Ramzavail
03-16-2012, 10:30 PM
I considered putting this in the dynasty forum - BEL, you can move it if you want.
Background: Previously, I bought every previous Playstation unit on the day it came out. For some reason when the PS3 came out, I didn't. Maybe it was the hefty price tag, or maybe it was the fact that my wife refused that I buy a flat screen TV (What am I supposed to do with this 75 lb 32 inch tube television we have now, Rich? Can't you just wait until we move out?) until we moved into a house and out of our apartment (mind you, that didn't happen until Dec 2010), regardless, I didn't get one.
I regretted it - at least, once I realized that future iterations of the unit will NOT have backwards compatibility.
After research, I've come to the conclusion that the CECHA01 60 gb version is the best unit to get for backwards compatibility.
Plus, with my setup now, 55 inch Samsung TV, XBOX Elite, Verizon cable box, Retron unit (that plays NES, SNES, and Genesis games) and limited space on my TV Stand, I have room for one more unit. Not a PS3 slim with wireless controllers and a PS2 with wired controllers just so I can play a PS2 game every once in a while. Just too much clutter.
Purchase #1 : Summer of 2009 - on a whim, I asked a local gamestop if they had a CECHA 60 gb. To my surprise, they did, and it was $300 but I didn't care, I thought I was set. I was going to get it and pack it away until we moved when I had the jacked up TV I have now. They gave me 7 days to test it out and I bring it home (the thing is a BEAST btw) and it works - I set it up, created a user name etc - played a PS2 game, purchased and played Valkyria Chronicles (that game rocked) but after a few days it just stopped working. Just went dead. So I brought it back and got my money back.
Between then and now, I constantly would check ebay and I would always ask the local Gamestops if they had any. It seems pointless to keep asking now, over the past year or so, I usually get a *chuckle* and a "no".
Purchase #2: Ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/120874020201?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649). I get the urge to try MLB The Show this year, so I go all in. I actually lose the auction (at the last minute) and ask the seller after a day or so, if the guy who had a zero rating flakes out on you, let me know and I'll buy it. He sends over the second chance offer and I buy it. He's lives in Brooklyn, I was born in Brooklyn and shipping will take like a day because I'm so close - so I figure this is a good omen.
Get it on Tuesday - didn't have a chance until Thursday night to open it and test it out. Here's the play by play with messages with the seller:
Me: I got it on Tuesday and just got a few minutes to clean it and set it up (tonight). Doesn't seem like it works. After some research on the internet, it has the yellow light of death syndrome. I'm going to fiddle with it some more, but it doesn't seem promising.
Him: It definitely works as I double checked before I packaged it up. I had it run a ps3 game, blu-ray, ps2 game, and a psn game before reformatting the hard drive and resetting the system. Can you tell me specifically what problem you are having? If you are getting a blank screen, you may need to hold down the power button for around 5-10 seconds to reset the video settings as it remembers to last settings it had. The light must be red before you do this. Do you actually see a yellow light between pressing the red and it flipping green? Of course I would be willing to take a return and offer a refund if you cannot get it up and running but there should be no reason why it wouldn't
Me: No, I believe you. Here's what I did.
1. Unboxed it and wiped it down with soap and water.
2. Plugged in the HDMI cable
3. Plugged in the plug to the unit and into the wall.
4. Plugged in the USB Controller
5. Turned it on (back switch)- Red light came on.
6. Switch Tv to HDMI 3 - which matches the port
7. Turned on the machine (tapped power button) - turned green.
8. Nothing on the television. Green light stayed on - fan roared. Kept it on for 4-5 minutes - while I attempted to troubleshoot on the TV.
9. Held power button to shut off.
10. Tapped power to turn back on.
11. Turned green, turn yellow, beep, then turn red.
12. Powered off (back switch)
I can video tape it on my phone and upload it on youtube.
So even before, I had the yellow issue, I couldn't get the ps3 to connect to the TV. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I didn't think I need the AV cables, but I also tried using those to connect to the TV, and I had a solid green light when I tried earlier this morning. Nothing on the TV. Shut it off, then powered up again and I got the yellow light again. So right now, unless, I'm connecting it wrong, which is possible, I'm not even getting it to connect to the TV when I do get the green light. But its not a good sign, that once I shut it off once, it won't turn back on.
Him: So as long as the machine has a solid green light on but you are getting no video, it is working properly. You just need to reset the video settings. You need to leave down the power button while it is red. It will blink green and you should have video from that point. I've had to do this when connecting it to different TVs. As I mentioned, it keeps the video settings from the previous TV that it connected to. If you cannot get a solid green, then there could be a hardware issue. For example if it blinks green and goes back to red and it won't stay green then that's a problem. It is unfortunate if that's the case since I sent it out in working condition.
Me: I tried everything you've said, multiple times. Unforunately, at this point, I'm going to have to take you up on your return offer and mail it back to you tomorrow.
Waiting for his response, so hopefully, I don't have a bigger headache with returning it and getting a refund.
But a couple of interesting points - I never had heard of this YLOD issue before all of this, but it was interesting that he brought it up in the auction description and within 10 minutes of me trying it, it happens on his machine.
I never even got the machine to work on my television, I tried two different HDMI cables and I tried this video settings reset with beeps and this and that. Nothing worked and nothing comes up on my television. I really thought for a few minutes I was losing my touch as the *family electronics expert*, as I was doubting myself about whether or not I knew how to hook up this BEAST up.
So, I'm back to square one. My quest to find a working backwards compatible 60 gb (CECHA01) PS3 is back on.
Background: Previously, I bought every previous Playstation unit on the day it came out. For some reason when the PS3 came out, I didn't. Maybe it was the hefty price tag, or maybe it was the fact that my wife refused that I buy a flat screen TV (What am I supposed to do with this 75 lb 32 inch tube television we have now, Rich? Can't you just wait until we move out?) until we moved into a house and out of our apartment (mind you, that didn't happen until Dec 2010), regardless, I didn't get one.
I regretted it - at least, once I realized that future iterations of the unit will NOT have backwards compatibility.
After research, I've come to the conclusion that the CECHA01 60 gb version is the best unit to get for backwards compatibility.
Plus, with my setup now, 55 inch Samsung TV, XBOX Elite, Verizon cable box, Retron unit (that plays NES, SNES, and Genesis games) and limited space on my TV Stand, I have room for one more unit. Not a PS3 slim with wireless controllers and a PS2 with wired controllers just so I can play a PS2 game every once in a while. Just too much clutter.
Purchase #1 : Summer of 2009 - on a whim, I asked a local gamestop if they had a CECHA 60 gb. To my surprise, they did, and it was $300 but I didn't care, I thought I was set. I was going to get it and pack it away until we moved when I had the jacked up TV I have now. They gave me 7 days to test it out and I bring it home (the thing is a BEAST btw) and it works - I set it up, created a user name etc - played a PS2 game, purchased and played Valkyria Chronicles (that game rocked) but after a few days it just stopped working. Just went dead. So I brought it back and got my money back.
Between then and now, I constantly would check ebay and I would always ask the local Gamestops if they had any. It seems pointless to keep asking now, over the past year or so, I usually get a *chuckle* and a "no".
Purchase #2: Ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/120874020201?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649). I get the urge to try MLB The Show this year, so I go all in. I actually lose the auction (at the last minute) and ask the seller after a day or so, if the guy who had a zero rating flakes out on you, let me know and I'll buy it. He sends over the second chance offer and I buy it. He's lives in Brooklyn, I was born in Brooklyn and shipping will take like a day because I'm so close - so I figure this is a good omen.
Get it on Tuesday - didn't have a chance until Thursday night to open it and test it out. Here's the play by play with messages with the seller:
Me: I got it on Tuesday and just got a few minutes to clean it and set it up (tonight). Doesn't seem like it works. After some research on the internet, it has the yellow light of death syndrome. I'm going to fiddle with it some more, but it doesn't seem promising.
Him: It definitely works as I double checked before I packaged it up. I had it run a ps3 game, blu-ray, ps2 game, and a psn game before reformatting the hard drive and resetting the system. Can you tell me specifically what problem you are having? If you are getting a blank screen, you may need to hold down the power button for around 5-10 seconds to reset the video settings as it remembers to last settings it had. The light must be red before you do this. Do you actually see a yellow light between pressing the red and it flipping green? Of course I would be willing to take a return and offer a refund if you cannot get it up and running but there should be no reason why it wouldn't
Me: No, I believe you. Here's what I did.
1. Unboxed it and wiped it down with soap and water.
2. Plugged in the HDMI cable
3. Plugged in the plug to the unit and into the wall.
4. Plugged in the USB Controller
5. Turned it on (back switch)- Red light came on.
6. Switch Tv to HDMI 3 - which matches the port
7. Turned on the machine (tapped power button) - turned green.
8. Nothing on the television. Green light stayed on - fan roared. Kept it on for 4-5 minutes - while I attempted to troubleshoot on the TV.
9. Held power button to shut off.
10. Tapped power to turn back on.
11. Turned green, turn yellow, beep, then turn red.
12. Powered off (back switch)
I can video tape it on my phone and upload it on youtube.
So even before, I had the yellow issue, I couldn't get the ps3 to connect to the TV. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I didn't think I need the AV cables, but I also tried using those to connect to the TV, and I had a solid green light when I tried earlier this morning. Nothing on the TV. Shut it off, then powered up again and I got the yellow light again. So right now, unless, I'm connecting it wrong, which is possible, I'm not even getting it to connect to the TV when I do get the green light. But its not a good sign, that once I shut it off once, it won't turn back on.
Him: So as long as the machine has a solid green light on but you are getting no video, it is working properly. You just need to reset the video settings. You need to leave down the power button while it is red. It will blink green and you should have video from that point. I've had to do this when connecting it to different TVs. As I mentioned, it keeps the video settings from the previous TV that it connected to. If you cannot get a solid green, then there could be a hardware issue. For example if it blinks green and goes back to red and it won't stay green then that's a problem. It is unfortunate if that's the case since I sent it out in working condition.
Me: I tried everything you've said, multiple times. Unforunately, at this point, I'm going to have to take you up on your return offer and mail it back to you tomorrow.
Waiting for his response, so hopefully, I don't have a bigger headache with returning it and getting a refund.
But a couple of interesting points - I never had heard of this YLOD issue before all of this, but it was interesting that he brought it up in the auction description and within 10 minutes of me trying it, it happens on his machine.
I never even got the machine to work on my television, I tried two different HDMI cables and I tried this video settings reset with beeps and this and that. Nothing worked and nothing comes up on my television. I really thought for a few minutes I was losing my touch as the *family electronics expert*, as I was doubting myself about whether or not I knew how to hook up this BEAST up.
So, I'm back to square one. My quest to find a working backwards compatible 60 gb (CECHA01) PS3 is back on.