You’ve rented a game or movie from the local “box” and you start to play the game or watch the movie when your PS3 shuts down. Thinking it is just an abnormality you try to turn the PS3 back on, but just as the green light comes on, you see a quick flash of a yellow light and then it starts blinking red. Now what? The rented game or movie is stuck in the PS3. How are you going to get it out so you can return the disc and not start getting charged for everyday that you have it?
Well, there is good news for most of the PS3 models, but unfortunately not all PS3 models will allow you to eject the disc. I cannot state why some of the PS3 models will not allow you to eject the disc out of the drive and I have not been able to find any information to explain why some PS3 models will not allow the disc to eject. The models that will not allow you to eject the disc are the CECH-A01 and CECH-E01 PS3 models.
You can find the PS3 model information on the back of the PS3; the model number is located next to the serial number. If you find that your PS3 model is not one of the aforementioned models then you are in luck and you will/should be able to eject the stuck disc. You will need to first completely shut off the PS3 by turning off the console from the back. You should now have no lights on the front of the PS3; you are going to hold the “eject” indicator on the front of the PS3 and keep holding while you now turn the system on from the back of the console. You will keep holding the “eject” indicator on the front of the console which will kick on the fan louder than you normally hear the fan come on. In a few seconds after you hear the fan kick on you can stop holding the “eject” indicator and then you should see the “eject” blue light start flashing and in a couple of seconds the disc will start to eject allowing you to now take the disc back to the “box” you rented it from.
If you are one of many PS3 owners that have the A01 or E01 models you can try to find a walkthrough on disassembling the PS3 to physically remove the disc or you can find a local professionally licensed company that specializes on Video Game Console Repair to repair the PS3 for the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD), which once repaired, you will get your disc back. If you are not comfortable disassembling the PS3 or don’t have the tools necessary to take the PS3 apart and you are located in an area where there are companies that you can take it to, you may want to consider shipping the PS3 console to a professional company on the web.
By chance, if you decide to take on the task of removing the disc yourself from the PS3 console, you should be aware that the Blu Ray drive will need to be reset because it will think that there is still a disc in the drive when the console is repaired. It is worth noting this information to any company that you take your PS3 to or ship it to for the repair of the YLoD. I would also warn anyone attempting to remove the disc to go slow and do not force the Blu Ray drive open as you can cause permanent damage to the Blu Ray drive.
If it doesn’t work the first time, try it again, it works.
