I figured that my data on the hard drive would be lost. But there isn't anything keeping me from backing it up to an external (except the copy-protected stuff) and copying back on to the slim, correct?

During my research on defective PS3s, I have also come across a recurring theory that the 'cooling material' that coats the motherboard on phat systems slowly melts away during use and that most phat PS3's will eventually stop working between two and five years from their manufacture date.

Does the slim model have a better track record when it comes to problems?

And does the Slim use the exact same hard drive? And if I were to put my hard drive into the slim, would it be able to read everything that is on it?

That is a good question. The Customer Service Rep did not say, but I think it is new. The backwards compatibility removal is not that important to me but the lack of USB ports would make Rock Band 3 a pain :P

I have just been told by Sony that in order to fix my Playstation 3, I will have to pay another $150. This is the second time my PS3 has malfunctioned (first time was yellow light of death and this time it flashes red at startup). t was well-ventilated and very well-treated.

Now let me state that I have been a loyal Sony customer for over a decade now, owning a PS1, PS2, and now a PS3. I have never owned a competitor's console. But this stingy one year warranty by Sony is single-handedly crumbling my faith in Sony. I can't pay the cost of a new Playstation every three years. It's great that the PSN is free but doing the math out I am paying $70 a year in repair costs, more than an entire year of Xbox Live. And taking into account Sony's visionary "ten-year lifecycle" I will be completely out of money by the end of this generation.

I also believe that Sony is not being completely honest about how frequently Playstation 3's fail. I remember reading a number they released that hovered around 0.5% and I just can't believe this is true. I read about dozens of people yesterday (and only searched for ten minutes) who have the exact same problem as me with the flashing red light or the yellow light of death. But their plea for help is only returned with "troll" or "liar" or "your console is one in a billion."

So I am at a crossroads and unsure what my next move should be. I really don't want to pay another $150 and not even know if one year and a month from now, the PS3 will break again. My hat is off to the Xbox 360 because though close to one in three break, Microsoft honors their three year warranty without question. I just wish Sony would offer the same plan to their customers before they start losing them.

I guess the point of this post is a combination of things. If anyone has any cheaper alternatives, please let me know. Sony did offer an upgrade to the slim system for $120, but I am unsure if the slim is actually better than the near-launch fat model I own (does the slim have 4 usb ports?). My other point is to give people the benefit of the doubt when they say that their PS3 is broken, because it happens more than you might think.

Thank you for any comments or feedback.