I bought a fat 60 gbPS3 from ebay with a 100 gb hard drive installed, and received it about a month ago. I never actually used it because I'm saving up for a new LCD TV and it was a cheap auction so I thought I'd buy it early. It's been sitting next to my computer since then.
I'm not sure if I remember this right, but when I received it, I "think" I might have tried turning it on (no monitor), and I think it was running fine with a green light, so I pressed the button again to turn it off. Since then, the power switch at the back has been off and I have not tried turning it on again.
So I tried it again today, and it turns on, the light goes yellow and red immediately and beeps 3 times. I also hear the fan start and stop, and I find out I have the dreaded ylod.
Warranty sticker is still intact so I don't really want to open it. I'm thinking the cause of the ylod may be the dust the PS3 has been collecting from sitting next to the computer, but I felt around there just now, and the computer is not actually blowing any dust or air onto the PS3. Also, the air inside the computer case is relatively cool so I don't think heat would be a problem. I can't do the fan test because its a 60gb model, and I tried vacuuming the PS3, but that doesn't help either.
Then again, I have no experience on this matter, so I hope somebody can advise me on what to do.
It might be a bug...the living, biological kind. I've had that with electronics that have been left in the garage in good shape, only to be killed by a spider or something. There are fewer bugs inside, but will get into the cleanest houses from time to time. Usually, it is just a matter of cleaning any muck off the board, pulling the battery for a few minutes, and reassembling.
Don't worry about breaking that sticker...the warranty is ancient history by now.
