A few days ago my PS3 turned off whilst playing COD:WaW. It simply froze, turned off with a flashing red led. So I waited a few minutes, turned it back on and all was ok.

Or so I thought

The next day my son was playing Ratchet and Clank when it did the same thing, except this time it would not come back on. When I turned it on several hours later I noticed Green Led -> Yellow Led -> Flashing Red Led. Checking the internet shows this was a YLOD which basically means it has a hardware issue and requires to be sent to be repaired. Sony want £150 for a refurbished unit and after a scan of repair companies I found a company called Console Doctor, and the good news about that is they are a local company and it would cost £69.99 to repair.

At this point I decided to do a bit of research into the error to see what it most likely is. There are many many reports of this problem and the diagnosis is that the chips on the motherboard are likely not to be seated correctly due to movement when overheated during use.

A possible solution :

If, like me, you are confident in taking things apart then there is something you can try.

Tools Required :

• Phillips Screwdriver
• Small flatblade screwdriver (or Torx security screwdriver)
• Faulty PS3
• Heat Gun (yes that’s right a heat gun).

Then follow what this guy does here

I followed this and lo and behold my PS3 is now functional, not sure for how long but for now it works! WOOHOO