PS2 problems

[Edaarin]

Been having some problems with my PS2 recently. For some reason, it's only playing silver back DVD's and games. So, pretty much all PS1 games won't run on it, and a number of PS2 games either load really slowly or take several attempts.

It's starting to get on my damn nerves. Anyone else ever had a similar problem?

[Mistomeer]

Clean the laser.

[Kainen]

Do those CD laser cleaners you buy for your CD players work on PS2s?

[Tsa`ah]

It's the same same thing. Just a soft polishing surface attached to a disk that polishes the optics.

Aside from that, I don't know what to tell you. I haven't purchased a game console since the Super NES, unless you count the classic games on the joystick dealies.

[Divinity]

I had this same problem too. Is it the older PS2 or the new one?

Thing is, when I got it taken in to get it looked at, they said that the older PS2's have problems with the loading trays. So I tried cleaning the lense and all that crap, and it didn't work. That's why the new "slimmer" PS2 was released.

If you start hearing noises or grinding when it's trying to read the cd, or the cd loads a bit and skips or the PS2 just won't read it.. then that's your problem. It's not worth fixing it either, just buy a new PS2 or a used one.

Problems like this have also occured about a year or two of ownership.

[Hulkein]

The original playstation 2's burn out relatively fast, or so I've been told.

I got mine the Christmas it came out and it died a few years later. I didn't play it all that often, either.

[Nakiro]

I've got the same problem.

[Divinity]

Yep, it was the same problem I had. Had to replace it.

[Azul]

That's why you don't buy the first batch of electronics, You never know what's wrong with them. To fix your problem you can google your problem. That's what I did when someone put two disc in my ps2 at the sametime and it wouldn't open.

[Mistomeer]

On the older PS2's, it's fairly easy to take them apart and clean them. This will fix your problem, for the time being. Eventually it will go back to not reading the blue-backed discs, and you'll have to repeat the process. There's tons of guides on the net that tell you how to take it apart, clean it, etc. So you can take it apart every few months and clean it, or you can buy a new one.

[theotherjohn]

Originally posted by Edaarin
Anyone else ever had a similar problem?

yes.

It is easy to take apart and clean but the problem seems to return faster. I would continue to fix it a few more times till it pissed me off then buy a new one

I went thru 2 ps2s while deployed. Iraq and Kuwait is hell on a system being used for games and movies.

I have no idea how many my unit went through. It is a interesting question to me

[Wezas]

I'm on my second PS2. Bought my first one the day it came out, it lasted up until about a year ago. I bought another one (before the slim ones came out) and it's working just fine. I had it modded, added a 120gb HDD and joined Blockbuster's Gamepass to rent the games, burn em, and then grab the next one.

Though currently all I play is Gran Turismo 4.

[DeV]

Originally posted by Wezas
Though currently all I play is Gran Turismo 4. I finally got a chance to play this game over the weekend. Awesome.

I had similar problems before passing my PS2 down the line to my brother to use in his dorm and it eventually crapped out after having numerous problems with loading games. He eventually had to get a new one which seems to be fine after 2 years of use.

[Divinity]

Originally posted by Azul
That's why you don't buy the first batch of electronics, You never know what's wrong with them. To fix your problem you can google your problem. That's what I did when someone put two disc in my ps2 at the sametime and it wouldn't open.

Well uhh, I don't know about Edaarin, but I didn't buy the first batch. I waited about a year after all the hoopla and bought it when they lowered the price.

Still had the problems though.

So I bought the slimmer ps2 and found out it's not compatible with the hard drive. So I bought the used one and use it for only playing ffxi. No problems cause I don't use the loading tray.

[Divinity]

Also, you can always do what my friend did, Edaarin. Just hit the top of the ps2 everytime it screws up. That gave him another month of playing. :lol:

[Jolena]

My son has the same issue with his PS2. He has an older version, (ugh those big black clunky consoles) and now, after 2 years, it won't play DVD's at all and sometimes has issues loading some PS2 games. Although for the most part, as long as he's just playing a game on it, it works fine, just not with the DVD's. I'm considering whether or not I should get him a newer slim PS2, another old version or wait until the new PS comes out (if it hasn't already, I certainly don't keep up with that stuff) and buy it for him during the summer.

[Wezas]

Originally posted by Jolena
I'm considering whether or not I should get him a newer slim PS2, another old version or wait until the new PS comes out (if it hasn't already, I certainly don't keep up with that stuff) and buy it for him during the summer.

PSP (Playstation portable, widescreen, yummy) comes out later this month.

PS3 won't be out (est.) until next year.

[Sean of the Thread]

I had the same problem. I took the cover off (shitload of screws) and first cleaned the laser which sorta helped. I did some research and there is a white knob that adjusts the height of the laser. I tweaked it a little and now it loads everytime and plays all my different disks.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ps2.ars

[Divinity]

Yeah, and that things breaks very easily. That could be what you're looking for Edaarin, worth a try.

Yeah, I know all about this problem.

What happens is the lens burns out quickly. Playing a movie or leaving it on for extended amounts of time will kill your lense. It really is a problem with the older PS2's, but even if you replace your lense there is a good chance of it happening again. Your best is the following:

1. Get a newer PS2
2. Get the lense replaced and never really play movies on it
3. Don't play anything with black CDs.

It really sucks, but that is what the problem is.

- Arkans

[Jolena]

Yeah see! I told my son. :grumble: He plays DVD's at night to sleep to on his PS2 and then it sits at the beginning of the movie all night long while he's crashed. I'm sure he's messed something up somehow. Just odd to me that it will play PS2 games but not DVD's. If the laser is out, you'd think it would affect all disks he puts in. I think I will go with the PSP or a newer PS2. I need to look up some more info on the PSP however.

That'll cause it Jolena. I've seen countless PS2s get fucked up that way including mine. They may have the ability to play DVDs, I sure as hell wouldn't rely them to do it.

The thing is, it's less of the laser and more of the lense that is fucked up. The laser, itself, is working just fine, but for some reason the lens gets burned out and it loses its ability to read certain discs!

- Arkans

[Kitsun]

What you're experiencing with the PS2 is a Disk Read Error from the sound of it.

http://faqs.ign.com/articles/490/490324p1.html

There's a FAQ for it on the IGN boards.

You can ship your PS2 to Sony, and they will fix it free of charge.

[Divinity]

Yeah, you can ship it and get it fixed if it's still under warranty. Otherwise, it's going to be a hefty bill.

[Kitsun]

No, no warranty needed to fix a DRE. I meant it when I said free!

All the necessary info is inside the link to the FAQ.

[Edaarin]

Thanks everyone.

I ended up deciding I don't play it enough to go through the trouble of cleaning it out, so I gave it to someone else to use as a DVD player. Probably won't buy a new one just because the only reason I'd play it now is because I have nothing to do for the next 4 or 5 days.

[SnatchWrangler]

The method on the internet where people wrote guides on how to fix it by "adjusting the white knob/gear to change the angle of the laser" is an utter load of crap. That white plastic gear just opens and closes the tray, and it resets itself.

Cleaning the lens with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol worked like a charm for me for a couple weeks, but the problem soon reappeared. Like Kitsun said, if anyone has this severe problem, call Sony and send it back. Even if you did take it apart and break the warranty seal, tell them you haven't opened it up, they'll tell you where to send it anyway, and they'll still fix the disk read error.

I, like Ed, just don't play it enough to go through the trouble to ship it out for 6 weeks.

[Alarke]

I didnt read through all this, so if it's been answered, im sorry. When I had this problem i used rubbing alchohal on the laser with a cotton ball and it fixed it completely.