Sony PS3 no disc read issue is the real deal
August 5, 2008 | Filed under Gaming, Sony Playstation 3
The Sony PS3 no disc read issue is the real deal and lets quieten the gamers that claim its just coincidence that people are getting this problem after firmware 2.42 update.
We have had over 40 reports of the Blu-ray / Disc read issues and this is not just a few Playstation 3 owners getting this problem. 40 people are not many, but that’s just reports to us and we see many more on other sites and forums.
Have you had disc read issues with your PS3?
The comment below was one we heard from one of our readers and they raise some very good questions:
I’m 39 years old. I take very good care of my electronics. I don’t have kids (yet). Bought a pre-owned 20GB PS3 off someone back in Feb 08. It was in immaculate condition. Never had a single problem or issue with it at all. Until this weekend. I can’t recall if it was specifically after 2.42 that I got the “no disc read” issue, but it was definitely after 2.41 for sure. As of this weekend (updated to 2.42 a few days back with no problems in gameplay/Blu-ray playback etc) my PS3 no longer reads/recognizes any kind of disc whatsoever. I get the “working bubble” in the upper right hand corner of the screen, but the disc doesn’t appear in the XMB. This is NOT a phantom issue, and if it’s a “coincidence” that so many of us are experiencing this (and at an increasing rate) then maybe OJ really WAS 100% innocent after all and Dubya is truly the greatest president this country has ever seen.
I don’t have the warranty option, so it’s either send the unit in and shell out the money to get it fixed, or wait for a possible firmware update to correct the problem.
My question is this: what do they do at the Sony repair center to correct this problem? Is it firmware related, or is it simple mechanical failure? Can anyone with tech experience sound off on this? Why are so many of us all of a sudden having variations on the same problem in the span of a few months?
Yes, this is a real problem. As I stated before, I’m super careful with my stuff and know better than to shut the console off during an update, etc. I’m happy for those of you who aren’t suffering this frustration, and hope that you won’t have to. Or in the least, that if it happens to you Sony will already be on top of the issue instead of shrugging it off and happily collecting 150.00 a pop for the trouble.
C’mon Sony. We deserve better than this.
So why are so many people getting this disc read issue after firmware 2.42, is it software or a hardware at fault?
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Just wanna say i have had no issues with my ps3 at all. Definetly not after fw 2.42, or any other fw version.
This just in…less than a fraction of 1% of the current 14,400,000 PS3 owners are reporting disc read issues. Sounds like there’s a fraction of 1% of PS3 owners who need to learn how to care for their electronics, and, in addition, learn how to update their PS3’s correctly. IE…do not disconnect from the internet during the update process, do not turn your PS3 off during the update process etc…
File under T for Troll Garbage.
Morne
I have an original 60GB PS3. No issues here. 40 out of 14 million is not much at all. I would recommend reformatting the hard drive and then trying again. that might help.
Have updated, no problem at all
I have updated mine with no problems I have a 20GB original day 1 release version. game on it at least 5 to 7 days a week and watch blu-ray movies thru it at least 4 - 6 days out of the week . No problems yet. Thats not to say that other people do not have problems or even have had problems with the download. But there are in fact allot of trolls on the PS blog. it is unfortunate that so many people have ruined the trust in getting good honest information out there. But I see Jerks and weak ass people on a daily bases who I could see doing this. This the crappy part of the mentality of at least American gamers,(the only side I have really seen since I am an American) - there are so many have to play dirty and cheat in order to try to bring the truly good gamers or, consoles or, what have you, down to there level.
I HAD THIS PROBLEM ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, MY PS3 WOULD NOT PLAY ANT KIND OF DISC, IT TURNED OUT IT WAS NOT A SOFTWARE PROBLEM IT WAS THE LENS ON THE BLUE RAY PLAYER, I TOO GOT THE LITTLE BUBBLE IN THE CORNER OF THE SCREEN, AN NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN, ALL IN ALL I HAD TO GET THE BLUE RAY PLAYER IN THE PS3 REPLACED. AND GOT THIS DONE FOR ABOUT £80.
Wow, even on a report stating that the complaints are legitamite, still people are doubting there is a problem. It is pretty ridiculous.
I have this problem. I downloaded the latest firmware and now I cannot select the blueray disc from the xmb menu. It is not a sudden hardware failure. My PS3 is less than 6 months old, it was bought new and has never had a problem of any kind. It can read cd’s and PS1 games. Everything else works great, just like it has sense I first plugged it in. I did not disconect while downloading any updates. All updates downloaded and installed without incedent. Now, i have this problem.
Quit assuming it’s user error, that everyone who has this problem is mentally deficiant or just happens to have a hardware error. Sony has caused this problem and I expect them to fix it. They are dragging thier feet and disrespecting those of us who have this problem. I have been a proud sony customer for years and I want to be treated fairly. THey forced me to download this update and it has caused a defect in the software.
If your PS3 works, good for you, but quit doubting other people.
@ Product-Reviews
This is the third “NEWS” **Cough, bull$hit, cough** article on your web site that revolves around feedback left on this site. Now, I know that all your writters are still chasing the banana truck that drove pass the building last week - you know, since all the writters at Product-Reviews are monkeys - and that management is most likely made up of chubby trolls who can’t see their own feet, but do your advertiser really generate any revenue from the ads on your site or do all the monkeys click on their ad links for you? Either way, this site is getting progressively worse each day, and you’re monkeys will be downsized just like the quailty of this site has been over the last year.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
Okay first off you bought the console used. Second it’s 2 years old. There is a graph at my work of the defects in electronics and straight away its around 1% defective after 1 year its like 3% and it keeps going up and up. So 40 PS3’s out of 14 400 000 = 0.0002%. I find it funny these xbox fanboys trying to make it seem like the ps3 is a piece of crap like the xbox. You read about every single ps3 that has the slightest error, meanwhile you don’t hear about people on their 4th or 5th xbox360 for the same reason (RROD). Face the facts a small percentage of electronics will fail for every vendor. The playstation is a well made machine with a very small failure rate compared to the xbox.
I’ve had my PS3 since shortly after release & it’s worked 99% of the time. Which I’m over the moon with. If an update really caused me any problems, I would roll it back to a previous one via a CD-R copied from my P.C. ( presuming it wasn’t bricked)
Or memory card for that matter.
@ Product Reviews
Why do you keep removing/deleting my comments when I make farce posts that actually prove a point? You monkeys have been doing so for a very long while and most posts removed are when I review your reviews (more often then not it’s a cheap article, poorly written, no facts to back up your claim such as using user post to attempt to prove a point rather than gathering factual information yourselves).
Product Reviews never seems to try to reach the source (the manufacturers who Product Reviews talks about), you always refer to other sites that do fact check, and now Product Reviews has resorted to using ‘Comments’ as facts.
Shame on you all.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
ive had this problem 2 weeks ago, i was playing gta iv multiplayer and then the game froze, so the unit reset itself and then wouldn’t recognise any game discs i put in. Check the US Playstation forum theres more than 40 people there with the same problem
“Narnia” is the newest bdvd I own and it worked as it always does……..however ,my ps3 does freeze while Im online quite often if not that ..its constantly running out of memory since my update to 2.42
80gb/Mgs4
POSSIBLE FIX
I had similar problem that people are reporting. Try Launching a game/Demo from the Hard Drive then launch the ingame XMB and see if it shows up. If it does try the following.
It went away AFTER I did video reset on my PS3.
Turn off the PS3 on the back of the console. Press and Hold the Power touch button on the front and then Turn the console on from the switch in the back. Hold the power button until you hear the second beep. Your video settings will be reset back to factory setting and you’ll have to set it up again.
When I did this my PS3 froze. I powered it off and back on again it went through a File Structure correction process and then it came back to life.
I’ve been fine ever since.
@ commentsAboveAreBull! Hey if it was not for trolls people would not have to worry about whether some complaints were honest or not . I know for a fact that there are a number of low life jerks that sit around and come up with all sorts of malicious BS against Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. If your going to attack anyone attack the trolls. Then maybe more people would believe your complaints other wise contact SONY and deal with them.
@Ben i have contacted sony and the only trolls on here are the people attacking this story (not u) coz this isnt malicious BS against Sony, like the title says this issue is the real deal
I MIGHT BE ON TO SOMETHING, PATIENTS IS THE KEY!!!! Hey guys, I have never had any problems with any update until now, I have the old 80giger. I updated to the latest firmware 2.42, and since then 3 of my game CDs will not load. I tried the reboots, and also erased all the game saves, and data; and still no good. After 2 days of not finding any help, something told me just put the game in and wait. Waiting, waiting, waiting, and then after 5-6mins of having nothing but a black screen. There we go, an error saying that online game play, and updates options are not available, and would I like to load the game without the online options, I said yes, and now all of my games work. I then load the online options when inside the game. So it’s a work around for now, Seems like everything leads that that dam PSN in the end. It’s having trouble loading the services in the background, but times out only after 5mins. Give it a try guys.
Hey I’m having this same issue with only some discs not reading. This is a real issue. I have a 60GB ps3. Marvel Alliance would not load. I tried the video reset trick mentioned above and that worked! Then I put in Warhawk which was another one that wouldn’t work for me. But the video reset trick didn’t work. I didn’t wait longer than a few minutes though. I’m trying leaving my warhawk disc in the drive now and see if it works.
waiting 10 mins didnt help. still no love from warhawk
Since the 2.42 update, none of the PS3 discs can be seen or read. I have reset video…etc and still nothing. Any ETA on 2.43 release? Why can’t they just post the prior firmware release that worked? I am still within 1 year warranty, but do not want to ship out as I am hopeful Sony will release a firmware version to resolve this issue.
i got the same issue going on and have been scowering boards. Is this hardware or firmware problem. xbox sux btw
PSN» II-Thornes-II
I bought a 40Gig PS3 in March (so if you do the maths, it’s 5 months old). I play on it about twice a week, for a couple of hours at a time, so it doesn’t have time to over heat. It is in a well ventilated spot, out of direct sunlight, so again, it doesn’t overheat. I have had several system updates in the time that I have owned it, all without problem.
Last Sunday, when I turned the console on, I saw that there was a system update available so started the update downloading. I let it download, then install and started to play COD4. I played for about 3 hours on the campaign. After about 3 hours the sound went off so I decided that it was about time I had some lunch. I tried to quit the game, but the entire system froze. To switch off, I had to do a hard boot (switch at the back). On Tuesday the girlfriend was working, so I decided to play COD4. The PS3 switched on fine, but would then not recognise any disk (Blu Ray films, games, DVDs or CDs).
After looking at a number of forums I found that this was not unique to me. I then tried to follow the advice on some of the threads: resetting the video settings, quick reset of the system, full reset of the system, all without result.
Now I’m 32 years old, look after my electronic equipment, I don’t have any kids, I didn’t throw it downstairs, I keep it away from direct sunlight in a well ventilated spot, it is a new console, I didn’t switch it off during the update, I have a working Wii, PSP, modded XBox and I still have a working N64 so know how to look after consoles, and my PS3 still stopped working.
I really do get a bit tired of prepubescent children accusing me of lying because they think that I am maligning the company who makes their favourite toy. My PS3 stopped working after a system update, along with a growing number of other people.
On a brighter note, I returned my console to the shop I bought it from last night, who are now negotiating with their supplier to get me a full refund so I can get a new console; fingers crossed. And yes it will be another PS3. Apart from this hiccup, I think the PS3 is an excellent machine.
Well, this isn’t exactly a fantastic thing to hear as now, i have this problem, And how does everyone know this is a solid figure and isn’t rising?
Everyone who is saying that 14million people don’t have this problem isn’t thinking straight. How do you know everyone who has this problem has said it?
-waiting for a system restore-
@ Matt
“How do you know everyone who has this problem has said it?”
Because most consumers cry about anything that goes wrong with any product they buy and voice their opinions anyway possible such as this crap site…like yourself, woman.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
I just had the disk error 80029941 pop up last night. The 80g unit is only 8 months old and I do keep it in somewhat vented area. I figured It just got a little hot. So I turned it off till today. I finished watching the Blu-ray from last night maybe 30 mins or so. Went to watch another movie and 10 mins in, boom. If just froze up and gave me the dreaded ‘Disk error’. I’ve now since moved it and will try again later. I really hope it is something in the firmware update and not my PS3.
I got zinged this morning. I upgraded to 2.42 and now my disks are no longer readable. It has nothing to do with hardware. Everything was fine just before the update, and everything is broken after the update. Therefore it is the update. I don’t think this is a coincidence. I checked a bunch of other blogs and forums and this problem with Sony PS3 updates has been going on since 2.40. So why would Sony put out an update that destroys peoples systems? Obviously they KNOW what does, since it has been doing this since 2.40. Sounds downright criminal to me. Is it really work sacrificing 10 percent (or whatever the number is) of their customer base? How many companies can afford to do that?
@ Matt G
Your post sounds like your reiterating a point that you’ve already made, which could lead one to believe that the post you just made isn’t your first. What does that mean you ask? It mean that you sound like you’re trying to prove a previously made statement by posting under another name (maybe Matt is Matt G?!).
You saying that something is happening doesn’t mean that we have to believe you, and the comment in the article is just that: A comment left by an anonymous person. If the issue is as wide spread as everybody says, Sony will be obligated to release this information and the end of the fiscal quarter to their shareholders, so we’ll know exact figures in time. This doesn’t mean that anybody, including myself, has to take anything you say at face value.
We all know that there are people who do make false claim (better know has fanboys) to make their console(s) of choice seem better to anybody and everybody they can…I think that’s you. Anyways, Product-Reviews known to re-ignite a flame war any chance they get and rarely, if ever, actually review product or report original news.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
mentioned earlier that after 2.42 firmware update PS3 not reading disks, etc.. now sending to Sony to fix (only 5 months old). This is very fustrating however, the bigger picture here is - is it fair that Sony charges to fix this problem when the 1 year warranty is up - they have caused the problem. We spend hundreds of dollars to purchase machine and many more for games and accessories. Many love PS3, including my son - but now I’m thinking what do you do if your system is slightly older than 1 year - keep doling out the bucks to send and fix. Perhaps the people monitoring this site can advise and/or reach out to Sony - we need a loud voice here - one person calling to complain is not enough. (For those of you fortunate enough to not have any issues just be grateful and please just appreciate the fustration of those of us with the problem) Again, the machine was in perfect condition prior to update, well taken care of.
for people genuinely having the ‘freezing’ issue, you should back-up your harddrive if you can then reformat it using the tools in your system menu, then copy the back-up back. if you have the time (17hrs for my 250Gb) do a full format to rezero the entire drive.
another thing, is NEVER do a hard reset using the power switch on the back of the console if you have a blu-ray still in the drive, THIS is a major cause of knackering your blu-ray drive. i strongly suspect this is how most 2.4 errors are caused personally… more often than not by people crashing while playing CoD4 online, the firmware update is just a convienient get out excuse.
Well, isn’t this a fine kettle of fish? Let me just add to the conundrum.
I have two PS3s. One is connected to the internet via ethernet, the other relies on a manually optioned wireless connection. The 60G that is connected via ethernet stopped working last night during a blu-ray play of Lost Boys. It won’t play anything now. No blu ray, no PS3 games, not even the old PS2 games.
The 40G hasn’t been updated probably since March or April. I put Lost Boys in there this morning and it played all the way through. I was also able to play the blu ray version of Enchanted, all my PS3 games worked and the PS2 ones I tried worked as well. I didn’t bother checking what fw version is on there, but I daresay it’s probably 1. something.
So how does that play out? Is it a coincidence that the regularly updated machine suddenly flopped out? Or is it a faulty machine? I’m fairly sure at this point I don’t want to try updating the 40G to see if it has the same problem as the 60G. Plain stupid doesn’t suit me.
I believe Sony charging for repairs on this problem is unwarranted, especially if this is a problem caused by one of their updates. I’m going to call tomorrow and see what’s up. Both my machines should still be covered by the warranty but I couldn’t tell you offhand where the reciepts are. And I’ve read somewhere else that you need to have a copy of the reciept in order to get a replacement unit.
Should be interesting. I’ll let you all know what happens.
@ IHateYouAll
Okay, I’ve just about had it with you 10 year old brats. Your name says it all. If you don’t want to help, then shut up. I’m not the other Matt. Yes, there is more than one human being in the world named Matt. I was responding to earlier posts where Sony is implying this is a hardware problem. This is not a hardware problem, it is a update problem. Therefore, there should not be a warranty issue. Sony has already admitted screwing up updates in the past. And they are preparing to make another statement about this update. If you did not update to 2.42 then wait. If you did, and your system cannot read disks, then wait, they will have another update relatively soon.
I’m personally disappointed with Sony, they had my respect as a company that put a lot of effort into quality. Now it looks like they trying to pretend they are not at fault here.
@ Matt
Matt, buddy, come on…you have to be able to back up your frivolous claims.
“This is not a hardware problem, it is a update problem”
Explain how you know this rather than Sony’s 2.4 previous update; provide a link that gives facts, not speculation.
“Sony has already admitted screwing up updates in the past”
Are you saying because a company admits one fault that every claim made from that day forth should be believed without any hard evidence to back it up other than claim on forums?
“[Sony is] preparing to make another statement about this update”
Please, post a direct quote from a Sony spokesperson and provide the link so people like me can believe you. If you and Product Reviews don’t provide these quotes and links, everything you say is meaningless like your life.
“If you did not update to 2.42 then wait”
Too late, I updated my system and it’s still working great.
“they will have another update relatively soon”
Do you know the exact date Sony will be releasing their next PS3 firmware update or are basing this on the fact Sony regularly updates the PS3? (D0uche)
“Now it looks like they trying to pretend they are not at fault here”
And here’s where you pretend that you know what your talking about. Playing video games and owning a console doesn’t magically qualify you as an engineer, or didn’t you know that?!
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
Agreed, MattG. I called Sony this morning and they had me reset the 60G to factory defaults. It worked for about ten minutes, then froze up again. If it was a hardware issue it wouldn’t work at all, I’m sure.
I’m debating over waiting for the next fw update or sending it back. I still have a couple of months on the warranty (and I found the receipt), but do I want to wait for the next update only to find out that it screws it up more?
How often do they release updates? Anyone know?
All right. I called Sony back again and here’s what I was told.
They want me to send the machine back to them. I pestered the poor girl with so many questions she had to put me on hold so she could ask someone. Seemed to me she was doing her best to toe the company line, but there is something up.
The most important things she said (and these are direct quotes) were that this is a “known software issue” and that it’s “rare”. They want the machine back and they’re sending a box for me to return it in. I asked if this was an issue related to one of their firmware updates and she put me on hold, only to return and say that she wasn’t aware that it was.
She’s not aware, or in other words “I’m evading your question”.
So there you go. If it’s a “known software issue” then Sony shouldn’t be charging for people to have their faulty machines repaired, not even after the warranty period as far as I’m concerned.
Oh, and one more thing. This girl kept asking me if I was playing “actual blu-ray discs” or copies of blu-ray movies. The ones I have are all actual blu-ray movies purchased from WalMart. No copies. I don’t own a copied disc and I have no idea where I’d obtain one. But she kept asking if I’d used a PC copied blu-ray disc at any time. Maybe this voids the warranty? You all might want to keep that in mind when talking to Sony, just in case.
I’ll post back and update with more info as I get it.
@ Vigilante
Everything you’ve said is hearsay since you are the only person to her these “direct quotes”. If you can provide no tangible evidence (web site, news article, et cetera) that is hearsay.
“I asked if this was an issue related to one of their firmware updates and she put me on hold, only to return and say that she wasn’t aware that it was.”
Did you ever think that maybe she didn’t know what the cause of the problem actually is and put you on hold to ask a peer, supervisor, or manager to insure she was giving you correct information as best as she could? Not everybody’s out to get you, schizo…you don’t need to sound so paranoid.
Here, check this out.
So I called Sony this afternoon to inquire why my PS3 wouldn’t play my X-Box 360. The rep I spoke to was very friendly and professional, but when I asked why my 360 copy of Unreal Tournament wouldn’t play she said, and I quote, “At this time we don’t support our competitors games on our systems”. So I ask if this had to do with Microsoft’s software and she stated “No. The issue is that 360 games are made with 24K gold, and here at Sony we are still using cardboard because Blu-Ray is all fictitious and something we made up to try and make money”
See, I have a direct quote from a Sony rep who stated PS3 games are made out of cardboard.
I believe you, Vigilante, as much as you believe me.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
I think there’s a direct correlation with updating the firmware to screwing up the system of PS3s. And being in the Philippines. I’m not covered by the warranties enjoyed by other countries. Even the Sony Service Centers here are not authorized to honor the warranties. Which really sucks. There are a lot of instances where updating the firmware via internet damages the unit. It can’t be just a coincidence that my PS3 broke down right after I installed this 2.42 update (I haven’t even played yet). I looked around the internet and it didn’t happen just to me. Shouldn’t Sony do something about this?
oh, and by the way, My unit is only 2 weeks old. I haven’t even played 2 levels of metal gear solid 4 yet.
I made some searching in various website and it is conceivable that updating the PS3 firmware has the risk of damaging the lens. No idea why though.
I’ve got the disc read as well on a 60Gig Launch unit (PAL) and a friend of mine got the same on a 40Gig unit.
The problem is not reading discs but recognizing them. If they don’t show up in XMB I have to eject and insert disc (a few times) until it spins up the disc, but once it recognizes the disc it reads them flawlessly.
IHateYouAll, darling, you’re going to have to do better than that. I deal with trolls like you all day long, day in and day out. And I can tell you this, if you don’t believe me I DON’T GIVE A GOOD GOLLY GOSH DARN.
My comments weren’t directed at you. Everything I put up there is intended to shed some light on what appears to be a growing problem. Do you think I came here just because of you? I came here because my PS3 unit is having a problem and I wanted more information, I wanted to see if anyone else had the same problem or a possible fix for it.
What are you here for?
@ Vigilante
“IHateYouAll, darling, you’re going to have to do better than that”
Are we having the same conversation? Better than what?
“I deal with trolls like you all day long, day in and day out”
And what does this say about your life?!!!
“My comments weren’t directed at you”
I was merely trying to convey to Product Reviews and, to a lesser extent, their readers why Comments should not be considered facts.
“Do you think I came here just because of you?”
Maybe.
I am delighted to see that not once did you refute the fact that everything you’ve said is hearsay. You’re omission of my original point only goes to show that you too know that eveything you’ve said is hearsay. Thank you for agreeing with me.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
Why would I have to refute what I know to be true as hearsay? I heard it directly from Sony’s Customer Support with my own ears. Kid, hearsay is a third party issue. You want to believe it’s hearsay, go ahead. Obviously you think your own opinion is too important to care what anyone else has to say on the problem.
Which begs the question, if you’re so intent on proving that this IS hearsay what proof do you have that there ISN’T an issue?
And what does this say about my life? PUH-LEEZE. I’m not the one jacking tech boards across the net ragging on people to get my jollies.
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%22IHateYouAll%22+fanboyism&meta=
@Vigilante
It’s best to avoid IHateYouAll. She’s an Xbox mole. Nothing but negative comments about everyone and everything. I’ve gone over to the PS3 official forum. It has information there about how to revert back to an earlier update. Like 2.36, or even 2.41. I’m posting as Sargon. Also, since I upgraded my hard drive from 40Gb to 120Gb, I still have my “healthy” 40Gb drive. So I’m heading in that direction. [yes, I know 2.42 is in the firmware, not the harddrive.] One thing is true, though, you can’t trust everything (as opposed to anything) you read. I read that Sony was going to make an announcement about 2.42, but who to believe? Also I read that Sony was planning on a 2.43, but again, who to believe? Too bad they don’t have a forum, blog, whatever, where people are actually interested in helping each other out. So much noise from people running interference for microsoft Xbox. Sad actually. I guess maybe it’s time for me to go over to the PS3 hackers websites.
@ Vigilante
“Why would I have to refute what I know to be true as hearsay?”
No, no, no, you’re missing the point, Canadian. The point is that by posting what you claim to be true on an online thread without any means to prove your statements to be true is in itself hearsay, regardless of the validity of you statement, unless you can provide a credible source of reference to prove that what you’ve said is not hearsay. Without proof, which is essential to make your claim a fact, your comments will remain categorized as hearsay by definition. Are you too proud to admit that you have no source to reference where we, the readers of these comments sections, can validate your claim or must we rely solely on your word?
“Kid, hearsay is a third party issue”
Hearsay
–noun
Unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one’s direct knowledge.
“You want to believe it’s hearsay, go ahead”
There’s the definition of hearsay…please feel free to explain how your claim(s) differ from this definition.
“Obviously you think your own opinion is too important to care what anyone else has to say on the problem”
Me stating that what you’ve said is pure speculation doesn’t constitute as an opinion. I am clearly pointing out that there is no validity to what you’ve stated or what Product Reviews put in this article. It’s not news and it’s not credible.
“what proof do you have that there ISN’T an issue”
I’m not here to disprove you or Product Reviews, I’m here to prove that Comments are not a good source of reference (please refer to MY first post on this thread…it’s the 8th comment down). This article is not news. Your comments should not be regarded as true, but rather readers should use their better judgment to filter hearsay and fact (something you obviously cannot do).
“And what does this say about my life”
If you “deal with trolls like [me] all day long, day in and day out” that does exactly spell out “The Canadian Dream” now does it?!
Please take the time to read through the comments sections of your google.ca (it’s how I figure you’re a Canadian) search and read my first post on each thread. You’ll see my tag line is in direct correlation to comments, posted by individuals such as yourself, who either claim that what they claim is FACT when there is no real proof or when people post blatant fanboyism.
**Stop fanboysim; hang yourself**
Check it out:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3updates&message.id=6967
400 posts — hard to weed through the garbage, but some good stuff, if you have patience.
I think Sony is looking at the forums. If they aren’t then they are going to get themselves into deep trouble. Personally, it looks like 2.36 is the most stable update to me. But most people (99%?) are going to work fine with 2.42
Thank you, MattG! That’s great information, I’m going to go over and have a look see at that forum. And you’re right, it is too bad that some people have nothing better to do than re-hash others’ comments just to make themselves feel more important.
Oh, and IHateYouAll…I scanned over your last comment there and deemed it not worth my time. Read all of what I’ve Googled? Why? It only took me about a minute of reading this very thread to come to the conclusion that you have nothing relevant to say to the problem at hand. Here or anywhere else.
Consider yourself ignored from now on.
@ Vigilante
Apology accepted.
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself**
Vigilante - “I’ve gone over to the PS3 official forum. It has information there about how to revert back to an earlier update. Like 2.36, or even 2.41. I’m posting as Sargon.”
Can you provide a link to information on where to go to revert back to an earlier version of the firmware? I have been searching for this method and can’t seem to locate it. I believe this is the solution to resolving the read issues caused by the 2.42 update. I have a SR into Sony but haven’t shipped it out yet. I would like to try to revert back prior to shipping.
Thanks
@ Kurt
I’m not sure if any of these will work anymore, however, it’s what I used to update to 2.40 after it was first pulled.
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/07/ps3-240-firmwar.html
In the second last paragraph, there’s a link (”download the 2.40 firmware update “). Scroll down about a page and you’ll see 3 links. When I downloaded mine the first link didn’t work and I used the one in the middle (megaupload.com link).
The Happening…I have had my 40GB since December working great, until 2 nights ago, went to play my game and like many others it won’t recognize any discs/games. Before I trade in console, how can I best back up my saved progress? Thanks.
@ Adrian
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2570/ps3_how_to_backup_ps3_game_save_files
Well, I downloaded the 2.40 firmware to a removable storage device under f:\PS3\UPDATE, however when I attach to the PS3 and do a system update via mass storage, it states no applicable updates found. It does see other folders on the USB drive, but does not see the PS3UPDAT file. Any suggestions? Is it possible that it will not recognize older firmware updates once it is beyond that release?
Kurt, I downloaded 2.35 to a thumb drive and my machine found it on there. I got it from here:
http://www.ps3-hacks.com/category/3
There was some discussion on the PS3 forum about formatting the drive to a FAT32, I didn’t have to do that but maybe that might be the problem? Here’s where I saw that:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3updates&thread.id=6967&view=by_date_ascending&page=9
Down towards the bottom of that page is where it begins. I haven’t installed 2.35 yet, I’m interested to see how 2.40 does for you. Let me know how it goes!
MattG, did you have any luck with the hackers?
Just got my PS3 MGS4 bundle yesterday. I opened it and downloaded all the updates, no internet disconnection, no power off during the download. put in MGS4 and about an hour into playing it froze(disc with ? blinking over it). Held the eject button for ten seconds and the same with the power after… no results. So without any other options i turned off the switch on the back. GOODBYE BLUE-RAY DIODE! Now it only plays standard DVDs and PS2 games. Have to send it to Sony after less than one day of playing it. The PS3 lost a lot of respect in my book yesterday. It better not happen again or sony’s losing a customer forever.
Thanks Vigilante. I think I would have to do the domain hack and point my PS3 to the website which shows 0.0 as the current firmware version otherwise the system will not allow you to downgrade your current version. If you 2.35, try to do the update. If it doesn’t see any “applicable” file, then we’ll know you cannot downgrade unless the PS3 is pointed to a different server to spoof it into thinking 2.35 or 2.40 is a higher version that what it currently has installed.
I also tried the 2.35 version and the PS3 stated “no applicable update found” It knows the version you are trying to update is older than what it has.
I just had my ps3 fixed earlier from a game shop at our mall.
I was told that my lens broke probably from the update, coz they also have those same cases from time to time. You know what sucks? They don’t have warranties for the lenses. For all i know it will break again tonight but they insist that it is possible coz the lenses were made fragile by Sony. Man, if this breaks again, i’ll just buy a blu ray player and never play with ps3 again.
This just recently happened to me. My PS3 is about 10 months old so it’s still under warranty with sony. Put in and played GTA4 took that out to play another game and now it won’t show ANY discs or DVD’s in XMB. From what I’ve read, I think it might be my Blu Ray Sensor.
Yup, you’re right Kurt. I tried it out last night and it gave me the same garbage. I had a folder on there with the 2.35, that’s what I was looking at, but when I went to install it I got the “no applicable update” business. Frustrating.
On the upside I’ve heard through the office grapevine that the firms who led the PS2 Settlement in North America have been tipped off to the problems people are having with their consoles. If Sony continues to insist that people spend $150 on repairing their consoles over this problem I think we may see another class action suit launched in the near future. Unless Sony gets their act together and fixes this soon, that is!
Mak, you may want to keep your reciept for your repair in case a lawsuit happens…
Also should mention for people who are past warranty…the forum thread that MattG posted up there has reports of people out of warranty who have contacted Sony and are getting their consoles repaired for free as “Goodwill” gestures. The trick is, apparently, to be super nice to the customer service agent (as opposed to screaming at them). You could try mentioning you read it on one of their official PS3 forums….might help.
As for me, the coffin just arrived for my brick. I’m going to send it back today. Ticks me off to have to do it, but so be it I guess.
Thanks Vigilante. Glad to know that although we have older firmware available, nothing can be done without hacking around….etc. I have my Service Request into Sony, but have not received instruction email on “how” and “where” to ship my PS3. Sounds like they sent you a box to ship it back in? Did they cover postage?
Regards,
Kurt
Thanks for the advice Vigilante, but i don’t think i’ll be covered by that suit coz I live here in the Philippines. I was only able to buy my brand new PS3 through ebay around 2 weeks ago. What i got is the receipt from the repair by Circuit City from our mall here. Still…no warranties.
To all of you guys who upgraded their PS3s and found that your unit won’t read any cds anymore, it means your PS3 lens is broken.
Kurt, that’s funny as I haven’t rec’d my email about who, what and where either. I wonder what’s up with that? The address I gave them has no junk mail filters either so it’s not like it’s landed somewhere else.
The box came from Purolator with a return postage sticker on it, so they do cover the postage. I had to put EVERYTHING in there, original cables, controller….etc. Took me forever to find the original cables! Plus they wanted a photocopy of your reciept attached to a form you’ll have to fill out. I dropped the console back off at Purolator this morning (Friday), let’s see how long the turnaround is!
Mak, that’s a shame there isn’t a warranty for you in the Philippines! If I ruled the earth Sony would have to provide warranty coverage worldwide. I’m not quite at the point where I rule the ENTIRE earth yet, but when I do you’ll be the first person I call!
I’ll let you guys know when I get my console back. Have a good weekend!
Just posting so sony can get an # of how many people are accually having this problem. I had no problems with tho 2.40 or the 2.41 updates, but after 2.42 my ps3 no longer shows or reads the BD. as far as not updating properly the ps3 does the update for you all I have to do is tell it to update from the internet and it does every thing else. it makes it kind of hard to screw up the update.
PS3 40gig. Less than a year old. Play it maybe once a week. Wathc blurays all the time. Just got Fios and the installer ran a cat6 for me. Picked up F1 over the weekend. Had to do the update to play. Worked fine friday night. Workded saturday morning. Would not read any disc Sunday night. Hard to day it’s the sofware because it did work after the update, Just not for long.
I too have had the PS3 quit reading discs. Last night I was watching a blue ray when it just stopped the movie. I turned off the power and retried it. No luck.
I then tried every game I own and none would read. A small click sound occurred when a disc was put in (movie / game), but it didn’t sound like it was spinning the disc.
This is a fairly new machine, much less than a year old.
I really feel screwed.
I’m still trying to get my system back up and running. I have been out of the 90 day warranty for many months now. My guess is that the latest update changed the video/display drivers to support additional variations of HDMI and Blue-Ray playback. I have a DVI connection on my HDTV, so I had an HDMI to DVI converter cable. This used to work on previous releases. Now the PS3 Support page seems to have a lot more information about HDMI support and what to do (and not to do). So maybe they are trying to address issues with the BD display not working. This also makes me think that the update could have hosed my blue-ray disk drive. Which is pretty hard to do. Software that can break hardware, I mean. I used to be able to display the output on 480P, but now I can’t. This is soooo frustrating…
This is what I’ve been reading…
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=8pD7WNbj&p_lva=&p_li=&p_accessibility=&p_cv=1.6&p_pv=1.4&p_prods=4&p_cats=6&p_hidden_prods=&p_page=1&p_search_text=disc&prod_lvl1=4&cat_lvl1=6&p_new_search=1&search_button.x=56&search_button.y=6
It’s a long link but worth it.
I hate calling customer service. But from what I hear, if you *politely* complain (if there is such a thing), they will often offer to fix your system free of charge. I guess you just need lots of detail behind all the whining.
This is the CS info:
Sony Consumer Services Department
1-800-345-SONY (7669)
Hours of Operation
Monday through Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Pacific Time
I received my box from Sony on Friday and had UPS pick it up the same day to return for repair/replace. I received shipment notification last night that my replacement or repaired unit is on it’s way back, so the turn-around time is excellent. Mine was 9 months old and within the 1 year warranty period, so no cost to me. I am curious though to see if it is same unit or new one.
Had same disc read issue after putting in GT4. I still had one month on warranty, mailed it in tue. afternoon, and just checked my status on it and it is already being mailed back to me TODAY! Don’t know if its a new one or a refurbished one, guess I’ll see. GREAT turn around, and no cost for shipping (next day shipping) or anything else.
@ IHateYouAll
Somehow, “Woman.” I haven’t checked this site for… A week+. I had my PS3 replaced at no charge outside of guarantee, I wonder why. And.. I wonder what your activeness on this subject has to do with your life ~_~
@ Matt
“I had my PS3 replaced at no charge outside of guarantee, I wonder why”
I wonder why you call a warranty a “guarantee”.
Anyways, lets ponder this for a moment…in the first few years of the PS2’s life cycle Sony was more than happy to fix my PS2 almost a full year after the warranty expired (not my guarantee). Why would a company blatantly not follow their corporate warranty policies? To appease their customers which in turn will retain, or gain, a company image that is positve while also creating customer loyalty. When a company treats their customer good, the customer in turn will buy from that company knowing that they will feel safe buying their products in the future even if the warranty runs out. Also, by owning a functioning PS3 console - key work FUNCTIONING - Sony, and any other company for that matter, knows that during the life span of you console you’ll be buying their games, using their software, buying peripherals and accessories for their machine, and still spreading the ‘good word’ on how great their customer service is. All of this is good for a company, be it Sony, Microsoft, Apple, or McDonalds.
From a business perspective, this makes more sense than tell all their customer to ‘flog themselves’; if they did, nobody would buy their console any more, right? Right! If you want to debate corporate strategies, PR, or how appeasing the media is vital for a business just say the word, but for now I’m sure you know that your a less-than-thrilling-d0uche-stick buy your complete lack of deductive reasoning.
“I wonder what your activeness on this subject has to do with your life”
What subject are you referring to? If you’re referring to the subject I mentioned all the way through this article in my post, that being ‘Comments on websites should not be used as FACT’, then one might guess my ‘activeness on this subject’ is to nullify anything, and everything, people like you and Vigilante post. The subjects I keep referring to are validity, creditability, accountability, and Product Review’s complete lack of substance in their articles. As for what it has to do with my life, I think the more important question is why, when I haven’t posted a comment to you in over a week, are you still so bothered by me discrediting you? Did something I say really really bother you, little Matty? Did I hurt your feelings? Lol
**Stop fanboyism; hang yourself***
this is the sux
I had the update about 2 weeks ago and it played fine for about 5 days
3 days ago i started to play again but it crashed today
my ps3 is a 40gb and had always worked fine but when i was playing the game laged for 1-2 min then stopped working altogether
it changed to a load screen and it stay for about 7min before i turned the power off using the hold power button
once it restarted the ps3 no longer recognised any cds dvds braydvds and games but everything was still functional
is this a result of the new update? and also what do you guys think is best thing for me to do for i’ve already lost my receipt and over my warranty?
My brother updated his ps3 on Thursday (21st of aug) He was playing pes2008 or something earlier for a few hours and turned off his ps3 when done. A couple of hours later he switched it back on to play pes2008 some more and it wasn’t reading the game at all. He tried gtaiv and some boxing game and whatever else games he had. So then he called me in and I had a look.
None ofhis games where being recognized. It would seem to at least try to read them but quit very quickly. When I tried a dvd or music cd it would try a bit longer. I put in a cd clearner disc and it did try to read it for over 10 mins (we went out of room during that time though) the spinning disc in the top right corner never stopped at all just kept spinning. Tried a regular ps3 game again. Still nothing.
I hope its just a firmware problem. I told him to at least wait till another firmware comes out before he sends it back. If the update fixs his problem I will try to remember to post back here
Yes, it just happened to me.
Perfectly well functioning PS3, suddenly stopped playing any movies or games.
This is beyond unreasonable. Sony, here we go again with all “root” installed spyware and serious violation of customer trust. What if they do the same again after warranty is expired? They are basically destroying remotely perfectly functioning systems.
I would never choose anything made by Sony ever again.
I believe this is a problem with the 80 GB units. Can any one confirm this?
Well my brothers is a 40GB one. And from what I have read it seems to effect them all.
I can absolutely, positively confirm this is a major issue. Mine stopped reading discs about six months ago. I rang Sony Support who got me to send back the console and replaced it with another one. It took about 4 weeks and besides losing everything on the hard drive it took another 3 weeks for them to reset my Singstore account and credit me with $ so I could re-download all the singstar songs that I lost during this process.
And guess what? My new refurbished console just did the same thing again last night while trying to load a save game.
This is absolutely shithouse!!!!!
I have emailed my contact who is high up at SCE Australia to comment before I have a scathing story published through my various media channels.
Omg! This is so f*cked up!~
Mine stopped working two nights ago. But I really don’t think this is a firmware issue coz I dun play that many games and have never bothered updating my firmware. Bought Top Spin 3 three days ago and was told that I needed to run 2.30(dun laugh). So I updated from the disc. When it reached 23%, an error message came up. Now I know that some people would say that that’s the root cause of my problem since the update was interrupted. But reading from some stories where there were problems while playing games, I am quite sure now that this is a hardware issue.
So just to recap: I did NOT install the latest firmware.
I only use my PS3 for Granturismo and watching movie. never pluged in on-line etc. I bought a new game called Ferrari challenge put it in …nothing not reading disc. and now all disc. Thats it , Just another .00001 of a percent from the tossers who dont have a problem I guess….. statistics is funny thing ………..TWATS
I feel you Mackie, mine just stopped working after playing GTA4. Didn’t do any updating at all. Although, it would read some PS2 discs before not reading anything at all. I dunno what the hell happened. As I posted before, I sent mine back in last tue and I’m getting it back today. I hope mine doesn’t ‘F’ up again like the persons comment that I read above. I will be irate.
Wow.
I’m not really too sure, but I don’t see how you people are finding this article. This article was post almost 3 weeks ago. I’ve been doing Goodle searchs, Yahoo searches, Live searches, Ask.com search, et cetera using a $hit load of different search criteria to try to find this site (web & news searches) and I can’t seem to find how all you loser are still finding this article.
If my PS3 was broken I’d be going directly to the Sony site or I’d be searching for ‘PS3 error’, ‘PS3 disc read error’, ‘Broken PS3′, ‘PS3 freezing’, ‘PS3 error ############’, ‘PS3 disc read issues’, or something along those lines. I’ve search them all and it takes a long time to find this site. Even if you’re come directly to this site, go to gaming news, go to PS3, and try to find this article it still takes a long time. Please, help me out here….how are you people still finding this article and why are you not going to the PS3 forums?
Well I think I found it by typing “ps3 not reading disc 2.42″ into google and there was a link to this page. The only reason I posted here was because of Ihateyouall (this site looks shit why do you even bother to come here still?). I had a look around alot of forums and sites. None where of any help other then letting me know my brother isn’t alone with this problem. So I told him to wait and hope the next firmware fixs his problem as I have read that nobody who has contacted Sony had any luck fixing this problem other then sending it back to sony for a replacement. If only there was a firmware downgrader.
I received my PS3 back from warranty repair today (after 2.42 download killed it). Not sure what they did to it (same unit with all data still in tact), but the first thing it said after startup was that I needed to do the system update….you guessed it…..Firmware Version 2.42. So, I had no choice but to download it (COD4) required it to play online. It download and installed and so far so good. I wonder if they swapped out the Blue Ray unit for a newer one or model not affected by the 2.42 firmware update. Who knows….. I’ll let you know if it crashes and burns again.
“ps3 not reading disc 2.42″ is what i typed into google and it was the forth one down. I checked many forums and the only “solution” was to restore everything to factory settings. Which aint gonna downgrade the firmware so was likely pointless as most had no success or if they did it was only temporary. Waiting for the next firmware is the best option as Sony’s only other solution is get your ps3 replaced by a second hand one. To be honest I only posted here because of Ihateyouall who clearly thinks this site is worth alot of his time. And since ya don’t have to go through the whole signing up malarky its less offputting.
ok… its happened to me n i am not happy about it, ive tryed every game i have (10 in total)… ive even tryed my old ps1 games but no luck at all. its a 40g
if it is true about the firmware being curropted or whatever then… sony you have really let us down again =(
Bah my first post didn’t show up a few hours later so I made another but the first eventually got processed or approved or whatever
Dude I own a PS3 its effing up with reading discs and know what all this btching about blah bah blah ps3 is crap blah blah blah god damn I take care of my PS3 I love it I put alot of hours on it Im not gonna say PS3 is intentionally sabbotaging their systems thats just ignorance speaking. I am more that happy to send my PS3 to sony and have it fixed 150 dollars big effing deal, and Im not rich by any means but think how much you payed for it dont be stupid 150 you get 3 months extended warranty the guaruntee it fixed and if they cant fix it you get a brand new ps3 exactly the same as yours quit your btching.
Its my understanding you get a Refurb. So its second hand, just cleaned up. And there is a guy on youtube who had the same problem as my brother and the refurb he got back had a dodge fan that went loud within a couple of mins. Well my dad brought my brothers ps3 back to where he bought it (against my advice). So when the new firmware comes out I can’t tell ya’s the results. Arr well.
ANOTHER BRICK HERE. 40GB PS3.
Updated system to 2.42, went back to playing Madden 09. Couple days later I put in a new game (MLB08, then tried Madden again and several more games and dvds), and it didn’t show up in XMB.
Talked to Sony. They deny everything. Tried to blame me for dust, etc, which is BS. 2 supervisors later I finally got someone to say yes it is possible that the update might have caused this to happen, and that they would fix it but would not be able to tell me what they fixed / replaced.
$400 for system and $400 in games is too much to pay for something that lasts 6 months and is subject to entirely breaking through a software update with no way to fix it. And the company won’t take any responsibility. If I was not under warranty they would charge me. Funny how all my other electronics and computers work great, including original PS1 and 8bit Nintendo, but the most expensive gaming system ever broke after 8 months of casual weekend use.
Either Sony needs to release something ASAP to either fix or recall systems, or someone should open a class action lawsuit, and Nintendo should run a trade in your Bricked PS3 or xbox for $100 off a Wii.
Take responsibility for your flawed updates, and give PS3 owners some kind of statement, recall, or freebie for this (such as upgrading system to 80GB or whatever will work better).
Well, I meant to get back earlier but wasn’t able…my unit (the same one, not someone else’s refurb’d unit) was returned in THREE DAYS. Talk about your fast turnaround time. Mind you, it didn’t have far to go by Purolator’s standards!
They replaced the Blu-Ray Drive on mine and it still has 2.42 installed on it. Exactly like you said, Mak! It plays fine now, although I haven’t yet plugged it back into my home network to see if there’s a new update. I’m not sure I want to after this fiasco!
What kind of software kills hardware, I wonder?
I do have one complaint, however. My PS3 was returned in crap shape. The casing is scratched to heck and the little PS logo under the disc slot is missing. It is mine, I double checked the serial numbers, but it’s scratched like it was thrown in a junk heap and run down an assembly line. In fact the scratch pattern looks like another unit was placed on top of it, there are marks on it on three of the four corners that are smudgy scratches. Far from the condition I sent it away in.
Not that it’s the end of the world. It’s my own PS3 (not a showpiece) and it lives in an entertainment unit. As long as it works I’m happy, but it would have been nice to have had it returned in better condition than what it ended up being returned in.
So that’s the PS3 problem solved for me, for a while! A long while, HOPEFULLY! Good luck to everyone else with the same problem!
My ps3 worked flawlessly up until the 2.40 firmware update. after this update was installed I began to have wireless connectivity issues, ps3 controller issues BUT no “disc not recognized” or “failed to start” issues, until now.
It began a few weeks ago with COD 4, which seems to be the case with many people, where the sound would cut out and the game would freeze-up upon the completion of an round. power cycling the ps3 was the only way to get the system to restart. more recently I’ve seen an increase in frequency of times where my disc-based games will fail to start. Now, as of this morning, my ps3 won’t START any game discs I insert into it. It will RECOGNISE a disc as being inserted about 99% of the time but strangely after a system restart it won’t detect the disc, the XMB won’t display an icon for the inserted disc. Now before I go any further I would like to say that I’m 41 years of age and own all 3 next-gen systems and honestly have no fanboyism in me, just an adult who still enjoys his tech toys. Also i have a background in computers and electrical engineering. I mention this only for those that continue to try to attribute this problem to not knowing how to download a firmware update properly or a router issue. Something I don’t believe has been mentioned here, at least directly, is the fact that I remember reading an article where the man who created the Blue-Laser used in the next-gen optical format(s) stated that there were issues with the longevity/life-expectancy of the blue laser diodes. Could it be that this is the very issue that is now causing these ps3 failures. Have you noticed that the ps3’s beginning to fail, for the most part, were manufactured around the same time period. Also seeing how Sony is so dependent on the success of blue-laser technology and how intertwined it is in there lead product, the Playstation 3, you could see how they would be less than forth-coming about what the exact problem is if it involves the lasers. I’m not sure whether there is a connection between the 2.4x series of firmware and the disc read errors but its possible that something in the updated firmware is causing the laser optics to run out of spec in some fashion (excessive recalibration of optic pick-up, excessive seek, excessive switching from high power to low power mode of the laser, etc)
Whatever the culprit I know I’ll be callin’ Sony this morning to get my PS3 warranty repaired, Sigh….