Dealing w/ PlayStation 2 Disc Read Errors?

Habitual submits this tidbit: "Ars Technica has a guide on how to essentially re-align your busted PS2 laser. The fix is meant to eliminate the Disc Read Error that tends to appear as our beloved PS2s age. The procedure isn't for the faint of heart, but it does work."

Comments

Major Problem?

[Gothic_Walrus]

From what I've heard, PS2 machines are very unreliable. I've had more than a few friends complain about their PS2s not working properly, and I've heard tales of machines that have been sent back to Sony four or five times without any resolution to the problem. Supposedly, the systems have a high return rate because they just don't work like they should. This sounds like a design issue to me.

My suggestion: get the XBox or Cube as they seem to be much more durable than the PS2. And if all else fails...

...get the only current system that physically can't have a disc read error: the Game Boy Advance.

Re:Major Problem?

[ivan256]

Sell 20 million of something and find out how many problems get reported on the internet. Seriously, if the failure rate is .1% you are still going to have a lot of angry forum posts.

They have a high return rate, because they have a high sale rate.

(For the record, my PS2 for launch day is still working. I'm on cube #3)

Re:Major Problem?

[pr0c]

I can second that.. of all the people I know who have owned a ps2 (measly 20), more than half complain they dont' work properly or dont' work at all! Some say that it won't read DVD discs of any kind and they can only play psx games and others complain that its unreliable. I can't remember anyone complaining about xbox or gamecube for hardware issues.

Re:Major Problem?

[jvmatthe]

(For the record, my PS2 for launch day is still working. I'm on cube #3)

Count me in the list of "launch day" PS2 owners with a working system. No problems and I've toted it all over the town to visit with friends and across several states to visit the in-laws. If anyone cares, I use my standing upright. I wonder how much that matters. My Cube is holding up so far. Haven't heard about nearly as many problems from the Cubes...you're the first.

Re:Major Problem?

[dstyle5]

I don't have a PS2, but I have friends with PS2s who have the disc read error. My cube is a launch day cube, no problems so far. Friends with cube also have no problems.

Sony does have a sketchy history with consoles though. My old roommate had a first run Playstation that eventually had to be stood on its side to work properly, otherwise it would overheat and games would start to skip.

Re:Major Problem?

[waffle zero]

For the record, my PS2 for launch day is still working. I'm on cube #3

Why? Did your GameCube get stolen a couple times?

Though seriously, I have known of a couple launch GameCubes that had disc read problems. And all of them were within the year long warranty provided by Nintendo. All you have to do is call their support number, do some mild troubleshooting and they'll schedule a FedEx pickup at your home at their expense. Their turn around time on repairs is usually a week or two.

Re:Major Problem?

[NanoGator]

"They have a high return rate, because they have a high sale rate."

If the original Playstation is any indication, that is simply not true in this case. I'll never forget the first christmas those things were out. 1 in 4 of them were returned within 90 days. 1 in 4. We sold 4, one came back. That's not "well it's only a problem because alot were sold", that's a 25% defect rate. Sony sold a crappy product, and lots of kids had disappointing christmases. (It is for this reason I have made a personal decision to not own a PS2.)

What I said has absolutely no bearing on what's happening with the PS2 here. However, I would caution you against simplifying it down to just high sales. Something is seriously defective if normal everyday use results in the same problem for many people.

Frankly, I'm shocked that people are so forgiving about it. Depending on when you hop into the cycle, you could lose anywhere from $150 to $300.

Re:Major Problem?

[NanoGator]

"Sony does have a sketchy history with consoles though."

After having a peek inside both the PS2 and the GameCube, it's not so surprising the PS2 occasionally has problems.

Re:Major Problem?

[JAYOYAYOYAYO]

whoa. i'm in the exact same boat as you, my original ps2 is in fine working condition, and i'm on my third gcn. its a shame because i really enjoy nintendo games. what were the problems with your cubes?

Re:Major Problem?

[bmorton]

Hrmm. If you only sold 4, I can see some problems making this sort've judgment...

If (let's say) 1 out of every 10,000 was defective and you sold 4 out of those 10,000 shipped to your area, then the defect rate is very much not 25%.

4 is a very small sampling.

However, I don't know how often they actually were defective. I'm just presenting this for arguments sake.

-B

Re:Major Problem?

[NanoGator]

"Hrmm. If you only sold 4, I can see some problems making this sort've judgment..."

My post was written really badly.

Here's what I originally said:

" I'll never forget the first christmas those things were out. 1 in 4 of them were returned within 90 days. 1 in 4. We sold 4, one came back."

Given the chance to fix it, I'd say: " I'll never forget the first christmas those things were out. 1 of every 4 of them were returned within 90 days. 1 out of every 4. If we sold 4 in one day, we knew one wouldcame back."

I had the right idea in mind but I was in such a hurry I didn't realize the implication of what I had originally said. Sorry about that.

What it boiled down to was our store was shipped 100 PS's, almost 25 of them would end up in the back ready to be shipped back to HQ. They were defective. We offered a one year warranty on the machines, most people bought it, so we had a pretty good sampling of how many were defective.

It wasn't just our store, either. Whenever I visited other stores, I noticed there was always a stack of PS's in the corner waiting to go back.

Frankly, it was just not worth owning a PS without the warranty. It was to the point that I was more comfortable with the reconditioned units than the brand new ones. Those almost never came back as defective. Guess having a second chance to look it over was worthwhile.

Re:Major Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have two PS2s and 2 Gamecubes. One of the PS2s stopped reading blue discs, so I rarely use it.

The two Gamecubes are for different rooms. One moves around, sometimes to friends' houses, the other one stays connected to the living room tv, with my working PS2.

Re:Major Problem?

[ivan256]

They developed disc read errors. It's $10 more to get a refurb than to have it repaired.... I bought the extended warranty on the third one.

Re:Major Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

They have a high return rate, because they have a high sale rate.

You mean, "they have a high sale rate, because they have a high return rate."

Those replacements have to come from somewhere.

Re:Major Problem?

[Spleener12]

But how much time do you spend on it? I got a PS1 Christmas of 98. Only had the overheating problem once. Early 2002, after three and a half years and thousands of hours of playing it, I died in Arc the Lad 1, pushed reset, and rebooted back into the BIOS screen as if there was no disc inserted. I'm thinking that the motor that moves the laser back and forth gave out. I also recall a bunch of people with older model Playstations who had to replace theirs when Final Fantasy 8 came out.

Yes, Sony's made systems that have broken after too much use. It could be worse, though- they could have released a portable system with a screen that was impossible to see.

Re:Major Problem?

[blincoln]

I have two PS2s. The first is two years old, and the other is almost a year old (it's chipped so I can play imports). Neither have ever had any problems.

Neither have my XBox or Gamecube. I tend to think that some people are just hard on their consoles.

Re:Major Problem?

[jvmatthe]

For the first two years, I used my PS2 about every other day. More recently, it's been less frequently. I've played literally dozens of games, several to completion, including PSX games. I'd say that I'm a moderately heavy user (but not a very heavy user). Check website in signature to get an idea of what.

Re:Major Problem?

[bconway]

As opposed to the grandparent post? Gimme a break.

Re:Major Problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're obviously not much of a gamer.

My suggestion: get the XBox or Cube as they seem to be much more durable than the PS2

*rolls eyes* yeah dude, I buy game consoles based on how reliable they are. Sheesh!

Re:Major Problem?

[MMaestro]

'Seriously, if the failure rate is .1% you are still going to have a lot of angry forum posts.'

I don't think many companies (both on the retail and manufacturing side) have been very -clear- about their "sales". Now I'm not saying their lying, but what I am -considering- is that companies are "recycling" their sales. What I mean by that companies such as EBGamesare cheating on their -word choice-. I think companies are just bunching "refurbished" systemed, used systems, and new systems all into one catagory.

Re:Major Problem?

[NihilSmurf]

Many original Playstation failures were due to people putting it directly on carpet. It tended to sink in slightly, which blocked the bottom vents (causing overheating). I can agree that this was a design failure. Later revisions enlarged the vents.

As for PS2 failures, I am one of the many people who still has their original launch-day PS2. I've carried it in a backpack on many coast-to-coast airline flights, and my apartment is a "dust rich" environment. It still keeps chugging, though. I watch DVDs on it, too.

Re:Major Problem?

[NanoGator]

"Many original Playstation failures were due to people putting it directly on carpet."

Perhaps, but that wasn't the only problem. The CD motor lost its calibration over time. Eventually it'd be slower than the game would expect, causing FMV etc to skip. There's a little screw inside there that can be turned, thus changing the speed of the CD-ROM. Turn it the right way and it speeds up again, system works beautifully.

Not saying you're wrong, but I am saying that wasn't the only problem.

Re:Major Problem?

[Doctor_Jest]

So far, I've only had trouble with my XBox (it's been replaced after only 1 year), and my cube/Ps2 have been fine. To a point, I think the Cube is the sturdiest, followed by the PS2, with the hard-drive equipped XBox being the most fragile. My Ps2 is just over 3 years old and gets the lion's share of game time with my Gamecube coming a close second. (I only have Halo and Soul Calibur II for my XBox....heh.)

The only problem I've had with my Ps2 has been with Blue discs. Most notably, NBA Street and Romance of the 3 Kingdoms 8. NBA Street takes forever to load, and ROTK does not want to load at all (funny that ROTK 7 plays fine and it is blue and a used copy.) Until this phenomenon spreads to further blue disc games, I am not concerned.

While I do think some people are unbelievably hard on their consoles (and games for that matter), there is a kernel of truth in the durability of all 3 consoles. With the exception of the weak loading tray for the PS2, it is a solid unit.

Controllers, on the other hand, are a different story. I've been pretty unlucky with both XBox and PS2 controllers lasting. The XBox controller I wore out playing a rented copy of SSX Tricky, and the 2 PS2 controllers I've had thus far are just plain dying of old age. :) heh.

Since the demise of the Atari 2600, I haven't had a controller that is as quite as durable as that system's joystick.

Re:Major Problem?

[ivan256]

Disc read errors.

Re:Major Problem?

[devnull17]

Ummm, no. First off, a rate is a measure of one thing with respect to another. Sony's failure rate would be the same if they sold 200 PS2's.

Personally, I've seen this problem in about a half-dozen consoles. I've owned two of them myself, and both have succumbed to this problem. I wouldn't be surprised if physical shock had something to do with it, but that's not a viable excuse. You can drop a GameCube down the stairs and jump on it, and it'll still work properly. The same goes for the original PlayStation. The PS2's main problem is that the laser lens is inaccessible without taking the damn thing apart. In a top-loading machine like the PSX or Cube, you can wipe the lens off in about ten seconds. With a PS2, it's a matter of finding a microscopic phillips-head screwdriver and voiding your warranty.

Re:Major Problem?

[devnull17]

Using the system vertically makes a big difference, from what I hear. The main cause of failure is simply a dirty lens. When you run your PS2 vertically, you don't get the pesky influence of gravity pushing dirt onto the most sensitive part of the unit.

Re:Major Problem?

[devnull17]

There are PS2's that will actually start carving ruts in blue discs. It's quite a sight to behold. And just try explaining it to the store that you bought the game at!

Re:Major Problem?

[ivan256]

In a top-loading machine like the PSX or Cube, you can wipe the lens off in about ten seconds. With a PS2, it's a matter of finding a microscopic phillips-head screwdriver and voiding your warranty.

In a PS2 it's a matter of buying a $2 lens cleaning disc. You can get one practically anywhere. An audio CD version works just fine. I've cleaned mine that a few times. If your lens gets dirty during the extremely short warranty period, then you have bigger problems. Try cleaning the room you keep you system in. I would hardly consider it Sony's fault if your PS2 stops working because you're a slob.

Ummm, no. First off, a rate is a measure of one thing with respect to another. Sony's failure rate would be the same if they sold 200 PS2's.

The point was the quantity of broken PS2s is due to the quantity sold. The failure percentage is almost certainly quite low. If it were't there'd be an uproar (forum posts by the same few 100 or so whiners in the internet does not constitute an uproar), and Sony would be loosing boatloads of money. I know dozens of PS2 owners. I know one person who's had a problem. That person has had a problem 3 times. I've also noticed that most people online who complain about PS2 disc read errors claim to have had the problem multiple times. This says to me that either repared units are more likely to fail, or more likely, people who's PS2's fail treat their unit in a manner that causes it. Since nobdy will ever admit (or possibly even realize) that they are their stupidity is the cause of their problems, we may never know which is the real situation.

Used?

[swat_r2]

I'm looking at buying a used SCPH-390001 this weekend. Is there a comparison about which models are more problematic, do you think it's a big enough problem to just wait to pick up a new model? (I know the new models have the quieter fan and better DVD player, but I already have an Xbox and won't use the DVD function)

Opinions?

Re:Used?

[Spleener12]

I'd recommend holding off and getting one of the newest models when Sony decides to drop the price (which the will do within the next month, most probably.) I'm actually not sure how the PS2 model numbers go, though- if 390001 is one of the newer ones, you should be okay.

Can of Air?

[Scrameustache]

Look at the first picture in the article, the caption says "PS2, screwdrivers, and a can of air".

What the picture shows is: A PS2, screwdrivers, and needle-nose pliers.

So, it may be ArsTechnica, but if they can't tell the difference between a can of air and pliers, I'm not sure I want to trust them with my precioussss PS2...

Re:Can of Air?

[pmz]

"can of air"

This is probably referring to the photographer.

Re:Can of Air?

[Anonymous Coward]

What part of "can of air (not shown)" did you not understand?....Oh, must be the not shown part.

Sony Fixed mine out of warranty

[JonnyRo88]

Sony fixed my PS2 even though it was out of warranty. All I did was call the repair center and ask nicely.

I suggest you do the same before trying to self-repair. Believe me, sony is much more concerned with you being able to purchase more PS2 video games than having to absorb the cost to repair your unit.

fixed mine ok

[gabe]

I have a first generation PS2 that I bought a month after they were released. It stopped reading some games and most DVDs a few months back. I looked for instructions online, popped the sucker open, used a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, swabbed the lense a bit, closed it back up and voila - works perfectly now.

What's so hard about that?

Re:fixed mine ok

[Riff10111]

I have a first generation PS2 that I bought a month after they were released. It stopped reading some games and most DVDs a few months back. I looked for instructions online, popped the sucker open, used a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, swabbed the lense a bit, closed it back up and voila - works perfectly now. Same here. I got mine as soon as Wal-Mart got their very first shipment in, and other than having to clean the lens every 4-6 months (That may seem like a lot, but I smoke), I've never had a problem. I firmly believe that the problems with the PS2 are seriously over-hyped. I'd bet money that a significant number of people that are sending their systems back could have fixed them themselves with just a Q-tip and a little 91% rubbing alcohol.

What about grunting noises?

[SniperPuppy]

My PS2 (and more recently, a friend of mine's as well) started having a lot of groaning coming from the machine when loading a disc, and during some disc loading.

Ends up that the laser eye is mounted on a wormgear (visible on some of the screenshots in the article), and sometimes the little tab which sits in the wormgear's notch doesn't follow it so well anymore. I've managed to bend the plastic tab into the wormgear a bit better, but it still has the problem a bit, and it feels like a temporary fix, not a real solution. Anyone know how to fix this properly (read: permanently)?

Same thing happened to me

[samsmithnz]

The PS2 I brought on the day it came out did this exact thing slowly after about 2 years. First it wouldn't read the blue disks, and gradually the dvd's stopped working too. I took it into the Sony repair place and got it fixed for about $50. no biggy.

A link to a similar article...

[bigbigbison]

Techtv's x-play did a segment on this a little while back if someone wants to check out another article about it.

DId this not happen with the orignal PS?

[Hamster Lover]

I recall that I went through the same problem with the original PlayStation when just over the one year warranty the drive stopped reading game discs. Surprise! The PS was notorious for disc errors and many people resorted to turning the unit upside down to get the unit to read discs again. I eventually sold the unit to a friend and he managed to repair it.

When the PlayStation 2 hit the market the first thing me and my gaming friends thought of was the unreliable drives on the original PS and the hope that Sony had rid themselves of that monkey on the new unit. My fears were confirmed when friends started to experience the dreaded disc read errors months after the purchase. I never did buy a PS 2.

Now, I work for an electronics repair company and we dabble with PS 2 repairs. By dabble I mean that it is not our main business, we focus more on DVDs, TVs, etc. We get three to five units a week to repair, in and out of warranty, and this fix works about 75% of the time (so far). We are able to save our customers time in the case of in-warranty and both time and money for out-of-warranty. You would think that Sony would have made this information available to us -- no, I stumbled upon it on-line and gave the information to the repair techs. We actually make more money now on PS 2 repairs since we do not have send units to Sony to replace drives and wait for their return. We turn far more units over than we did previously, all from one stupid fix.

I should note that we have had one Gamecube in for repair since the Gamecube was released and two Xboxen like wise. What a difference in hardware reliability.

Re:DId this not happen with the orignal PS?

[shadowcabbit]

In almost fifteen years of owning and playing consoles, only one machine has ever completely quit on me. That one was my original PS unit, purchased brand new in 1999. It survived just over three years of near-daily use. Near the end I had it tilted at some cockamamie angle, upside-down, and elevated. The struggles I had with that machine were almost legendary. At that point I picked up a factory refurbished PS2, which had similar use for about six months before I got a Cube. The PS2 has performed wonderfully in the almost two years that I've had it; and thanks to a cleaning disc I picked up about the time I got the Cube, I see no reason why it won't last me another two years.

Disk Read Errors == Free Games!

[dant]

I love disk read errors! Here's why:

When I got my first PS2, I already knew there were reliability problems with the drive. So I did something I never do: I got the extended replacement plan from Best Buy. I'm on my 3rd PS2 so far, both replacements on Best Buy's nickel.

But the really great part is that their replacement plan doesn't cover the price of a replacement unit--it covers the price you paid for it when you bought it. Sony keeps dropping the price of the PS2 over the years, so both times I've had to get a replacement, I got not only a brand new PS2, but enough money left over to pick up a game or two.

The only down side is that you have to live with no PS2 at all for a week or two while they process your return. But hey, I can live with that stress.

Re:Disk Read Errors == Free Games!

[Doctor_Jest]

Heh. I wished my PS2 had failed in the warranty period, and I could've had 2 free games.

The XBox did, which got a new controller for my PS2 and a 2nd S-Controller for my XBox with the price difference. :)

It took 3 weeks for the check to get to my house (which is just east of their corporate HQ...but their financing/insurance company is up north somewhere....heh)

Re:Disk Read Errors == Free Games!

[bastardfish]

Haha, I work at a Best Buy in Madison Heights Michigan, and just about everybody under 40 gets a light in their eye when I say "PRP with a brand new one right off the shelf, even for wear and tear." People just instantly start hatching how they're going to somehow make the most profit from the $29.95 cost.

Nintendo

[Anonymous Coward]

People don't you all remember the masively insane amounts of blowing we did just to get our good old nintendo carts to work. This isnt new ground we are breaking into with systems losing their ablities over time.

MOD PARENT UP! +5 FUNNY

[Anonymous Coward]

It's true!

Xbox Hard Drives

[Yakman]

Vaguely related, what's the reliability like on xbox hard drives? This is one of the things that put me off buying one, what I can do if the hard drive gives out 2 years down the track. This is also why i'd never buy a used xbox, who knows what the last person did with it - they could have dropped it a few times for all I know and the hard drive could be on it's last legs.

I suppose realistically there's as much chance of the optical drive dying as the hard drive, but I've got a CD-ROM drive that I got in the early 90s that still works fine, but hard drives from that era are starting to give up.

Interesting article

[xQuarkDS9x]

This was a very informative article which just proves that PS2's are lacking in decent quality control, to the point you have to go to steps such as this to fix the machine.

Although I wouldn't recommend the Q-Tip + Rubbing Alcohol trick on the lens, a guy at my work did this once on his Gamecube lens, and from the way he told me, his gamecube stopped working after that, period. Maybe he drowned his Cube lens with it or something. :p

Basically if you must clean the lens, don't use canned air, just find a cheapy plastic bottle with a narrow tip (IE bottles that come with hair die or what not), clean it out really good, and just use that to gently blow small amounts of air on the lens.

I do this every so often to ensure my Gamecube lens is dust free since my place does tend to get dusty fairly easily and it shows after awhile.

Sony Fixes it free

[Bizzle]

I have a PS2 from the first batch out and it went bad early this year. I decided to crack it open and adjusted laser strength and even the white cog (thi topic was on Tech TV two months ago). It finally died a month ago so I called 800-345-SONY. They gave me a case number, I shipped it overnight, and it came back in better condition than before within 3 days. Been working like a champ and includes a 90 day warranty (the original warranty even expired)

Reply to an AC

[Scrameustache]

What part of "can of air (not shown)" did you not understand?....Oh, must be the not shown part.

I see that they changed it since.

Lil' know fact: you can change the content of a web page! Oh my!

I fixed mine the lazy/best buy way...

[wanderers_id]

I bought best buy's extended warranty and when my PS2 had that problem, I used the best buy replacement plan. They basically refund the original purchase cost and sell you another one at the current price.

For the cost of the 25$ replacement plan, I got $80 back from a price drop and a FREE network adaptor.