c/diy-console-fixes

Update: Switched from paste flux to liquid flux for xbox hdmi rework

I spent like 6 months using paste flux on xbox hdmi port replacements and kept getting bridges no matter what I did. Finally tried liquid flux from a chip repair kit my buddy lent me last Friday and wow what a difference. The liquid spreads way easier under the pins and I got a clean install on my first try with no shorts. Anyone else have better luck with liquid over paste for fine pitch work?

I finally gave in and tried thermal paste reapplication after 8 years of thinking it was hype

For the longest time I figured thermal paste was some kind of gimmick that tech reviewers pushed for clicks. My Xbox One started shutting down mid-game last winter and a friend kept telling me to crack it open. I finally did it 3 weeks ago with some Arctic MX-4 I got off Amazon for $8. Took maybe 25 minutes total including watching a YouTube guide twice. The fan stopped sounding like a jet engine and now it runs quieter than when I bought it. I still roll my eyes at some of the hardcore paste debates online but for an old console that's running hot it genuinely made a difference. What was the thing you thought was nonsense until you actually tried it on a fix?

That guy on YouTube said to use isopropyl alcohol on disc rot - what a mess

Last week I took advice from some random fixer named DaveTech who said soaking a PS1 disc in 91% isopropyl would stop disc rot. I tried it on a copy of Final Fantasy VII I picked up at a thrift store for $8. After 10 minutes the label started peeling off like wet paper. Now I got a worthless disc and a lesson learned - alcohol eats the coating. Has anyone else had a fix that ruined something worse than before?

Found the source of my Xbox 360 red dot issue after 2 years of guessing

I have an old 360 that would randomly get the red ring after about 15 minutes of play. I tried new thermal paste, replaced the fans, even put it in a cooler room. Nothing worked. Last week I finally pulled the board out and looked at the solder joints under a cheap magnifying lamp. Turns out two of the capacitors near the GPU had hairline cracks right at the base. I swapped them out with some parts from an old motherboard a buddy gave me. Now it runs for hours no problem. Has anyone else found a hidden capacitor issue on these older models?

Changed my mind about using compressed air on consoles after seeing what it really does

Had to pick between thermal paste or thermal pads for my PS4 rebuild

I was fixing a loud PS4 Pro last week and hit that moment where you gotta choose between spreading new paste or cutting sticky pads for the VRAM chips. I went with paste only because I had Arctic MX-4 on hand, but now my temps are stable and the fan is quiet again. Anyone else gamble on just paste and regret it later?

Fried a motherboard by forgetting to unplug the power supply first

Was swapping out a fan on my PS4 in the living room last Tuesday and totally spaced on flipping the switch on the back. Now I've got a paperweight and a story to tell, anyone else have a 'stupid moment' that cost them a console?

Finally fixed a disc drive error after a random convo at RetroFest

I was at RetroFest in Chicago last weekend complaining about my PS3 not reading discs. Some guy next to me said try cleaning the laser with a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol. I did that and it actually worked. The drive reads everything now. Anyone else have a simple fix like this that you overthought for way too long?

Which thermal paste strategy is actually worth it?

I spent $25 on a tube of Arctic MX-6 for my PS4 Pro last month and it dropped my temps by 8 degrees. But my buddy swears by using $5 thermal pads instead of paste for the RAM chips and says paste is a waste. I had to redo the job twice because the first application got air bubbles. So did the premium paste help or did I just get lucky? Has anyone else tried both and seen a real difference on older consoles?

Shoutout to the guy at the repair shop who changed how I clean heat sinks

I was swapping a thermal paste on an old Xbox One last weekend, and the guy behind the counter at the local shop asked me what I used to clean the old paste off. I said isopropyl alcohol and a coffee filter, like always. He just laughed and said I was making extra work for myself, then handed me a bottle of 99% isopropyl and a soft toothbrush. He explained that the brush gets into the tiny gaps around the heat sink fins way better than any cloth, and it cuts the drying time in half. So I tried it on my next repair, a PS4 that was overheating after 20 minutes of gaming, and honestly it saved me a solid 10 minutes of scrubbing. Has anyone else switched to a brush for this? I feel like I was doing it the hard way for years.

Used to swear by thermal paste spread method until a $15 PS3 repair job changed my mind

I always did the credit card spread until I got thermal compound between the capacitors on a 90nm PS3 last month. Now I just do a pea in the middle and let pressure do the work, anyone else find the spread method actually causes more problems?

Fixed my Xbox One disc drive with just a rubber band and tweezers

I was about to toss my old Xbox One because it wouldn't read any discs. Read a random comment in a forum that said try stretching a new rubber band around the belt pulley. Grabbed one from the junk drawer, took maybe 20 minutes with some tweezers to swap it out. Now it loads every game like brand new, been working solid for 3 weeks. I saved like $80 not having to buy a used console off Facebook Marketplace. Anyone else found a weird cheap fix that actually worked long term?

Had to choose between fixing my PS4's HDMI port or buying a used one

I spent 3 hours watching tutorials on micro-soldering that HDMI port, and honestly I chickened out after melting a cheap practice board. Ended up finding a used PS4 on Craigslist for $80 from a guy who said it just needed a hard drive swap, which was way easier. Has anyone here actually pulled off replacing an HDMI port without specialized gear?

That PS3 yellow light fix took me 6 weeks to figure out

I got a used PS3 from a garage sale for $40 last summer and it worked fine for about 2 months. Then the yellow light of death showed up and I spent every weekend trying to fix it. I recapped the power supply, replaced the thermal paste twice, and even swapped the hard drive. Turns out it was a bad NEC capacitor on the motherboard, which is a common issue. I found a guide on a UK repair forum and finally got it running again after 6 weeks of testing. Has anyone else spent way too long chasing a simple fix on an older console?

Got a free PS3 with a blinking red light - one capacitor swap later and it's running.

Pulled a CECH-2001A out of a dumpster last Wednesday, took a chance on replacing the NEC/Tokin caps for $8 in parts. Has anyone else scored a free console that just needed a simple fix like this?

Debate: is it worth reballing a PS4 GPU or just replace the whole board?

My launch PS4 died last month with the blue light of death. I spent 4 hours with a heat gun trying to reflow the solder joints and it worked for like 2 days before crashing again. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should buy a reballing stencil for $15 and try that or just swap the whole motherboard for $60 off eBay. Which way have you guys had better luck with long term?

Bought a used Xbox One from a pawn shop that looked like it had been through a war

I finally cracked it open last weekend after it kept crashing on Fallout 4 and found a literal cockroach nest inside near the power supply. After 2 hours of cleaning with compressed air and alcohol, it runs quieter than my Series S. Has anyone else found weird stuff inside a console they picked up cheap?

My PS4 fat finally bit the dust after 8 years

I was playing Red Dead Redemption 2 last night and the fan started sounding like a jet engine, then the whole thing just shut off and won't turn back on. I took it apart today and found a ton of dust caked on the heatsink but the thermal paste also looked completely dried out and cracked. Anyone know if replacing the paste and cleaning the fan is enough or could the power supply be fried too?

Question about my PS3 that took forever to fix

I picked up a used PS3 from a garage sale for 20 bucks (1970s model, the fat one). It would turn on for 2 seconds then click and shut off. I spent 3 whole days swapping thermal paste and checking capacitors. Turned out it was just the power supply fan stuck with dust, cost me nothing but time. Has anyone else chased a simple problem like that for way too long?

Realized I was using WAY too much thermal paste for 5 years straight

I was at a friend's place last month helping him re-paste his old PS4 Pro. He watched me put on this big pea sized blob and just goes "dude what are you doing." He showed me his method with a tiny X pattern using maybe a quarter of what I normally use. I laughed it off but then I checked my own PS4 that I had re-pasted 3 times over the years. Turns out I had paste squeezing out the sides of the CPU every single time. No wonder my fan always sounded like a jet engine. I swapped it out with the proper amount and my temps dropped by a good 12 degrees. Has anyone else been doing this wrong and only found out from a friend calling them out?

Shoutout to the guy who told me thermal paste isn't the only trick for hot Xbox Ones

I kept re-pasting my OG Xbox One every 6 months until I swapped the stock thermal pads for $8 Fujipoly ones and now it runs 12 degrees cooler on Forza, has anyone else noticed the factory pads are total garbage?

I finally repaired a PS4 by boiling the motherboard

I had a PS4 with the blue light of death sitting in my closet for 6 months. Read online about the APU underfill crack issue and how heat can reflow the solder balls. So I wrapped the board in foil, boiled it in a pot of water for 4 minutes, then let it dry for 2 days. Put it back together and it fired up first try with no issues. Who else has tried weird hacks like this for a dead console?

Snapped a screw head off inside my PS4 last night and fixed it with a rubber band

I was trying to swap the hard drive on my old launch model PS4 and one of the screws just would not budge. Used too much pressure and stripped the head completely, felt like such a fool. Tried a rubber band over the tip of my screwdriver and it actually caught the stripped metal just enough to turn it. After maybe 5 minutes of wiggling and pressing hard, that screw came loose without damaging the threading inside. Has anyone else found a weird household item that saved a console repair?

My friend swore thermal paste doesn't matter on old consoles and I proved him dead wrong

My buddy Dave told me any cheap thermal paste works fine for a 20 year old Xbox, so I slapped some generic white stuff on my 360 last month. Three weeks later the thing started shutting down during GTA V sessions because the GPU was hitting 85 degrees. I cracked it open again and the paste had already dried out and flaked off like old paint. Replaced it with some Arctic Silver I use on customer cars and the temps dropped 20 degrees overnight. Dave still insists I wasted money but my console runs quiet now even after 4 hour marathons. Has anyone else had random brand paste fail on them or did I just get a bad tube?

Turned down a free Xbox One last year because I thought repairs were too hard

My neighbor offered me his broken Xbox One for nothing. Told him no thanks because I figured soldering and trace repair was way beyond me. Then I watched a 20 minute video from a guy in Ohio who fixed the same issue with just a heat gun and some flux. Picked up that console from his garage the next day and had it running in about an hour. Has anyone else passed on a free console only to regret it later?