The play station at first was exempt from the problems that its competitor the XBOX360 had
. However, both consoles got older and now the play station has a red light problem which is similar to the XBOXs rings which posed so many problems. The red light that play station owners dread indicates that there is a problem somewhere on the inside of the system. The good news is that you can try to fix the problem on your own which saves you from needing to have your console serviced and pay a lot of money to have someone do it.
A few steps should be tried at the beginning of the process before you even consider taking apart your play station. These are to try restarting the console in hopes of the problem being gone, unplug and re-plug all your cables connected to the device, or try removing and then placing the hard drive back inside the play station itself.
These are the easiest steps and hopefully will resolve the red light problem but they dont always. If they dont usually you are required to open the console up to fix the problem yourself. This typically needs a guide with specific steps and pictures even to make the process go as smoothly as possible.
If you dont know how to fix hardware or dont trust yourself to do it for fear of making the problem worse, you may send the play station back to the makers of it, Sony, to have them fix the problem. This is something many people want to avoid doing because not only does it take up to a month to get back, but it costs $150 if the warranty period has expired. Usually the problem does occur after a warranty expires which is quite unfortunate.
Another option is to allow someone at the local repair shop a chance to fix it but this is highly advised against because it will also be quite pricey like sending it to Sony and may cost quite the pretty penny when all is said and done. Sometimes the fee that is charged may even be more than what the manufacturers charge and you will be out of service with your console for a period of about 2 weeks depending on the turnaround time at the repair shop. Sometimes your local repair shop may also not know how to fix the problem and your time is wasted.
The third option is to fix your play station 3 by yourself. This may seem overwhelming because you dont know anything about the internal workings of the system but it isnt too hard to work on something if you have a guide that tells you step by step instructions on the process from beginning to end. Not only will you learn some valuable information and have the satisfaction of knowing that you fixed it yourself, but you will save time because youre not going to have to wait to receive the system back in the mail. Its a win-win situation.