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The PlayStation 3 (or commonly known as the PS3) is the third home computer entertainment system produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2. It was released November 11, 2006

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Will Not Read Games

My friend has a playstation 3 that over heated on him the other day. Afterwards the optical drive will read media but will not pick up games at all. It will still read DvDs. I am thinking we just need to replace the optical drive. If you have seen this before I have two questions. First is there any other possibilities than the optical drive? Second do I need a specific drive to put in or will any blueray drive work?

Thanks for any advice,

Xen

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+ nicely stated question

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my PS'3 it won't play my CD game's and it frizzy and stop working

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Problem is cpu chip this must change take out chip and clean after put new termo paste and chip

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ok, i'll try to answer that question - but i'm no ps3 pro

what about warranty??

if it's under warranty - let sony handle it.

depending on the age of the ps3, the overheating could be a dust problem, this dust can also burn into the lens of the laser - so cleaning it with a slightly wet microfibre cloth could help..

BUT:

the ps3 has a, design flaws that it couls easily overheat and b, the laser could be toast or c, the software has it's own will ;-)

another thing to try is a system restore, but i would try to adjust the motor/laser before that. (remove the disc from the ps3 and hold down the eject button for 12-15 seconds)

if everything fails - you will most probably need a new drive - and no, you can't use a regular bluray drive for that. the ps3 has a special optical drive - try a search on ebay ;-)

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Thanks Markus I will give the reset a shot and check for dust. Found the optical drives as well :)

Warranties expired already so no go on in warranty repair.

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Turns out the laser was just really dirty so looks like a drive wasn't necessary. Thank you for the advise :)

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+ bravo

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So this thread really helped me. I had the same problem mine wasn't reading any games only movies so I took the disc out held the eject button for 20 seconds, cleaned the eye with a damp micro cloth and moved the eye then put the disc back in now it works!!! Yay!!

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This works perfectly my son's ps3 was messed up and it was only reading DVDs and not playing games but I turned on the ps3 held the power button down and waited for the beeps and viola I turned it back on and it was able to read call of duty.

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While your PS3 is off, Hold the power button down and keep holding it until the PS3 turns on and beeps once the once again then shuts down (about 30 - 40 seconds), Then do the same thing again but release the button when you hear a double beep, This should bring you into a Safe Mode, From that go to [Rebuild Database] it will then reinstall all the device drivers for your PS3, This method should work if not then your drive is stuffed.

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will this erase my games

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Then my remote won't work

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You can plug the controller in and it will sync again.

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My PS3 was working fine and just randomly stopped reading games yesterday. Going to give these a try and see what happens.

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This worked for me thank you!!! Hope it stays that way

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The PS3 Blu-Ray drive can still read DVD's? What about Blu-Ray Movies? The laser diode in the drive actual has 2 laser outputs, a red laser and a blue. The red laser is used to read DVD's & CD's, while the blue reads games & Blu-Ray movies. Most likely the blue laser is damaged as it is much more sensitive to heat. The solution is replace the laser $@!'y in the drive. Be sure to get the correct assembly, you can identify the drive by its model number inscribed on the laser & motor is mounted on.

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My son has a ps3 and he has been playing these same games on it we unplugged it and plug it in at a different location, now it says internet or broadband required ?? But will play dvd ? Can’t figure out what to do?

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10 years later and I stumbled upon this post my ps3 is having the same problems. I'm going to try the reset trick tonight. Mine never overheated. I'll just replace the whole drive for $25 if that's the case. I may not I'm a collector of almost every console. But ps3 is my favorite. thanks for the info guy's!

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Aside from the three visible ribbon cables that go into the optical drive, there is a hidden one underneath the drive. That was loose/came out for me, after assuring that it was plugged in and cleaning the lens, it started working for me again.

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Xen will be eternally grateful.
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