APOCALYPS3 Averted! PS3 back online baby. o/

Garth wrote:Maybe it'll fix itself when the day is over?

You think they would properly test these updates/patches before they upload them.

Last edited by mokeyjoe on Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:26 am, edited 2 times in total.

Well this is what I understand so far.

It seems that the problem is the hardware system clock has got confused about whether there are 28 or 29 days in February this year and is returning a CORRUPT DATE or something to the OS, or at least it's returning 29/02/2010 which is non-existant. This means that whenever you turn the PS3 on the OS sets itself to 31/12/1999, or occasionally another random date.

This also means that any downloaded content, save game, or trophies (which I guess must be date stamped) are unable to work as the PS3 now can't reconcile a proper date (or at least sees one in the future), which it doesn't like. This also means that some disc games don't work - I guess they have config files and stuff saved to the HD.

This problem doesn't seem to affect PS3 slims, and a few fat PS3s, specifically some old 80gb backward compatible models I think.

Not turning on your PS3 today may stop the problem happening. It might not. Best not to anyway until Sony make a statement. It isn't relevant whether you are online or not as this is a problem with the internal clock of the PS3, not a network issue. Like the millennium bug a decade late.

With some luck the clock will move to 01/03/2010 tomorrow and all will be well. If not then hopefully the system clock is fixable via firmware - the firmware updater is working ok so that should be an easy fix. Even if not all the data on the hard disk should be intact so even if a replacement or fix is necessary then people won't have lost saves and stuff.

All the above is conjecture.

DangChris xD wrote:You think they would properly test these updates/patches before they upload them.

If I understand it correctly, the theory is that the issue has been caused by a problem with the internal clock in many pre-Slim PS3s - basically the hardware thinks this is the 29th of Feb rather than the 1st of March, and that's conflicting with a lot of PS3 software.
The date and time you see in the PS3 OS is offset from the internal clock, so even if you try to change the date via the PS3 OS, doing so won't change the internal clock's date. The internal clock runs on its own battery, so unplugging the console in an attempt to reset the internal clock won't work either.
The problem appeared worldwide at 12am GMT, there's a chance that when 24 hours have passed and the internal clock moves to the 1st of March, the affected PS3s will work properly again.

The issue affects offline consoles too, so if it's going to require a firmware update to fix it, that'll be a big problem for Sony.

Edit -that was quick:

where are my trophies. why won't heavy rain start. or uncharted.

Oh dear. I last played PS3 yesterday at 5pm.

Is it safe to turn it on today or not?

Sony is brilliant at hardware but awful at software and QA!

DeadFish wrote:Oh dear. I last played PS3 yesterday at 5pm.

Is it safe to turn it on today or not?

Sony is brilliant at hardware but awful at software and QA!

Funny that the fault is hardware-based then.

If this was a month later I'd think it was some kind of massive practical joke.

Oh dear.

I'm

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:
DeadFish wrote:Oh dear. I last played PS3 yesterday at 5pm.

Is it safe to turn it on today or not?

Sony is brilliant at hardware but awful at software and QA!

Funny that the fault is hardware-based then.

Ah ok thanks.

I need my Heavy Rain fix.

When is the safe time to turn it on?

Everyone READ THIS PLEASE.

Here's what's going on right now: something with the PS3's internal clock has borked in some pre-slim models. This is not a PSN issue; it has to do with your PS3's clock. This clock is NOT related to the OS clock. It seems to be a leap year bug. Setting your clock ahead will do nothing. All PS3s around the world were affected at the exact same time.

Does this affect me?

-If you have a Slim PS3, you're good to go. Continue playing it as normal.
-If you have a "fat" PS3, you may be affected. Some fat PS3s have worked ok, but it seems a good majority have been bugged.

What does this bug mean?

-If affected, your date and time has been set to a random past date. This prevents you from signing into PSN, playing any PSN games, or using any DLC. Your trophies will also not display correctly or be able to sync.

How do I fix it?

-You can't. Even if you don't sign into PSN, it won't help. This is a hardware issue.

So, what do I do?

-Wait 24 hours. Other products that have had similar bugs have corrected themselves after the "bugged" day. On Monday around 6pm central time, all PS3s will automatically correct themselves...maybe.

-If that doesn't work, we'll need a firmware update from Sony, which should be a pretty important priority for them right now.

Did I lose my data/themes/etc?

Your save data/games/dlc/themes are fine. They'll be fixed when the PS3 is fixed. Trophies are uncertain right now, but they'll be fine if you've synced them before the PS3 was bugged. Unsynced trophies are an unknown right now.

If I have a bugged PS3, can I still use it?

It's probably not a good idea, as I have no idea what will happen to the trophies you earn during the bugged time. Movies/media will work fine.

So there ya go, my handy FAQ.

From NeoGAF.

New Millennium bug? :lol:

Knew I'd get Slim last week!

Something Fishy

Isn't April fools next month?

Being serious though, I thought this'd be a piss take. Very wierd.

I suppose it's a good thing i won't be available for MAG/motorstorm mondays, are they going to be called off due to "bad weather"?

I'll boot it up tomorrow and see what happens.

I'd just started playing Afrika again

. I was really getting into it as well

.

Something Fishy

How will they fix this if people can't connect to PSN for an update?

Maybe it'll just work tomorrow?

I would assume the internal clock will just think its the 1st of March when tomorrow rolls around. The only problem will be the mismatch between the internal calendar and the XMB date.

I had my console on last night until about 12.30. It was signed out of PSN all that time, but I'm now too scared to switch it on and check.

My 80gb was fine this morning, the date was 1st March 2010. No problems at all. Although I am not connected to the net.

Trebell wrote:How will they fix this if people can't connect to PSN for an update?

Maybe it'll just work tomorrow?

Don't think you need PSN to update. PS3 logs you out of PSN before updating.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

So I'm not going to be able to switch this on AT ALL today?! I use it for my games/films/TV so I've got an evening in the dark ages :fp:

I'm lost for words at how :fp:

this is. I mean HOW is crap like this even possible in this day and age?

I can confirm this also affects devkits. :lol:

APOCALYPS3 Averted! PS3 back online baby. o/

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