PS2 problem

[town73]

In recent weeks my PS2 has developed a problem, in that I think the laser head has become dirty. When I turn it on, as the game is loading, it starts to make this loud, grinding noise.

I'm playing San Andreas at the moment and it's very annoying in between saving and new missions, etc. I think that the noise is because of a dirty head because now and again I get a message saying that there is a problem reading the disc.

I was wondering if anyone has encountered the same problem and if there is a particular cleaner that I need to use?

[Ruairi]

nah, your laser deely's failing.. a common problem in ps2's... in fact the head of nintendo, Satoru Iwata, once accused sony of deliberatly manufacturing PS2s so that they'd fail after 2-3 years, so people would buy another one. strange yet true.

anyway my ps2's been on the way out for a while, think i'm gonna get me a slimline one, they look cool..

[town73]

bstrds! cheers for that. i'll have to suffer on.

[holidaysong]

Same thing happened me with the original playstation, banjaxed after 2yrs guy in Xtra vision told me that just happened them after a while..

[4tothefloor]

Got me a slimline one, they're the business.......I would also accuse Sony of making the Playstations bulkier than they need to make them, in order to be able to produce a slimline version later on. The slimline version usually comes on stream after 2\3 years, just as the lenses are failing on the original machines. Convenient or what? No flies on those boys at Sony!

[town73]

I think I'll wait for the new PS3 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4242447.stm)

[piratemousey]

my uncle had the playstation (orig) and after a while the sides,where the air comes in and out started to clog up with dirt.
could it be that on youre p.s. 2?

[carrickharp]

My PS2 RIP last night :(

[piratemousey]

by god....
im sorry to hear

[carrickharp]

So I take it there is no chance of getting my PS2 repaired anywhere?

[tetsujin1979]

Smyth's toy stores used to do a deal on the PS that if you brought in a broken one you could a new one on the cheap (think it was 50 Irish or so) Ring them and see what that story is

[SÓC]

Satoru Iwata

I bet you didnt even have to look up that, you knew the name off the top of your head......NERRRRDDD

[Ruairi]

I bet you didnt even have to look up that, you knew the name off the top of your head......NERRRRDDD

easy to see how i failed college when the name of the president of nintendo and other such crap fills my head....

[Closed Account 2]

Try this to fix it:-

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ps2.ars/1

[town73]

It's certainly the solution to my problem, but I'll have to take out the screwdrivers and give it a go. cfdh_edmundo, have you tried this?

[Closed Account 2]

No i havent, but i have taken the cover off (to examine a special piece of hardware that has been placed in my Playstation 2), taking the cover off is fairly easy, just do it slowley coz the ribbon (of wires) from the on/off switch to the power supply is tight and easy to rip if you move quickly. I know a few people who have done it (the whole process) and apparently its fairly easy to follow just give yourself an hour or so, and take digital photos (if you can) so you know what went where.

If the PS2 no longer works then my advice would be to just try doing it yourself. If the PS2 works (but badly) then I would suggest purchasing the following:-

A Sony Network Adaptor (to plug a Hard Disk into the PS2)
A Compatable Hard Disk (it doesnt have to be Sony, I use a Maxtor)
The HDAdvance program.

With these set up correctly you can install most PS2 games onto a hard disk and run it off that (which means less wear and tear on the PS2 laser). By the way all of this is legal, provided you purchase the HD Advance CD and legally own the games you put on the hard disk.

[town73]

As suggested by tetsujin1979, I pegged off an email to Smyths Toys and got the following reply:

"first of all you need to find your receipt for the ps2. if the receipt is less than a year old then you wont have to pay costs ,if in fact it is out of warranty you will be liable for a fee of 83 euros and you will receive a refurbished ps2 from sony there and then at the counter. i would suggest contacting the outlet you purchased it in and they will be able to talk you through any further questions you may have."

For the sake of €83 and a lot of potential hassle, I might go that route.

[carrickharp]

I've printed out the details from the above website and am going to attempt the repair over the weekend. I will be either :) or :mad: on Monday morning in replying to this thread.

[tetsujin1979]

As suggested by tetsujin1979
Glad to help mate

[carrickharp]

Wooo Hoooo back in action again I will explain later as to how I fixed it(a bit diffrent from the instructions in the site above), feck Sony I was going to dump my PS2 and buy a new one.

[town73]

Wooo Hoooo back in action again I will explain later as to how I fixed it(a bit diffrent from the instructions in the site above), feck Sony I was going to dump my PS2 and buy a new one.

Please do. Was going to dump mine this weekend.

[carrickharp]

Right very busy here today so here is a quick run down on how I got mine working. Print out the details on the above web site and make sure you have the required tools.

Once you have the cover removed if like me the inside is different don’t panic. Follow the instructions up to the point that you hook up the PS2 as to open the tray clean out the system of all dust etc. At the back of the system you will see a small plastic white wheel (the kind you would see in a clock).

What worked for me was to adjust the wheel 5 or 6 clicks anti clockwise maybe it was just first time lucky for me but give that a go.

[Closed Account 2]

Glad to hear it worked, you might need to do it every other month or so, but it should be ok if its cleaned. It is worth buying the HD-Loader / HD-Advance if you can get a cheap Hard Disk from somewhere, as you can back up your games onto the Hard Disk and then your laser is never used (it also reduces loading times too).

[carrickharp]

:mad: On the blink again :mad:

[town73]

:mad: On the blink again :mad:

I'm still suffering on with my noisy bstrd :mad:

So does this mean that the repair doesn't work, or can you do some more tweaking to get back working again??

[Closed Account 2]

did you just move the wheel or did you clean the laser bulb with ethanol/alcohol solution ?

[anto1208]

its just a dirty laser open it up take the top of the cd drive give the laser a wipe very lightly with the corner of a bit of tissue , hover out all the vents etc from dust put the lid back on and it works fine , its not a big job you cant break it by doing this as its only a cover you remove ( the cd drive is inside the outher box you need to open that 2 ) mine was out of action for months till i did this it now works better than ever its the dust that slows it down and makes it make a noise .