PS3 Freezes During Certain Games??

The Gran Finale

The Gran Finale

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United States
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Minikkonen
Ok, so my birthday recently passed and I acquired The Force Unleashed. However, when I try to play this game it freezes within 2 minutes of gameplay, rendering the game just about unplayable. As some of you know, this problem also persists when I play Midnight Club LA. The weird part is, any other game I play works, (GT5:P, RB2, MS:PR, Madden 09, and more.) My PS3 is located in a well ventilated area with minimal dust. My dad and I have tried all the things listed in the troubleshooting section in the Owner's Manual that came with the PS3. We have thought of exchanging the hard drives, but we want to make sure that we have tried every method possible to fix the problem before we start shelling out more money for another hard drive or sending it in for service and repair to Sony.

-Thanks in advance!
TGF
 
I can't be sure but it might be that your Blu Ray drive is on the way out if its freezing. However I would try and use a disk cleaner before jumping to that conclusion. Also check to see if the disks are scratched

Also the reason why this happens with some games and not others is the way the game was coded and how it uses the Blu Ray drive. I know that MCLA really beats the hell out of the drive as its a open world and has to keeping loading things on the fly, either that or its badly coded for the PS3.

I don't think its ventilation if all the other games are fine. My guess is that its the drive / laser assembly. Its a problem which has become much more widespread reciently after the PS3's glowing reliability at launch.

I personally would avoid the games in question for a while just to see if the problem starts appearing on other games, if it does then its most likely the laser.

Robin.
 
Well, supposedly Blu-rays don't scratch, but I don't know if that's true or not.

I also assumed that about Midnight Club, but is The Force Unleashed really that much stress on the PS3, too? I mean, I know it has the Molecular Matter Technology or whatever it's called, but still.

Do you know about how much it would be to replace the laser drive? Where do I need to send the PS3, if it absolutely has to be taken for repairs? I'm about six months out of warranty, if that makes any difference.

I'll stop playing those games for awhile. But, how long do you think I should hold off?

-Thanks!
TGF
 
Blu Rays are extremely scratch resistant but they still can be scratched.

Different games stress different parts of the system. Some games are more graphics intensive, some need to read more off the disk and some (usually multiplatform games) are badly coded meaning the machine has to work harder to keep going.

I know this because exactly the same thing happened to me as is happening to you. MCLA was constantly using the drive in a violent way, I could hear the laser chugging back and forth on its rails to read different parts of the disk. I don't know whether it was bad coding or the fact it has to generate random events (it doesnt know where your going to drive next!).

Then it started freezing now and then, and now my Blu Ray drive has packed up and wont play anything.

You can try to replace the drive yourself or you can send it to Sony, I think it costs $150 to look at it and then depending what needs fixing they charge you accordingly.

It doesnt matter if its out of warranty or even if the tamper seal has been removed, if your paying they will fix it!

The only downside is that you might not get back your console. You might get someone elses or a refurb. So you have to be prepared for that.

As for the games I would just play the other games for like a week just to see if it freezes. Also try some other disks like DVD's. If everythings ok after that then try MCLA and SWFU and see if it occurs again.

Robin.
 
I have this same problem with NBA 2k9 but never with Rock Band 2, Killzone 2 or CoD4. I think it's just the basic quality of the game.
 
Robin.
I know this because exactly the same thing happened to me as is happening to you. MCLA was constantly using the drive in a violent way, I could hear the laser chugging back and forth on its rails to read different parts of the disk. I don't know whether it was bad coding or the fact it has to generate random events (it doesnt know where your going to drive next!)

Then it started freezing now and then, and now my Blu Ray drive has packed up and wont play anything.
Click to expand...

So, you had to take your PS3 in for repairs, right? Where did you send it?

Robin.
The only downside is that you might not get back your console. You might get someone elses or a refurb. So you have to be prepared for that.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm also afraid of, my dad purchased the PS3 just before they ripped the backwards compatibility. (He bought it late November 08.) Do you think they would send back one that still had the BC, or is there no guarantee?

Giancarlo
I have this same problem with NBA 2k9 but never with Rock Band 2, Killzone 2 or CoD4. I think it's just the basic quality of the game.
Click to expand...

Aside from Killzone 2, all the games you listed were multiplatform. So I guess what I'm saying is, I agree with you. Also my brother recently got NBA 2K9, it freezes but not as often as the others.

-Thanks for your help!
TGF
 
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No I havent sent my PS3 in for repairs, I have however taken it apart a few times and have gone to Sony Centre twice. I won't be giving it to them just yet, especially if I dont get my console back. So its just sitting here for now, might by a new laser and fix it myself but ive heard that has limited results.

I very much doubt you will get back a BC console unless they give you yours back. Whats more likely is that they will give you a higher GB model to compensate which really doesnt make you for it. Theres no guarantee unless you fix it yourself or have it fixed by a 3rd party.

I also have COD4 and have never had any problems with it. It hardly uses the Blu Ray drive because all it has to do is load up a level and then play off the cache / HDD.

Robin.
 
My PS3 started acting up recently.

Everytime i played Killzone 2 it would freeze at a loading screen - i would press the PS button then press it again and it would kickstart the game, i thought maybe it was a glitch with Killzone 2.

Then the other day it froze and pressing the PS button didnt work, infact nothing worked and i had to cut the power just to switch the thing off!

When i powered it back up it didnt recognise any discs were in the tray - no games no blu rays no dvd's so i thought yep defo the drive but then they started apprearing on the XMB but when i tried to load the discs i would get two different error codes

8001050F
or
8001054

I read up on them and its either of two problems both are software related. Anyway a common fix was to basicly format everything and restore back to default.

Finally it started reading the discs, KZ2 loaded up and i switched it off. Next day i try to start GT5p again, had to Install to HDD - it got to 333 seconds remaining and just froze. Low and behold - no error code this time but also it wont show a disc in the drive on the XMB.

So i've been reading through a few forums and it seems like its the Blu Ray drive thats gone and guess what - i'm another person with no warranty.

Absolutely gutted, just bought a whole bunch of blu ray movies too :(
 
It sounds like the main problem is the blu-ray drive itself. You could find a model number for the drive that you can search for replacement if you open the PS3.
 
Thanks for all of the help! So I guess it looks like I'll be replacing the Blu-ray drive. Was hoping it would be something simpler, but oh well.

-Anyway, thanks again!
TGF
 
much as i love my ps3, it still is not a "perfect" system . mine freezes up while im trying to get on the net and it does freeze on some games . im sure its a inet problem but my gt5p freezes occationally when im trying to get online.
 
Ok, update! (Sort of)

After the plethora of info that came from E3, I had decided to download the trailers for both GT5 and GT:PSP off of the PSN. Both of them froze at the very first screen. (The one where it says this game is not yet rated, please check the ESRB's website for more details, or something like that.) Now I don't know much about the PS3's architecture, but those videos aren't accessing the Blu-ray drive, right?

Unfortunatly, I have yet to try the other games (MC:LA, TFU) after not playing them for a week. Currently my brother is sleeping in that room, so as soon as he wakes up, I'll retry them. Also no other game froze in that week period. (Sorry, forgot about Prologue.)

(A real update!)
Both MC: LA and TFU froze, however they did last longer than usual. Also, throughout the previous week, I played exlusives like, MS:PR, GT5:P, and F1:CE. I played multi-platform games like Madden 09, NBA 2K9, and RB2. Out of all those games, only one froze. Sadly, it was the one I least expected, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. And to top it off, it froze in the intro. So, it wasn't even processing AI, graphics, physics, FX. It was reading a pre-rendered intro. However, I restarted the PS3 and this type skipped the intro and it never froze in gameplay. I'm confused.

-Thanks
TGF
 
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I have a first gen 60 GB and the only game that I own that freezes up and it still does often is NASCAR 09
 
Another update, this one's interesting in an odd way.

Like I said in my previous post, I got the two trailers for GT:M and GT5 that were released from E3. Both of them froze. Then another day, I was extremely bored and decided that I wanted to download a demo. I had heard great things about Wipeout HD and had played both of the PSP games, so I downloaded it. Guess what? It froze.

Now, I'm sorry if I came off sounding insulting of you guys in my last post when I said:
"Now I don't know much about the PS3's architecture, but those videos aren't accessing the Blu-ray drive, right?" Because honestly I have no clue. I wouldn't think it would, but I just wanted to make sure. So again is my Wipeout HD demo accessing the Blu-ray drive?

Finally, more games froze-
The Bourne Conspiracy
Guitar Hero World Tour

Games played that did not freeze-
Guitar Hero III
DiRT
Need For Speed:Prostreet
 
That's pretty much what my Dad (Happy Father's Day!) and I concluded to but we just wanted to make sure and get a second opinion before we spent any unnecessary money. Unfortunately I guess that is the next step.

Thanks for all the help
TGF
 
That's another thing we didn't understand. My Dad and I went to a local 'Sony Style' store and they said they don't deal with the PS3. They said we should call the number in the owner's manual and we did, but it was all pre-recorded stuff. It never gave us the option to talk to a real person. So, we don't really know where to send it.
 

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