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Sony: PS3 drive errors not caused by firmware

Posted Oct 1, 2009 at 7:52AM EST by Karl B.

Listed in: PS3 Tags: flickr, playstation 3 updates, Sony

PS3 drive - Image 1

Even though it was just supposed to fix the issues caused by PS3 firmware 3.00, the release of firmware 3.01 also led to reports of Blu-ray drive errors from those who updated. Unreadable Blu-ray discs, frozen screens, blank screens, no sound. These are just some of the issues reportedly encountered by PS3 owners thanks to the new firmware release.

Sony has yet to explain where exactly the problem lies, but according to Eurogamer, the company disavows that the issues are being caused by the PS3's firmware. In a nutshell, if your PS3's drive is fried, you'll have to pay for repairs yourself. Ah, if only we could just blow on a Blu-ray disc to make it all better.

Photo source: flickr

PS3 FW 3.01 update causing problems with Blu-ray drives?

Via Eurogamer

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I bet about 90% if not 99% of all the people having problems did some tfs hack or whatever it's call Thus why their ***** got messed up. Or did the FW block then tried updating ect ect

I would say about 90% of the time it's User error not sony's, But i am not saying all the PS3's users are at fault but a good % is.

# .. — Popson 2009-10-01 11:26

60% of the time, it's the users fault every time....

But uhh, if I had to guess, I would say it has nothing to do with what you are postulating.

# Hahahaha — superjake 2009-10-01 11:32

"Ah, if only we could just blow on a Blu-ray disc to make it all better." Haha well said! I miss the days when blowing into the cartridge would fix any problem. ANY PROBLEM.

# lol — grondinm 2009-10-01 11:38

i'm not saying it does not suck for the people affected but it's not firmware related in anyway....if it really was don't you think more systems would have been damaged by it...user error is the cause of most failures with anything(spare the RROD altho i guess the error might have been getting a 360 in the first place...)so sony does not have to defend themselves on this. say u update the drivers for your vid card then it stops working a few days after u think nvidia or ati will replace it for free....i think not(unless it's in warranty) kinda same principal here.

# man — nyr2k2 2009-10-01 11:47

I guess I'm lucky. I'm on my launch PS3, and I update my FW every release. I've never had one problem.

# heh — nyr2k2 2009-10-01 11:50

Sometimes I'd have to blow into the system as well.

I remember how cool it was when my friend told me how easy it was to "mod" your SNES to play import games. You basically just pulled this metal piece out of the slot where the cartridges went...then you could play JP games.

The good old days...

# wow — Sw3RvE 2009-10-01 12:27

get a blu-ray lens cleaning disc. just bc its a blu-ray drive doesnt mean it doesnt get dust on it like all other cd players and dvd players. if the lens has buku ( a lot ) of dust on it then it cannot read the disc. ;)

# Popson — Neko Kyu 2009-10-01 13:07

I dunno... i gotta be honest with you. That smells like pure gasoline.

# User Error? — Daistaar 2009-10-01 13:22

How hard could it be to press update and let it finish? There is no user interaction to blame user error. It's either faulty internet connection that causes data corruption in the update (which should be verified before running) or powering down before completion. To blame the user is precarious.

# @Daistaar — zzk2001 2009-10-01 13:49

when i say user error i don't talk about when the person updates as even a brain dead monkey could do that.

When it comes to user error it's people that try fake hacks "that they may have forgot about" or block FW updates for so long then try and update to the Newest etc etc or Just them being Dumb and thinking it's from the FW update when it's the Drive it's self, there could be many things.

# Timing — damonous 2009-10-01 14:46

I think everyone should take a deep breath and think this one through. For as many times as these "PS3 sky is falling" articles have floated the web and been posted at QJ since Sept 1 ..... I've yet to see the avalanche of posts in these boards from people who've actually had the problem described.

We really need to look at the timing of these "reports": right after the release of the PS3 Slim, --the very product which has left the competition (M$ and Nintendo) licking their wounds in the dust and dropping prices on their over-priced hardware.

You don't think that there's at least a glimmer of a chance that this is bogus 'web propaganda' to get new purchasers to think ...."Oh, I don't know: I've heard PS3's drives are failing with firmware updates .... I better get a 360 and chance a RROD instead."

I've got more than 1 PS3 (orig/MGS/japan); all are running 3.01; all appear to be fine. Like someone said above, if this was due to firmware ....there would likely be a LOT of problems, and you and your friends would at least know someone personally with a problem.

# don't you think its interesting — tpoccu 2009-10-01 15:44

Don't you think its interesting that Sony felt it was necessary to clarify the situation. My ps3 is a launch ps3 that I upgraded at launch with a 120GB hard drive. It ran perfectly until I installed this new update, and I find it curious that Sony felt the need to say it isn't the firmware update, but also didn't feel it was necessary to give a reason. I spent about an hour on the phone with two different customer service reps, neither of which was able to help me, even though I did a reformat, restored default settings, and restored the file system. I have done every single firmware update prior to this, and the whole reason I waited and bought one of these rather than a 360 was because I expected more from Sony. I understand you all love Sony very much, but to defend them when they obviously screwed up (the playstation forum is full of people with these complaints) is just completely irrational.

# lol — Wizborg 2009-10-01 15:57

Yep, I fondly remember those days, well, I also remember having fun adjusting the heads on my speccy +2 'datacorder' to get the games to load, but now I'm just showing my age.

.

I also remember 'modding' my Megadrive (Genesis) to play foreign games by filing off the two protrusions in the cart bay... Fun times.. lol

# @ tpoccu — HIDEO KOJIMA 2009-10-01 16:20

Same boat as you, but I have a 40GB. Replaced the HDD with a 250GB and still worked perfectly fine. The first time mine messed up was with the 2.4 update. Had to get it repaired and it messed up another 6 months after. Not sure if an update was involved the 2nd time though. Never had the YLoD, just a dead BR drive. I do know that I was playing GTA4 during both times when it happened. When it happened to mine, I went to the PS forumes and saw alot of thread. The one thing they all had in common was that anybody who started a thread the topic is labeled as a troll by the users. Pretty pathetic of them to do that. It doesn't even matter if you have 1 post count or 3,000. If you complain, then you are a troll.

Sony's extended warranty service sucks. They are charging you $50 more and 9 months less than MS's service. A 1 year warranty for $100 is a hell of alot better than a 3 Month warranty for $150.

# The 3.01 rumor is just bs if you ask me. — kupomogli 2009-10-01 16:47

I haven't had a problem since install. Neither had all the people I know who have a PS3.

Must be some extremely rare thing going around that effects absolutely none of the people I know. Either that or like has been mentioned around here previously. Way for people to spread rumor the PS3 is having problems after the Uncharted 3.00 incident.

# Oh yeah. — kupomogli 2009-10-01 16:50

Wii system firmware 4.2 is bricking consoles. Both modified and unmodified. All unmodified Wii's can be sent back to Nintendo to be repaired though.

# ... — popmchnex 2009-10-01 17:29

This has been happening long before 3.01. A friend of mine had his blu-ray drive fail, yet could still play dvd's, and other discs (so ps2, movies, ps1, you name it.)

He did nothing to his PS3 to make that happen, the casing had never been opened, no hacks attempted, didn't even run the NES Emulator from a while back.

This is certainly not user related, nor is it sony's fault. Every product released has a failure rate.

# seriously? — tpoccu 2009-10-01 17:53

I know 5 people with ps3's counting myself, I am not claiming that all of us have failing systems. One of my friend's systems went out a few months back with 2.7 and he had to pay $150 to repair it, after he had replaced his first system because it was chewing up netflix disks. For me this has been the first incident, and none of the other 3 guys have had any problems. My ps3 is backwards compatible so I don't want a slim, it still plays ps2 games, so it is an excellent ps2, but really what would I have to gain from this? I don't want them to replace my ps3 with a new one.

# sorry — tpoccu 2009-10-01 17:58

Sorry to post twice, but think about it, how many people do you know with ps3s? How many ps3 systems are there out there? Last I checked the number was somewhere around 24 million, but you think the 10 or 20 people you know with playstation 3 systems proves my claims are bogus?

# Popson — GUNBEHINDTHESUN 2009-10-01 20:50

60%? How did you pull that from your ass? It is retarded for you to make an assumption like that.

# ^^ — kraft 2009-10-02 00:25

Somebody didn't get the reference

# My PS3 is Great!!! — BryanNitro 2009-10-02 02:29

I have launchday 60G with 750G upgrade been in my TV stand well ventilated never used any Scratched discs have updated every firmware with no problems I really think its user error.

# strange — the by 2009-10-02 08:34

coz i have two PS3s, and a lot of friends and have been told nothing of blank screens or non working blurays but one, where he messed up his settings or firmware but can't remember which one, but he admitted he was the one that messed up!

# .... — Tyrant156 2009-10-02 16:57

I'm sure it's a combination of variables that are causing the errors. Maybe it's not just the firmware upgrade but the firmware upgrade combined with having a 40 or 80gig version or maybe playing a certain game in the drive while the install occurred, like GTA4 or call of duty. Two games known for burning out the blu ray drives on 40 and 80gig version PS3s. My 60gb PS3 over heated last year so I feel for the people that have broken systems after an upgrade but I also understand why Sony has to charge for repairs because anyone could say a firmware upgrade fried their system. It's a hard thing to prove.

# ... — Csyrah 2009-10-03 12:40

Im not doubting people or even sticking up for the firmware from Sony... but even as a computer technician when something goes wrong, people always want to point the finger and blame something or someone. Theres so many different variations to a problem that its hard to diagnose it immediately, but most people are content to diagnose the issue with a cause and exclude every other possible variable. Im not saying its the same case with this issue, but id have to look into it more to be able to tell. I have an old 60gb PS3 and never had problems myself.

# .. — Popson 2009-10-14 21:44

@GUNBEHINDTHESU N

I was only mocking zzk2001's use of made-up statistics with an Anchorman quote +)

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