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Fix for RLOD Brick on the PS3

Owners of the PlayStation 3 can modify the game console to perform tasks that Sony didn't build in, such as playing games from the hard drive or running alternate operating systems. Altering the PS3 can lead to an operation failure, which is signaled by a red screen appearing on the TV, called the red light of death (RLOD). To fix the PS3 so it will work again, a PS3 firmware downgrade file, made available by PS3 enthusiasts, is used. A digital calculator and a USB flash drive are also needed and can be purchased from an electronics store.

Things You'll Need

USB flash drive
USB cable, 3 feet
TI-84 Plus digital calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Insert the USB drive into a USB port on the computer. Download a PS3 firmware downgrade file to the desktop, for example, the 3.15 firmware file. Double-click the file once it is downloaded to decompress it to a folder. Double-click the folder so as to make its window open on the screen.
- 2
  Drag the "PS3UPDAT.PUP" file from inside the window onto the icon of the PS3 USB drive. Do nothing until after the "copy" window has appeared and disappeared. Double-click the "Lv2 diag_355..." folder that is inside the folder that was decompressed.
- 3
  Drag the "LV2diag" file out of the window that has appeared onto the icon of the PS3 USB drive. Do nothing until after the "copy" window has appeared and disappeared. Right-click the icon of the USB drive and select "Eject" from the pop-up menu. Remove the USB drive from the computer.
- 4
  Connect one end of a USB cable to the USB port on the TI-84 Plus digital calculator and the other end to a USB port on the front of the PS3. Turn on the calculator. Click the number "5" button on the calculator. Press the number "1" button. Press down on the rocker switch on the back of the PS3 to turn it off. Press up on the rocker switch to turn the PS3 on.
- 5
  Press the power switch on the front right edge of the PS3 for one second. Press the "Eject" switch to the left of the power switch for one second. Let the PS3 turn itself off before continuing.
- 6
  Insert the USB drive into one of the USB ports on the PS3. Press the power switch for one second to turn on the PS3. Leave the PS3 alone until it turns itself back off. Remove the USB drive. Plug the USB drive into a USB port once the desktop appears.
- 7
  Double-click the icon of the USB drive so that its window opens. Drag the contents inside the window to the recycle bin. Right-click the recycle bin and select "Delete."
- 8
  Drag the "LV2" file from inside the window of the decompressed folder onto the icon of the PS3 USB drive. Do nothing until after the "copy" window has appeared and disappeared. Shut down the computer. Remove the USB drive from the USB port.
- 9
  Plug the USB drive into one of the USB ports on the PS3. Press the power switch for one second to turn on the PS3. Do nothing until after the PS3 turns itself off. Remove the USB drive. Press the power switch for one second to turn on the PS3 so it can again be used normally.

PlayStation 3