[Señor_Striatum]

I have recently taken up some projects for some cash and ran into one that I want to run by everyone. So the guy brings in a CECHG01 with broken blu ray and already running CFW. Problem is that Multiman won't work. So I install the latest version of multiman and it still wont start. Then I decide to update the CFW to Rebug 3.55.2. I have done this a million times and understand the folder structure to the T but the ps3 won't recognize it.

So I get into recovery mode and try to install Rebug through system update. Then suddenly the fan kicks in to overdrive and the unit gets YLOD! The guy just bought it that day so I recommended that he return it but the guy off craigslist is suddenly not answering. I take a look inside, majority of the screws are missing and it is cleaner than a baby's bottom with fresh thermal paste. So I am assuming YLOD was an existing problem with this unit.

To fix the problem I am going to do a reflow. My question is the following: Do you guys suspect that the console could not open multiman or update on account of the CPU being overheated? I recall @KillerBug mentioning that cooling the CPU and GPU may theoretically make it run faster and more efficient, would heating the chips do just the opposite? This may be common sense but I am worried he may have an additional problem with the CPU.

Is there anyway the YLOD is not heat related in this instance? Thank you for your help and suggestions.
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To put simply-Is it normal for a ps3 to not be able to update or load anything other than XMB a day before getting YLOD? In this case is YLOD caused by something other than overheating? Thank you.\

UPDATE/Solution:

So it turns out that the unit had overheated on account of not having the proper thermal pads over the RAM and northbridge chip and insufficient pressure on account of having so little screws. I fixed the console using a method almost exactly as that used in this guide http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php...ight=Oven+YLOD with the only difference being the amount of foil used ( I used A LOT more) and I put the blue tack on the thermal relay component which can be found in the vicinity close by the heatspreaders. Thank you @Narcarsiss for the detailed tutorial, @KillerBug for the detailed explanations and @pereb27 for the info on the logic board and everyone else who assisted me in restoring this.

So it turns out that the inefficiency I described was on account of a faulty logic board. After the YLOD fix was completed the same symptoms persisted. Initially I had not considered the logic board on account of the fact that I was able to update my console with a faulty logic board and thus was able to remarry another board to it since I was able to downgrade. So the guy who owns this particular console did not want to do the remarry process but rather sell it in the present condition while it still had video.

Thinking back on it I realize I would probably have had to purchase a flasher since the logic board was unable to perform the update process on its own. The only question I really have left is what portion of the logic board is responsible for this difference in the ability to update? Also, how is it possible to open up any pkg or application used in the remarry process if the logic board is faulty to the extent described above? I am curious because I did not experience any of these problems with my logic board being broken and I did confirm it was broken since I was the one who broke it to begin with. Again thanks for all the help.

As soon as finals are over I will retry my GLOD CECHG01 and update that thread as well.

[KillerBug]

When I mentioned that cooling the CPU and GPU could make more power, I was referring to overclocking...the cooling of the CPU and GPU wouldn't be the overclock; it would just allow the system to keep running while overclocked without overheating.

It sounds like the unit you are working on has a damaged thermal diode or thermal diode reading chip, and possibly missing thermal pads for the southbridge or the ram. When any of these parts overheats, digital logic can be victimized...so something simple like loading the XMB might still work, while something requiring exact logic such as verifying a key will go wrong.

I saw something similar on my own 40GB model a while back...it seems that the ram was overheating in that case. I could launch games and they would start OK, but after 1-2 minutes, everything would start to slow down (a bit like blowing up 10 cars at once in GTA4, except that the problem stayed and kept getting worse until the system froze completely). I fixed this by putting real heatsinks on the memory chips, and it never came back.

For your second question, almost any IC can theoretically cause a YLOD if it fails in the right way...it is just that the solder balls below the RSX are the most common cause, followed closely by the solder balls below the CELL...those probably account for about 95% or more of all YLODs. The other day I bought a dead PS3 Slim off ebay with a non-yellow-light-YLOD...and the problem turned out to be the southbridge.

[Señor_Striatum]

Nice well I am about to get it back since he was unable to return it (You know how craigslist is.) I'll take a look at the southbridge and see if it is missing the cooling pad... I do recall the ram not having the pads so perhaps this is what is occuring.I also read about how uneven pressure or loose wires can cause these symptoms and he certainly had uneven pressure on account of missing so many screws although he did have the 4 most important ones.

All this reminds me...I meant to ask you your opinion on this and it actually ties in really well with what is being discussed. I have a CECHG01 and CECHA01. Both have Rebug 3.55.2 with the update package and the latest version of multiman. So the other day I was having some painfully slow transfer rates when I was backing up one of my ps3 titles (quit after 4 hours) using the CECHA01. I decided to try my luck with my CECHG01 using the exact same harddrive (500gb western digital) along with the exact same disc and the transfer took no more than an hour.

Now both consoles can start up a game just fine and the loading times are comparable. But when it comes to making backups the CECHA01 cannot keep up even when all variables are similar. So applying that which you just told me, would you suppose the same thing is happening to my CECHA01. The only thing that was odd is that it only applies to backing up on multiman....

[TizzyT]

IMO in a system as sensitive to heat as the PS3 all screws are the important ones, Although you might be in good hands as KillerBug has lots of experience under his belt dealing with PS3 heat issues. Personally I think the reflow will temporarily get it started again as I have done it countless times and has always revived my system to an extent. Missing pads are definitely bad in any system lol. Well Good Luck.

[Señor_Striatum]

Originally Posted by TizzyT IMO in a system as sensitive to heat as the PS3 all screws are the important ones, Although you might be in good hands as KillerBug has lots of experience under his belt dealing with PS3 heat issues. Personally I think the reflow will temporarily get it started again as I have done it countless times and has always revived my system to an extent. Missing pads are definitely bad in any system lol. Well Good Luck.

Yeah I feel bad for the guy who bought this. He is going to probably have to keep fixing it on account of the thermal diode going out. I know a fan mod and heatsinks, if he has the money, will help but I do not know for how long. I guess all the screws are important I just wanted to specify that the 4 screws that secure the RSX and CELL were present. **** other than those the only screws left were the ones that were stripped! Buying phats is getting sketchy these days...

[KillerBug]

In deed, if it is missing the ram cooling pads that is a serious problem...even with the pads the cooling is only just barely enough. The small screws are also important...without them you you don't have proper pressure on the pads (not that they are all there anyway). Once the system is properly repaired, it needs a fan controller. As long as they are not so damaged as to cause the PS3 to shut itself off right away, the thermal diodes are made redundant by my fan controllers.

A fan controller is pretty much a prerequisiteof a good YLOD repair anyway...one of my distributors won't even do a YLOD repair without a fan controller because they just fail again and make his service look bad because of it. Remember...a YLOD is just a symptom of the real problem: overheating. Even if the thermal diodes are not damaged by the YLOD fix, there was obviously something wrong to begin with.

In regards to the backup speeds you had, I believe it is a matter relating to the bluray drive; the laser lens is probably coming to an end.

[Señor_Striatum]

@KillerBug or anyone perhaps @Nichibotsu , would you happen to know where the thermal diode and/or thermal diode chip is located on the mobo? Now I am starting to wonder if a heat gun is in fact better since it will allow you to not overheat this area of the mobo, assuming it is not directly next to either the RSX or the CELL.

[KillerBug]

There are two thermal diodes inside the CELL and another inside the RSX. There are two tiny 8-pin chips, one next to the CELL and one next to the RSX. These each read one thermal diode. They report the temperature back by I2C, and they also have an overheat signal that forces the system to shut down if it is tripped (if everything is working correctly, it trips at 85C). These chips are both the same, but they have different numbers printed on them because they have different hard-wired i2c addresses. The other diode inside the CELL is automatically read to a memory register inside the CELL that can be read by the system, but which can only be written to by the circuitry inside the CELL.

While you can avoid damaging the i2c chips by using carefully placed tin foil, avoiding damage to the thermal diodes while using the heat gun method is virtually impossible; the threshold between doing the reflow completely and damaging the diodes is razor-thin.

[Nichibotsu]

sorry for the late reply... yeah, about the thermal sensors... Reflowing will most certainly blow those up, even though i have more than once saw them still kicking after a reflow it's more up to luck than science, as you cannot have a good control with a heat gun. Anyway having them running after the reflow won't keep your console from overheating, they were working (supposedly) before the overheating, and changing the thermal paste will just make it last longer without the proper adjustments. Wish you best of luck with your repair : )

[pereb27]

Could it be simply that the console's logic board was broken? Although you did install a firmware completely... Maybe it was a BD bypass firmware? Or rebug firmware is like that?

It's the only thing I can think of.
EDIT : Wait, so it got YLOD during the firmware update? If that's the case, I still think it was a bad logic board, or maybe not the original one.