You know the old saying that the day after the warranty runs out is the day your car will break down? Well it turns out to be true for the Sony PlayStation 3 also. Thousands of customers have happily played away on the PS3s for a year or so, with all seemingly well in the world, until a few days, weeks or months after the 1 year warranty expires, they are suddenly hit with the blinking yellow light that so many PS3 owners have be hit with that its come to be called the PS3 yellow light of death.

Once your console starts flashing that mocking yellow light, it’s game over for you until you get the problem fixed. Sony will be happy to take care of it for you, in exchange of course for a good chunk of cash and possession of your PS3 for up to 6 weeks. They’ll also give you the opportunity to purchase a refurbished unit at a special customer only discount rate. But why should you have to choose one of those options? After all, you paid premium price for your unit and the PS3 yellow light of death was never mentioned in the brochure.

If you’re like me, you’ll kindly thank Sony for their generous offer and then promptly take matters into your own hands. The problem is that you haven’t got a clue where to begin. Fortunately there are guides available online that will walk you through the diagnostic process step by step and then explain how to repair any problem you find along the way. Just because the PS3 stops working doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fried. It’s usually just a minor problem causing a big headache. With the right guide, you can put out the PS3 yellow light of death and get your game back on, no thanks to Sony.