Dying PS3 advice

[essentialsaltes]

The PS3 suddenly developed a habit of shutting itself off after a half hour and going red-blinky lights.

My googles tell me that most likely it's overheating and/or has dust all over its innards. The fan doesn't seem to be working overly hard when it goes, so I'm wondering if it's something more mysterious and malignant. Any advice out there?

[Poll #1822641]

Comments

[mountain-hiker.livejournal.com]

I don't know about hoovering it, but you might get one of those compressed-air-in-a-can thingies to blow the dust out.

[notjenschiz.livejournal.com]

forget compressed air. I recommend liquid nitrogen dropped directly into the center of said device. The N2 will gassify, billowing out dust and vapor in all directions!

[ovary.livejournal.com]

This.

And when you're done with that, hold it upside down and spray your favorite person's thigh, for the lulz.

[smaugslair.livejournal.com]

My PS3 has died as well. The USB ports aren't functional. I could still use my BT remote to watch bluerays, until I reset the console to try to get the port working, so now its just a brick.

[freudinshade.livejournal.com]

Could probably build a functional unit out of the two of them.

I think Mike's problem is certainly worth taking a can of air and/or a vacuum to. It's not likely to make things worse.

Yours sounds like it's in worse shape if you can't even pair the bluetooth. The USB ports aren't that critical but the bluetooth is kind of essential.

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

I did use the vacuum on the exterior to suck the vents, but it didn't fix things. I'm just debating whether it's worthwhile to open the case. Even if that fixes it, I've had it 4.5 years... how long will it be before something else turns it into a brick?

[ian-tiberius.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe. But what do you stand to lose - twenty minutes or so?

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

What if I suck the data off the hard drive with the vacuum cleaner?

I dunno, I'll find some way to break it. There's a reason I specialized in theoretical physics rather than experimental physics.

[argonel.livejournal.com]

Take out the hard drive and place it somewhere safe while you hoover away. As I recall you need to remove 1 screw to completely remove it from the console.

[donovan k. loucks (from livejournal.com)]

You've got nothing to lose by taking it apart. By the way, several years ago I upgraded the hard drive in my PS3 after backing it up to an external drive. It was one of the easiest hardware operations I've ever done, though it wasn't really cracking the thing open.