neocheddar02

Hey all, long story short, my Playstation 2 turns on and plays blue-sided PS2 games, but not DVD-based games, or for that matter, DVDs. Is it possible a laser cleaner or something else will fix this problem or is my PS2 doomed?

BTW, it's an older PS2, not the newer, slim one. Thanks in advance for any help!

dom56

Look liked your PS2 got the dreaded DRE (Disc Read Error). I had the older model like your and have the same problem. I tried taking it to the shop and have it fixed but the guy told me it's would cost too much money and not worth repairing. He suggest I just get the newer model which I did and have no problem with the slim PS2 for almost two years now.

darkside

Pretty common with the old model, I went through it several times. Of course despite everyone saying the slim is much better I keep getting snakebit with those as well. Just bought a new slimline two months ago and now my games are freezing up on it. Sometimes the game will freeze and sometimes when it starts to load something everything will go black. I lost about an hours worth of Dragon Quest VIII last night and its happened on Katamari and Wild Arms 4 as well. I'm using the vertical stand so heat isn't the issue. I'm going to try using it horizontal and see if it makes a difference, but its looking like this one will have to be sent off for repairs. I made sure to hold on to the receipt this time.

eau

Maybe your PS2 collected too much dust inside and needs a good clean now.

The following has a step-by-step guide to disassemble your PS2 and clean the lens.

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

neocheddar02

I'm going to try to the step by step guide-thanks for tip eau
And thanks to everyone else for the tips-I might have to get a slimline if the tutorial doesn't work, since it's not too expensive these days.

eau

You're welcome. When you disassemble the PS2, DO NOT look over the laser lens when it is turned on. It's a class 1 laser and can blind you.

Anyway, I got the PStwo (slim PS2) and love it. The only problem is that it does not have the HDD option and therefore can't play the Final Fantasy XI series

Doeman

Talking from experience, taking the PS2 apart to fix is a absolute horror show. I followed the step by step instructions to take it apart, adjust the lense and re-assemble, great instructions but unfortunately you don't know if you fixed the problem until you re-assemble it! I had pieces everywhere and I ended up throwing the mess right in the trash. Trust me on this one, this is very DIFFICULT operation to perform, regardless how easy they say it is..

PixyJunket

Yeah, I've worked on several PS2s, their insides are a total NIGHTMARE. I swear they are designed to fall to pieces upon opening. Ironically, mine finally started to have an issue, the reset and eject buttons are no longer working properly! I'm just dealing with it right now because I'd rather not take it apart again.

neocheddar02

I just starting taking it apart but need a smaller screwdriver. And, yeah, it does just implode on itself, at least 3 or 4 pieces came undone. It's a hassle, hopefully it'll work.
I'll just pick up the slim PS2 if this doesn't work.