it to myself from college.

What are my options for repair? It is out of warranty, so I believe if I send it to Sony it will be $180 to repair. But I don't want to give up my launch PS3 and backwards compatibility. I was thinking of sending it to a third party repair shop. Does anyone have experience with these?

Furthermore, I did try to open up my PS3 and manually fix the drive tracks on the bluray drive, but it didn't work.

 

[Tristicus]

Send it to Sony and yes, it is $180 with a 3-month warranty.
There are a lot of other sites that give PS3 fixes and even longer warranties than Sony, but are obviously not recommended by Sony- however some people say they are better.
Avoid the user "OvalHobby" on eBay.

 

[ikickpigeons]

Will I for sure get my specific console back? And do I need to clone my hard drive or remove it before sending it in?

 

[Terzo]

Just to offer an alternative, you could try and find a 120 gig slim on sale after the new models are released. You'll pay more than $180, but will have a longer warranty and a newer model.

As for having Sony repair yours, my only suggestion is look into getting some sort of third party warranty for it. I've never actually used it, but a lot of people mention Squaretrade and if you follow slickdeals they'll have a promotion relatively often. Considering you have a launch model you may find it worthwhile to spend a little extra on an extended warranty.

 

[Tristicus]

Will I for sure get my specific console back? And do I need to clone my hard drive or remove it before sending it in?

No. You will get a refurbished unit from the factory. My 60gb I sent in came looking BRAND NEW. I just kept my 320gb hard drive. You also won't be able to use your HDD in the new one without formatting it, so back up data.

 

[ikickpigeons]

So will I get an equivalent console? I really don't want to settle for anything without the hardware based ps2 emulation, ie. launch console or the mgs4 special edition.

 

[Tristicus]

They give you the same console you send in, just a different unit..

 

[ikickpigeons]

Ok, good to hear. What's the turnaround typically? 2 weeks?

 

[borisvodofsky]

Ok, good to hear. What's the turnaround typically? 2 weeks?

However long you think it'll take,, add a month to it... then you won't feel so bad.. and it MAY even come sooner.

Fuck sony

 

[I4AT]

Well, since you opened the console, didn't you have to break some kind of warranty seal? Won't that be an issue if you send it in to Sony for repair?

 

[Terzo]

Well, since you opened the console, didn't you have to break some kind of warranty seal? Won't that be an issue if you send it in to Sony for repair?

I think that's only voids the warranty. Not an issue for a launch model.