PS3 Issues with Frankenstein modded PS3s

psy1

psy1

PSX-Place Supporter
Hey,

About 1 year ago I purchased a PS3 with a Frankie mod from ComputerBooter.
(First thing I'll say; ComputerBooter is a great guy and I highly recommend!)

The modded PS3 came with a smallish issue that I only fully realized a year after getting the console. On certain PS3 games it freezes and shuts down. Not a huge deal but something I would like to fix if reasonably possible.
I was aware of the issue as soon as I got the console because it wouldn't play Tekken Tag 2 but because this was the only game I tested that was affected, I thought the problem was something else, like some of the settings on the PS3. I only became sure it wasn't a simple s problem but something more serious when I discovered multiple games were affected.

I've identified 3 games where it does this so far:
- Beyond: Two Souls
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
- Tekken Hybrid (specifically the demo of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on that disc.)
There's probably more games that force the system to shut down as well, but these are the ones I've discovered so far.

It shuts down in the same way for all 3 titles: It will usually play the intro cinematics fine until it gets into the game itself and then the system will switch off, with a red flashing light and three beeps. And to restart the system I have to switch the system on and off at the switch at the back of the console.
For instance, with Tekken Tag 2; it freezes and shuts down the console as soon as I enter a fight. Sometimes it happens even sooner than that. With Beyond: Two Souls most times it wont even go into the intro cinematics, just switches off a few seconds after the game is loaded.
Once the system has shut down in this way, on reboot it has to do a system file check.

I would like to know primarily if there's anyone else with a Frankie mod from Booter that can test these 3 games on their system to help me narrow down the problem. I've reached out to Booter and he doesn't have those games to test.
It's either A: a problem with my specific PS3 hardware. Or B; an issue with the Frankie mod.
If there's others with this mod and they are getting shutdowns. Then I can be sure it's to do with the mod.

I do have a few USB TTL adapters for SYSCON fault finding but I don't know if that would be of help here. But maybe that's an option further down the track? I'm hoping for the time being I could do some soft investigation on what's causing the PS3 to shutdown like it is.

Some information that may be useful:
- The RSX used for the mod is a "new-old stock" 40nm. The CECHA01 had the old 90nm RSX taken out.
- Those particular 3 titles are some of the most graphically intensive PS3 titles available. It could be a clue to what's going on.
- PS1 & PS2 titles all seem to be working correctly.
- The PS3 used for the mod was one that wasn't working/thrown away. So that could be an indication that there were undiagnosed pre-existing issues with the system that replacing the RSX did not fix.

I have also conducted some testing to help isolate the problem:
- I've verified that the problem is 100% hardware related; it's nothing to do with the software. I have two other CECHA01s running the exact same software/settings and they are playing those particular games fine. And for the same reason, it's nothing to do with the games themselves.
- I've switched out HDDs and there's no change; so it's nothing to do with the HDD.
- I've run the problematic games at different resolutions (1080p, 720p, 480p) but on all resolutions the games are shutting down the system.
- I've ramped up the fans and had the system running extremely cool while trying to play the games; the system was still shutting down.
 
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Please to retrieve your errorlog. You can use the ps3toolset.com to do it since the console still works-ish. I show how here if you need...


I dont have the physical discs of those games, but I can try an ISO and see if they work. In fact can you try that too rule out the bluray drive?
 
I have a B01 Booter did over a year ago and it's running fine. I only had Tekken tag tournament 2 on my PS3 and it was an iso. It told me the iso was corrupt and then quit. So that's most likely a conversion error on my part. Unfortunately I don't have those discs to try out. My suggestion is to:

A) gather syscon logs with help of felix's video
B) obtain fpkgs for the games and try installing them that way. There shouldn't be any moral/ethical issues here since you own the physical copies.

From just hearing what you described, it doesn't sound like a serious issue. It's not like it's happening to all ps3 games. If fkpg files load fine, id take a closer look at the condition of the game discs and/or the Blu-ray drive.
 
Thanks for having a look at this for me RIP Felix, you were the one who I was wanting to talk to as your one of the experts in the Frankie mods.

RIP-Felix said:
In fact can you try that too rule out the bluray drive?
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely that it's the Blu-ray drive, so unlikely that it's probably not worth the effort.
What Blu-ray drive problem causes the system to beep three times and shut down instantly?

RIP-Felix said:
Please to retrieve your errorlog.
Click to expand...
I'll have a look at the video, and get back to you in some time.
 
psy1 said:
What Blu-ray drive problem causes the system to beep three times and shut down instantly?
Click to expand...

Reports where BD caused YLOD and their associated errors:
  1. CECHE01 with A0801001 errors caused by bad laser. Replaced to solved the issue.
  2. CECHE01 with 80010514 error when attempting to play ps3 discs. SYSCON Errorlog contained A0801001, A0801004, and A0902203 (not necessarily all related. these are associative).
  3. CECHG01 with A0801001, A0801701, A08014FF, A0093003/A0091103 SYSCON errorlogs. Replaced the bluray drive entirely and it's been working fine since. Note, the A0093003/A0091103 error combo is from the BD Drive Power connector shorting out and the he noted flipping the switch on the back of the console while an app was opening (froze) created the 1001/14FF.
 
Ok tried beyond: two souls and played through the experiment NP. Played a few matches in tekken tag tournement 2 NP either. This is on my 65nm frankie. Both digital, not disc. So I can confirm it's not some kind of systemic thing common to the mod.
 
Hello I had a cecha01 in the past do this exact same issue you had, some graphically intensive games just made it shutdown just like yours is doing, red light flashing and beeps.

My fix was swapping the power supply with a cechc02 i had lying around and the issue never popped up again. The game I remember that did make the system shutdown alot was hitman absolution, I know other games did this but I can't remember them as it was 10 years ago so way before all the advancements in Frankenstein replacements, diagnostics etc.
 
I was kind of joking about Felix being the only one that could help. Although he does have a crap-ton of data relating to syscon errors. Just thought it was funny that I offered a solution and you basically told me I was wrong and only wanted felix's help lol. If it was happening to me I'd do the easier stuff first. Change HDD, reinstall firmware, revert back to ofw (if running cfw), restore system, use a different version of disc and then id swap Blu-ray drive. This isn't happening on every game so If I had to guess I'd say it's either software related or has to do with your discs/Blu-ray drive.
 
Hey Felix,

Here is the error log.
Note: The dates on the error log seem strange but maybe that's normal?

https://imgur.com/a/587aGS0

"Did booter replace the tokins in that console?"

This is one he done on stream. I should be able to locate which stream it was and get back to you with the info.
 
Whenever I see 1001 it's usually improper shutdowns. It could be cell tokens as well. Back then, Booter didn't replace tokens on every Franky like he does now. It might not hurt to replace the tokens on the cell side.
 
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Sorry about the late follow-up to this. Christmas coming up has been taking up all my time. :(

RIP-Felix said:
Did booter replace the tokins in that console? This behavior is possable if they are going bad. Once we see syscon errorlog it'll be easier to help.
Click to expand...
Here's the link to the stream that day Booter worked on my PS3:
Starts at about the 5 hour mark and ends at the 6 hour mark. You were actually in that stream.
In that stream he opens it up and decides to Franky it.
The section where he actually does the Franky job is not on stream, but the next morning he pulls it out:
Ends at about 2 hours and 30 minutes into the video.
I had a long discussion with Booter about it and he is unsure but I think he did not replace the tokins. From the video in the 2nd YouTube stream, the tokins look original.

If the problem turns out to be the tokins, I could easly get Ace to do the job. :)

EDIT TO ADD: There was a video Booter made on the 20th (in between those two vids) and I'm pretty sure it's the one where he did the actual franky mod on my console. In it he says "one tokin looks to be concave, maybe I should replace the tokins?" But, he never ended up doing it.
Could be a good indication that the tokins need to be replaced. From all this information, I'm like 99% sure the tokins were not replaced in my unit. There's no real need to open it up and have a visual inspection.

RIP-Felix said:
In fact can you try that too rule out the bluray drive?
Click to expand...
I got the physical copy of PS3 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and used it to rule out the Blu-ray drive. The system was still crashing.
Have messaged you.

luvbuckets said:
Back then, Booter didn't replace tokens on every Franky like he does now. It might not hurt to replace the tokens on the cell side.
Click to expand...
If I recall, at the time, he didn't replace them because he thought it might do more harm than good. (If it works why fix it?)
If it turns out to be tokens that are the problem with my unit (doubt it) then replacing the tokens on every Franky is probably a good idea.
 
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It would be my opinion the CPU tokins need replaced. Frank seems to be holding up, so hopefully that'll be the last you need to do for a long time. May as well replace all of them while your at it. If a few wore out, the the same temps conditions existed for the rest and would have aged them as well. While they could have life left there's no point. Replece em all and just get it done.
 
RIP-Felix said:
It would be my opinion the CPU tokins need replaced.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your help Felix with diagnosis which was correct. I see from your video that the error code that I had (1001) is often related to a problem with a tokin near the CELL.

Ace replaced the tokins today with his branded "TantalACErs" and it fixed the problem. :quartet:
 
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A further note:

I'm pretty sure the original problem with the tokins was also affecting PS2 games.
The PS2 game Tomb Raider - Underworld [SLUS-21858] wasn't working properly on my PS3.
Because other people had reported having issues with this game, I originally thought it was just a backwards compatible problem which all PS3s had.
It was freezing and had what appeared to be graphical glitches.
After I got the tokins replaced, I played Tomb Raider for about 30 minutes and it wasn't showing any signs of problems.
 
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