I reflowed my YLOD'd PS3 last week and it works... for now. Although, I had a 25min session on BoP and it returned temporarily. The main thing is you don't waste €160 sending it to SONY for a worthless 90 day warranty. Before you reflow you should probably try every other avenue just in case.

Some countries have Sale of Goods acts which stipulate electronics should last a certain number of years (5 in my country). You can try bringing it back to the store you got it from and see if you're lucky. Otherwise, look around your area and see if there are any third-party console repair places that do a proper lead solder reball.

I'm pretty PO'd that SONY and Microsoft were allowed sell a product that was essentially designed to fail.

thanks a lot :) from what ive read the ylod means i should throw it out the window but if that method will work, Mcq59, i will surely be interested. ill have to get a price on a heating gun and cooling paste, is a heating gun a soldering iron? i have one of those. im short of funds and have to spend money on the car before ps3, so i can get to work when it starts. i will get back to you on that in pvt msg after i talk to my old man about it, he did it for the 360 a while back and might have the stuff. its very dusty inside and havent looked further than the disc player itself.
Zatoichi Sanjuro.. by reflowed, do you mean the same process as Mcq59 mentioned? i doubt i could get it repaired under the sale of goods act, its fairly old and is a bit rusty inside. the rust has been there over a year, it got wet from a leaky ceiling, anyways, ill reply again when i know where i stand. just a note.. australian dollar is worth more than the US dollar, ps3 new there, is $300US.. here is $500au.

Check this out bez. It'll get you started...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70SgRDVcBo

My heatgun looks like one of those gizmos people with hair uses to dry&style it with, but it develops a lot more heat. Some use it to strip paint of things. Main thing when using it to reflow your hardboard is to give the gpu and cpu a close and long treatment. It'll save you both yuor money and data. And make you a bit proud of yourself bro :-)

Ok hands up whos got a fuselage in their back garden....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12857903

Yes, the heatgun method is called a reflow. It works 90% of the time and it's very easy to do, once you have the tools. The only problem is that it's a temporary fix that can last from months to weeks. But it allows you to backup your HD and deactivate your PSN account.

If you are going to do the reflow make sure you get the right screwdrivers for the job as it's very easy to strip the heads of the screws, particularly the blue HD screw.

You'll need a heatgun, a T10 Torx security bit to open the case (make sure it has the little hole in the middle)/or you can just try and force it out with a flathead screwdriver, which could get messy. A Philips #1/0 screwdriver for the rest and some thermal compound and solvent to clean the CPU/GPU and re-apply.

If you know someone with a heatgun it can cost you as little as €15 to do it.

keeping with your conversation,because ylod is an overheating issue: A nother good preventative measure is investing in a cooling stand for both ps3 and 360. We run them on the xbox at work and i run one on my ps3 at home due to its length of service (coming up to three years) both consoles have a heat exchange problems due to their plastic casing, heat will build on the area where the heatsink meets the plastic and the plastic will hold it there if no given access to proper airflow around the case. To extend the life of your ps3 i would heartily recommend it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1237-QUALITY...1140041&sr=8-1

heres the one i bought its is nearly silent and the blue leds above the fans serve dual purpose drawing in insects to be shredded by one of three fans. Gadget insurance works well too

"Guns, a bridge and Army ration packs also went missing. In total, goods worth nearly £700,000 were taken in the UK."
Hang on. A bridge? As in a "I'll cross this river via the bridge" type of bridge? Wow.

Thanks for the help guys and explaining this problem well. i will get a heatgun and cooling compound next pay and try it out and let ya's know the result. fingers crossed.

Shadowcorp, that looks like a good price for what its worth and might solve the moth problem too, no good in sim when looking intently :)

I know who nicked that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pMeb4ZSHh8

Haha! They must've had a hundred guys... you'd think someone would notice that!