When your playstation 3 breaks down and display the yellow light of death it can be very frustrating. You may have been planning to play the latest release with your mates or wanting to settle in for a movie with your partner. Either way you can't and it ticks you off. Never fear though you could have it working again in no time at all by just trying these five simple ylod fixes.

1. Obviously you could send your machine back to Sony for repair. If it is under warranty they will fix it for free, however if it isn't it can costing the region of $ 150 to fix. If you do decide to send it off then you can expect not to see your console for around six weeks. A majority of times the hard drive is wiped and you can lose all your game data, saves and other information.

If this doesn't sound like a good option for you then carry on Reading as I have a few more tricks for you to try out.

2. Dis-connect the console from the mains power supply and check that all cables are securely in place. Also check the condition of the cables. Once checked over turn the console back on.

3. Check your console see if it is unusually hot anywhere, overheating is a major cause of the yellow light of death. Take a peek at the vents on the side of the console to see if it is blocked with dust or something else. If there is clean the vent with a dry clean cloth. Also check the surrounding area to see if there is enough room around your ps3 to allow for good air circulation, not to close to lots of other equipment which all produces heat.

4. If you have had no success by now then you should try removing the hard drive from the playstation 3. Don't look so scared it is really a simple procedure. If you are not sure how to carry the procedure out then I suggest checking out the numerous tutorials online before you begin. Try this couple of times to solve the problem.

If you are still not enjoying a game of the latest call of duty at the moment it is probably something wrong with the motherboard. Stay with me though as I have one more suggestion for you.

5. Fix it yourself. Yes you read it right. It is possible to fix playstation problems including motherboard errors at home. While I don't suggest taking a couple of screwdrivers to your console without knowing what you are doing you should take a look at a playstation 3 repair guide. There is a really good one written by Rob Sheffield, he has been fixing ps3s for over four years and uses the same methods that Sony use, so he knows what he is doing. The guide itself is really easy to follow and the use of videos only make the task of repairing your game console that much easier. Good luck with whatever method you decide to fix your ps3 ylod.