Black Ops II Bug Crashes Old Fat PS3s, Restore Required

Call of Duty games are notoriously bug infested and crash prone, with the short development time of 2 years meaning that only a small amount of it is spent on polishing and bug testing. Plus, the fact that record breaking numbers of gamers play the titles religiously means that a problem that only affects a few percent of CoD players still affects a huge number of people. - PSLS

[Emilio_Estevez]

My wife had this happen with BO2, but she's got a slim.

[Crazyglues]

Yeah I had this problem twice already today... and I submitted the report to Sony, so hopefully they will see why this is happening and it will be fixed in an update..

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[MidnytRain]

Lol at the report system. I have sent what is probably hundreds of those reports as a result of browser crashes and it hardly runs better than it ever did.

[Dee_91]

happned to me when I try to get online.The restore isnt mandatory you can just press O.But you should have your stuff backed just incase something is indeed corrupt.I get that screen when the browser freeze (quite often might I add ) I just click O and so far evrything is going good.
BTW Bo2 is turning out to b my fav cod.Seems like they finally started listening :).

[Razmossis]

I've had 2 PS3s that have failed on me before. First was the YLOD, the other was the GLOD (no sound, no piture, no controller sync)... both times has been playing COD games.

[WalterWJR]

My browser has not crashed on 4.30, which is good considering before it would crash several times.

[dbjj12088]

That's insane. So not even new PS3 owners are safe from this?

[CerebralAssassin]

DOUBLE TRADE CREDIT FOR SYSTEMS BLACK FRIDAY AT GAMESTOP. GET AN XBOX!!

[sarshelyam]

@CerebralAssassin Yeah because trading one games software issue, for Microsoft's potential dozen hardware issues is certainly a logical move.

[NBT91]

You dont even need to restore the HDD, this happens to me every time I use the 4OD app, just push circle to ignore the message when it comes up.

[AzaziL]

I have a super slim and was going through these problems constantly on the first couple days. Yesterday though was the first day I didn't run into problems. Could be that I uninstalled all the Black Ops files (patch, hd textures, nuketown) and reinstalled them after a few crashes and havn't noticed as many problems since.

[JKelloggs]

Same with me, I've got the slim, done it quite a few times. Only had to do a HDD scan check

[Dark_Overlord]

Same with me yesterday, had this 4 times (but only during the MP) Zombies it hasn't happened once, so spending most of my time there for now.

[medziarz]

it's basically the game crashing while being in the middle of some HDD operations, that's why the scanning takes place, just like it did in windows when it used to use the FAT file system

[Persistantthug]

Why should anyone be surprised?

Same game, different year....basically.

[Relientk77]

Mines been crashing and I have the 120 GB version

[Foolsjoker]

It's good that there some fatties left in the wild, hopefully they stay strong.

[dbjj12088]

I wonder how many there are exactly, because this is a pretty heinous issue to have with you console so far into its lifecycle. Just shows how little ATVI cares about PS3.

[eferreira]

Still have my 80 gig upgraded to 500 gig fatty. A 20gb just after launch 360 and a launch wii. Both ps3 and wii lasers went on them. This is my fourth 360

[ab5olut10n]

still on my launch fattie, 500gb installed

[Anon1974]

Got two old fatties. My 60gb which I upgraded to 250GB right out of the box and my 40gb I picked up later for the upstairs TV (which now has the old 60gb drive in it). Both get almost daily use and have since I first bought them.

[ftwrthtx]

My launch 60 gigger is sitting in the closet retired. I had it reflowed and it lasted long enough to copy stuff to my slim. From what I hear, you can have the launch fatties rebuilt, with a newer power pack and new heat sink paste, and they are good as new. have yet to do this myself though.

[Wigriff]

I have a 60GB model as well. It is still going strong; I haven't had a single issue with it over the years. I thought about upgrading to a slim awhile back, since the slim will decode Dolby True HD and DTS HD, but at this point I'll just wait for a PS4.

[FunAndGun]

I still have my launch 20GB model. It was sent to Sony once for the blu-ray diode repair but has been good ever since. I don't know if they just fixed the diode or if they repasted it as well.

I do mainly use my slim now, but occasionally still use the OG. I am curious to see how long it lasts.

[Caffo01]

still have my launch 60gb PS3 with an upgraded 500gb hdd!!

[slaton24]

love my uncharted 1 160gb fatty....been upgraded to a 500gb now...but yeah sick of the freezing...cant wait until playstation all stars hits shelves

[esemce]

Sounds like the thermal paste on your CPU and GPU has dried up and is not conducting heat to the heatsinks (mayor cause of YLOD) clean of the old paste and apply some quality compound and it should fix it.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[slaton24]

esemce--its not that..blackops 2 is freezing it up...no other game causes it to freeze right now...its at a lobby than boom it will freeze alot of people are talking about it...but thanks for the info

[JonnyBigBoss]

This has been happening to my friend about twice a day. I saw it happen myself while we were co-oping Zombie mode.

EDIT: He has a slim.

[mail51]

it happens to me everytime http://www.youtube.com/user...

[TemplarDante]

Bobby Kotick!! stop counting that money and make a fix asap!

[stage88]

Happens when I play zombies which is a bit annoying. No doubt a patch will be along soon.

Still can't believe one of the richest game developers out there still can't code PS3 games. Thank God for ND.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

I have a slim PS3 but I still have my FAT PS2.

[DJ]

My slim PS3 does this too. 4 system crashes in one night is not fun

[bubblebeam]

Activision just can't be bothered giving the PS3 a good port. Thta's why I don't support them. Thought people would have learned by now.

I don't use my Phat PS3 for anything but backwards compatible games. It's in near perfect condition. It's strange, as people are reporting this is happening to their slim models. I have the 'original' slim, but what about the new super slims?

Details people.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

This may not be a popular comment but I think this, coupled with all the issues we have seen other major devs (like Bethesda constantly has had with the PS3) screams that Sony needs to make sure the architecture of the PS4 (Orbis) is not some crazy Sony architecture but something very similar to PC to ensure every dev has a much easier time developing for their next console.

[rainslacker]

Or perhaps said developers could test their products properly and not release them if they are not ready.

Seriously after 6 years and numerous releases on the system, there is no reason a console crashing bug should be in there. The fact that it's so prevalent means they had to know about it. The fact that Sony would allow it to go through certification and be released on their system just because it's COD and they don't want to delay it because of MS is just as disheartening.

Or better yet...given the track record of buggy releases on PS3 with those games you mentioned (and COD), people could stop supporting those developers on the PS3 and let the developers know why they stopped that support.

[Bladesfist]

Because if Treyarch said to activision, hey we are not going to release a cod this november activision will be like "Ok, thats fine" /s

I am sure the developers would love to have non buggy games, but the publishers want money and time is money.

[SAE]

The sound didnt work for me 3 times in zombies then the ps3 freeze , thats my only problem with it ..

Hope they fix it ..

[leonlion]

There is only one way to send Activision a message, TAKE YOUR GAME BACK TO THE STORE AND ASK FOR A REFUND!

[JackBNimble]

I don't know where you live , but where I am from the stores don't refund games, they will only exchange it for another copy unless the game is unopened.

I don't own the game yet... sounds like I had better wait for a fix... if that ever happens.

[leonlion]

in australia if a product doesnt work you can get a refund

[P_Bomb]

I've had that exact same message with other games and even sometimes when my web browser freezes and I have to do a hard reset. Not exclusive to Black Ops.

[Tundra]

That's one way to piss off your fanbase. Good job Activision.

[seinfan]

It's not like they care. The next CoD will probably break Blops 2's day one sales record.

[doctorstrange]

Yup. People are dumb.

[ambientFLIER]

Not to defend the yearly release of the COD franchise, but since when is a 2-year development cycle short? That's what Halo was and Gears of War and Killzone and Forza, and those games are solid.

[rainslacker]

Average game development time ranges from 18-30 months depending on the type of game. Can't really speak to COD, but if they continued to use the same engine there is no reason to have that many bugs this late into the cycle. If it was a new engine then they just didn't care to optimize because of deadlines...likely due to publisher pressure.

Most people don't realize that developers want to make a good game, but it's usually the publisher that says "get it out the door, fix it later"

[dfire1212]

My launch 60 gig just died...WTF,

[Relientk77]

Mine died with Black Ops 1, it was still in the system too, they had to send it back to me with the game disc

[EmperorDalek]

This happens to me all the time when the PS3 crashes. Just press cancel and spare yourself 5 minutes of waiting.

[Jac5al]

Crashes on all versions of the PS3.

[dfire1212]

No i mean the dreaded red blinking light.

[cee773]

I got one of these screens my web browser crashed ironically while visiting this site corrupted my HDD and I lost everything

you guys better have backups of your gamesaves and videos music and pics multiple crashes in the same day its inevitable before it crashes and corrupt your HDD

[LOOK_AT_THIS_I]

Happening to me on a slim as well. I just replaced the hdd with a 1tb about 2 weeks ago. This better not destroy my harddrive

[TemplarDante]

You guys, this is really a hdd problem, basically, a freeze happens, or the ps3 needs a hard reset. The HDD power is thus cut suddenly while in use.
Trust me.. its happend so many damn times in EA Server games (BF3 and Fifa) I know. Be warned..
Fifa did this once to my Phat, the HDD refused to fully rebuild (got corrupt) , I had no choice but to get a new HDD and restore data I backed up months before it happend.
If you are having this problem, I warn you now.
BACK UP DATA IN SYSTEM SETTING..
as in the even the Hdd gets corrupted and its unable to work and you are forced to format it, you can restore your backed up data.
I mean that. Its :( to lose months/years of progress.

[TheDivine]

Pfft. Uncharted 3 crashed my slim a few times, Me3 did a a few, and AC3 did twice so far also. Had to restore many times ps3's are buggy themselves.

[CanadianTurtle]

I think it's legitimate for Sony to sue Treyarch for breaking everyone's PS3s just because they can't develop properly with current technology.
Guilty as charged!

[XboxInnovation]

Time for Sony to bow out the console business and go into software only.

Sony would never sue Activision because cod is the reason ps3 is still alive. Can't bite the hand that feeds you

[stage88]

It seems you've got the manufacturers and consoles mixed up. If you changed Sony to Microsoft and ps3 to xbox you would have it right.

1. MS pushed out faulty hardware to get to market first meaning the vast majority of the first wave of xbox's died from RROD. And let's not mention how the 360, still to this day, scratches discs if the console it moved. Shoddy.

2. COD is 50% the reason why Xbox is still alive. With very few exclusives Cod and halo are the only games keeping it alive. Whereas PS3's AAA exclusives are teaming.

3. Embrace facts, it's good to be knowledgable.

[wlchrbandit]

Restore required? You realise when that message comes up all you have to to is press circle and the PS3 boots up as normal. It happens anytime your PS3 isn't shut down correctly.

[sazzrah]

Indeed... it's not even a 'restore' it's just checking to see if there is any damage to the system file structure. I guess no one actually reads the text that comes up?

It only 'restores' if it finds damage, which is rare... this message pops up any time the PS3 crashes whether it's the browser or a game that has locked up.

The problem here is clearly software not hardware. If people can happily play other games with no problems but then BlOps2 causes random switch off's then I think the culprit is clear.

[KingKevo]

However it is true indeed, that the fat PS3 is more likely to crash and to be damaged when turning it off incorrectly. I've (had) both consoles and had to restore the data on my fat two times until the HDD got corrupted :( Also to me it feels like the slim consoles are using a better version of the restorer, because you have to do an actual restore very rarely, like I don't even know anyone who did. The slim is much better at keeping the data save. But I also felt like one of the older updates did help the fat PS3 too and made it a lot less buggy.

But in the end you are right, it's all caused by the software and needs to be fixed, but the impact on your system may depend on what version of the console you are using.

[sazzrah]

@KingKevo - Yes, if a game is buggy like this; repeatedly causing crashes; switch offs; or the fans to go into overdrive (which a few people have mentioned) then I wouldn't put that thing in my PS3. You're asking for trouble!

A patch is needed, definitely... and quickly.

[BlueEye]

What do you expect in the first week? Of course shit like this might happen. Just wait a little and it will get fixed.

[sazzrah]

I think people expect (and rightly so) that the game would work as intended.

Don't let yourself fall into the mindset that it's ok for a game to be released riddled with not only game breaking but console breaking bugs if they just patch it a few weeks down the line. This should just never have happened and Activision, the biggest, richest publishing studio in the world should be embarrassed and ashamed that they put out such a mediocre product. The best way for us to do that is to keep posting complaints to popular gaming websites, complaining to their customer service and demanding action on every forum available to you.

[KingKevo]

So my game already froze like 4 or 5 times. Luckily I have a slim, because that screen does always pop up if you hard reset your console or force it to turn off, however with a slim you DON'T have to restore the HDD 99.9% of the time. I'm sorry for everyone who does have to do it and probably loses some data or has all his stuff like videos all over the place, I've been through that as well. I can only hope that they will fix it asap with the help of Sony. The only real concern that I have is that they weren't aware of the issue, which would mean they didn't do enough play testing (hard to believe right) or they just didn't tell the people to release it in time and have already been working on a patch. In any case, it doesn't make Treyarch look good and fair in how they treat the PS3.

[Lulz_Boat]

what a fail article.

the restore is required every times the PS3 crashes. LOL

[MonopolyRSV]

System restore? Big deal.