PS3 Won't Read Discs

[Aikouka]

So, I was watching a Blu-Ray movie last night and right in the middle of it, the movie just stopped. I first assumed the disc might be bad as it was from Netflix and I recalled people having issues. So, I tried pushing forward and back, but nothing seemed to work. So, I ejected the disc and put it back in thinking I could possibly skip past a few bad parts. Well, the problem that cropped up... the PS3 wouldn't even display the disc.

I took the movie out and put in another BR movie... wouldn't display it. I tried a PS3 game and a DVD movie and it wouldn't display either.

I've seen things online about how the laser could be bad... or it could also be the motor in the drive. I've seen some say that simply "resetting" the PS3 could help. Anyone ever run into this problem before... have any advice on what you did? It's an 80GB fat PS3 (one with partial PS2 capability), and I took it apart. When sticking a disc in, I don't seem to hear any whirring noises that you should hear when the disc begins spinning up (unless the drive is that quiet).

 

[RavenSEAL]

Since it's an 80GB B-C i'm guessing its decently old...BR drives on the fat PS3 were never of great quality...i'm not gonna lie, thats the one major hardware flaw the PS3 has, the slim BR-D tend to be more reliable. I say bring it to a local repair shop and see if they can troubleshoot it for ya and ask em how much it'll cost to fix. Sony will charge you $120~ to fix it...but i say just try local before you think about shipping it. Only suggestion i can make as far as movies, just rip your DVDs in your PC and send them over lan to store or stream.

It happens :/

 

[Soundmanred]

I got a replacement laser off eBay for my launch 60GB and did it myself. It cost about $65 after shipping and all and now it works flawlessly. Too bad I never have time to play it!

 

[RavenSEAL]

I got a replacement laser off eBay for my launch 60GB and did it myself. It cost about $65 after shipping and all and now it works flawlessly. Too bad I never have time to play it!

If you do this, make sure you get the right model!

 

[Aikouka]

I've seen the replacement lasers for about $45, which is fine, but is there also a chance that the motor died? I'd hate to spend $45 on a new laser and then have to turn around and spend more to replace the motor... although, a quick eBay searched showed the motors are only around $8.

One interesting thing I found out when taking the drive apart... you have to be really careful with how much you tighten the screws on the drive's casing. I couldn't get my PS3 to take in discs, but whenever I took it apart, I could easily push a disc in myself. Lo and behold, I tightened it up, then tried to stick a disc in and it would only go in 3/4 of the way (just like what would happen before). I loosened a few screws and the disc would go in. An odd design.

I found the following auctions which should be correct:
Lens
Motor

Another thing I found interesting. I've taken apart PS2s in the past and I recall hating their ribbon cables. I've never liked trying to stick the flimsy cable into the slot... it's always been a pain. But I noticed the PS3 uses a sort of latch mechanism with these flimsy ribbon cables. While it doesn't change my dislike of the cable type, I do prefer the connector.

 

[mmntech]

The PS3 is pretty easy to fix if you have some electronics knowledge. I just got through fixing the second YLOD on mine in a year. I'm pretty sure Sony botched the original repair since it always ran hotter than before.

The only special tool you need is a Torx T10 screwdriver to remove the security bolt. The rest of the screws are Phillips. Once you get the top cover off, the BD drive lifts right out.

If you don't know what you are doing, send it to Sony. Once the seal is broken, they wont repair it, warrantied or not.

 

[Aikouka]

The only special tool you need is a Torx T10 screwdriver to remove the security bolt. The rest of the screws are Phillips. Once you get the top cover off, the BD drive lifts right out.

If you don't know what you are doing, send it to Sony. Once the seal is broken, they wont repair it, warrantied or not.

That security bolt is the only thing that gave me trouble . I actually just used a flat head screwdriver to remove it since my only Torx T10 is on a removable bit and the screwdriver's end is too fat to fit.

I'm usually pretty good at fixing things... at least taking them apart is easy .

I had a friend tell me that he couldn't get the discs to spin up and it was actually the lens. So I guess I should just get one.