geek gore: my PS3 and its guts

what can i say. i was 'that kid' growing up that loved to get new toys (but who didn't, right?) but the next day would then take them apart and most likely never got it back together and working.

well, my warranty on my Playstation3 finally expired on 3/26/08 and in turn i decided to celebrate my one year anniversary by taking my PS3 apart. :)

as previously blogged/youtubed/bit#$ed about; my playstation3 seemed to have an overheating problem (even though i can't say it was overheating).  i've moved where i've been placing my PS3 several times now and its current spot is a wide open area by my wii and tv (not enclosed, free flowing air abounds). however i still had problems after leaving it on for more than 20 hours.  i've read a ton of posts by other PS3 owners who have been able to run their PS3 for weeks on end w/o any freezing/overheating issues.  so, i thought i'd see if perhaps i could figure out what was causing mine to act all weird after 20+ hours of being on.

keep reading to hear about the dis-assemble and see the geek-gore pics...



so the first thing i did before starting my dis-assemble was to google a guide on it since well, why re-invent the wheel? right? :)

i ended up using this guide over here as reference since i had a 60gb PS3 (i almost want to think it was a launch system from CompUSA, who buys consoles at compusa or anything?? hehe). 

http://www.llamma.com/PS3/repair/PS3_disassembly_tutorial.htm

a very straightforward and accurate guide!

the first step prob was the hardest (minus the re-assembly and probs, more to on that later!) because i didn't fully unscrew the torque screw and actually busted a piece of the screwhole (no biggie since i hope to get me a silver top on ebay if possible).


(my topless ps3, hehe)


(flipping the main top piece forward and off)


(me pointing/reminding myself of a ribbon and screws on psu)


(power supply out and bluray drive by itself)

i didn't remove the the motherboard on this dis-assemble since there was no real reason or need. however, if mod chips and the homebrew scene starts to actually release stuff to the general public (unlike most of the current 'beta/alpha' hacks that exist yet no one but the dev has tried) then perhaps we'll get down and dirty.

while i was ripping my ps3 apart, i also cleaned it out. i did notice some dust and nasty cigarette smoke/dust and cleaned it out. finally after reversing my steps and getting all pieces back in the proper spots; the moment of truth was upon me. did i just break my $600 ps3 or do i still got my skillz? :P

power cable in, power rockers switch on.... no lights, no power
doh!
removed main housing from top (the one that has power/eject buttons, memory card slots, bd slot, etc) and plugged in power... lights and powers on..

put main housing back on, no lights or power..

lift housing up 2 inches; lights and power!

finally the problem ended up being my cable that goes from the mainboard to the front power cables on the main housing was shorting on the bluray drive.. hmmm.. could that also be causing my other problems w/freezing??

finally got all the screws back in and the top back on and voila! my PS3 boots up and actually sounds a little quieter and almost in a way feels like its running a little faster.

so with that in mind, i started my test last night on my PS3. i started up Folding@Home around 11pm last night and let it run all night and today and have not had any problems whatsoever with video playing or getting pixelated (like in my previous ps3 vids/posts). i will be rocking w/my pal later tonight on rock band and plan to leave the ps3 on until then and do not expect any problems!!

so i have no idea what i may have done when taking my PS3 apart but whatever i did it seemed to resolve my problem.

perhaps it was that loose power cable or perhaps a cable blocking a vent area???

ok modding scene.. its on now! you have a guide writing if you need one! i just want to be able to use a 500gb hdd in my ps3; my 250gb only has 60gb free and i only have 40 movies and about 280 music vids and 10,000 songs. hehe..
peace

btw, i am not responsible for any actions or breaking of ps3s by those who attempt to take theirs apart. :)