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Is your one-time PlayStation 3 starting to get loud or slow? It may be suffering from a buildup of dust subsequently years of apply. If you lot desire to protect your PlayStation, yous may want to take a stab at cleaning out the insides. This can exist a daunting job, as the PlayStation three is carefully synthetic, merely with a petty preparation yous tin have a lot of the stress out. See Step 1 below to become started.

  1. 1

    Disconnect the PS3. Before opening the system upward, make sure that yous have asunder the ability cable and the video cable, likewise as anything plugged into the USB ports. Like working with whatever other slice of sensitive electronics, ground yourself before working on the innards.

    • Y'all can utilize an antistatic wrist strap to keep yourself grounded, or touch on a screw on an agile light switch.

  2. 2

    Remove the difficult drive. Before you open the case, yous will need to remove the hard drive. Luckily, the difficult drive on the PS3 is fairly simple to remove. Remove the HDD cover on the left side of the PS3. You lot volition need to unscrew a blueish screw that is very easy to strip, then be conscientious when unscrewing it. Pull the hard drive directly out once you remove the screw.

    • While you are looking at this side, remove the sticker towards the acme of the example to reveal a Torx screw. You will need a Torx screwdriver (star) to remove this screw. In the front end, there will be four pocket-sized star screws. For these, yous must take a pocket-sized hole in the screw to go them out due to the metal sticking out the eye of them.
    • Removing the sticker will void any warranty y'all have on your PlayStation.

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  3. 3

    Remove the peak panel. Once the Torx screw has been removed, you can slide the elevation panel off of the PlayStation. This will reveal the summit shell which is secured by nine screws around the edge. Some of the screws are identified by arrows printed on the plastic. Remove these screws and set them bated.

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  1. one

    Find the locking tabs. There are ii tabs that lock in the shell. These can be institute at the back of the unit of measurement. Push them in at the aforementioned fourth dimension and gently lift the shell up. Exist careful, equally the top is connected to the hardware on the bottom with ribbons. These ribbons are very fragile.

    • Gently disconnect the ribbon cable and set it to the side for now.

  2. ii

    Remove the bill of fare reader. Discover the plastic tabs holding the bill of fare reader in place. Move the tabs, and you lot tin pull the carte reader out of the unit of measurement. Carefully disassemble any ribbons.

  3. 3

    Remove the power supply. The power supply is the silver or black box side by side to the Blu-ray drive. Remove the five screws that concord in the power supply. Detach the plugs on both sides of the power supply. Pull the power supply directly out of the unit.

  4. four

    Remove the wireless card. This is located on the aforementioned side of the unit equally the power supply. In that location are four screws and a ribbon connecting the card to the unit.

  5. 5

    Disconnect the Blu-ray drive. There shouldn't be any screws holding it in at this point, but information technology will exist connected by a plug and a ribbon cablevision. Disconnect both of these and lift the bulldoze out of the PlayStation.

  6. 6

    Remove the Power/Reset circuit board. This is a tiny lath located at the front end edge of the PlayStation. It has four screws and a tab that needs to be removed before you tin disconnect the board. It is connected with a small ribbon.

  7. vii

    Remove the motherboard assembly. At that place will be 7 screws remaining around the border of the metal plate. Remove these so that you lot will exist able to pull the motherboard assembly out of the case. Once the screws are removed, remove the entire motherboard and back panel.

    • Grab the back vents and elevator up at an bending with both hands. The associates is deceptively heavy, and dropping information technology could easily harm the lath.

  8. 8

    Take the fan out. On the behind of the motherboard assembly, you lot will see a large fan. Disconnect the cable, and then remove the 3 screws property information technology in. Pull the fan out and then that you tin can association all of the dust off of it.[1]

    • This is all the disassembly you need to exercise in order to make clean out the within.

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  1. 1

    Start cleaning. One time you've got the pieces taken out and everything is accessible, you can start dusting. Utilise compressed air to blow out dust from difficult to reach cracks, and suck it up with a vacuum hose. Brand certain to go every nook and cranny, as grit can lead to overheating.

    • Blow out all of the vents with compressed, and make sure to accident air through the heatsinks on the motherboard assembly.
    • Make clean out the USB plugs, too as dust each individual component.
    • Thoroughly clean the large fan so that no traces of dust remain.

  2. 2

    Replace the thermal paste (optional). If you are really worried about overheating, you can remove the heatsinks from the motherboard and supercede the thermal paste. This is not necessary and only recommended if you can live without the PlayStation, as y'all take a meaning chance of damaging it when removing the heatsinks.

  3. 3

    Reassemble the unit. Once you are finished cleaning up the within, information technology'southward time to put everything back together. Go back through the steps of this guide in opposite order to make certain that everything gets put dorsum in the correct place. Make certain all of the components are properly connected and so that everything works when you turn it dorsum on.

    • Be sure to remember to reinsert the hard drive before turning on the PlayStation, or you won't exist able to utilize it.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    My system won't play games. Do you have any communication for me?

    Community Answer

    First, make sure the eye in the organisation is cleaned off. Also, make sure the game disks are clean and that they take no scratches on them.

  • Question

    My PS3 turns on, but then after a second, it switches off. The power light flashes red. What should I do?

    Jkghhhgh

    Jkghhhgh

    Community Answer

    Y'all need to reflow the GPU. If you're still under warranty, accept it to Sony if y'all haven't opened it.

  • Question

    If I open up my PS3 to clean and utilise new thermal paste, volition I void my PSN account?

    Community Answer

    Y'all'll void your warranty if you open up the PS3, merely it won't void your PSN account in any fashion.

  • Question

    Will I exist able to obtain Israeli citizenship if I am Hindu?

    Community Answer

    As long as you lot follow the protocol and meet the requirements, y'all should be able to obtain Israeli citizenship.

  • Question

    I can lookout man movies on my PS3, but I am non able to load games, even ones not scratched. What tin I do?

    Community Answer

    If you lot have a jailbroken PS3, y'all can install multiMAN and load your games (even if you downloaded them from the cyberspace). But in the case of PS3 game discs, you may have to render it for replacement if information technology's not playing or loading the game you lot want to play.

  • Question

    Will my PS3 work if I remove the wireless carte du jour from it? Volition the controllers not connect?

    Community Answer

    It will nevertheless work. The wireless card is solely used to connect to the internet.

  • Question

    What practise I do if my PS3 will read some discs simply non all of them?

    Community Answer

    Rubbing a banana skin on scratched discs helps them become readable once more. If your PS3 still does not read your scratched discs, so it's probable beyond repair.

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  • This takes well-nigh 1-ii hours so be patient and have breaks if needed.

  • A bang-up fashion to organize your screws is using a canvas of paper to tape them to in the lodge you lot removed them. Or use a sail for each step.

  • Try to piece of work on an surface area that is wood. Endeavor not to work on any material to avoid static daze.

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  • Try non to bear upon the motherboard if you tin can avoid doing and so.

  • The ribbon cables are very easy to break so be careful with them.

  • Don't strength any parts out if they don't desire to come.

  • Make sure you organisation is powered off and unplugged while doing this.

  • Don't exercise this if your warranty period is not up as y'all will void it.

  • Use the appropriate size screw drives to not strip the screws.

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Things Yous'll Demand

  • A Philips caput screwdriver
  • A Torx head screwdriver
  • Needle olfactory organ pliers for any screws that get away
  • Containers for loose screws or an organizational method.

References

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