I experienced similar issues with my PS2 before I'd had it for even six months. It turned out to be a known issue with a working if not well documented solution.
Basically, the unit first got real picky when it came to reading the 'blue' game discs. This worsened until it wouldn't read them at all. At one point a few weeks ago, it started having problems with regular DVD games.
A little research with google showed that *lots* of folks were having the same problem. I looked a little deeper and found a solution that has worked perfectly for me.
I had to open the unit, voiding the warrantee unfortunately, and gain access to the cd/dvd mechanism under the black shroud. Off to the side of the reader is a small screw that required loosening by about a quarter revolution. The websites said that this screw was a fine tuning (focus) mechanism for the laser which over time comes out of focus. I don't really buy that, it looked to me like it just provided 'tension' for the laser positioning sled as it was positioned over a guide rail with no visible electronics near-by.
In any case, it worked like a charm and I can once again play all my games. I don't really see the connection between this particular screw and reading discs, unless certain discs require the laser to move into positions that are more 'deep' or 'shallow' than others and that the tension of the screw was preventing movement into those more extreme positions.
I wasn't happy about voiding the warrantee, but I'd rather do that and take my chances than give Sony ~$100.00 USD for a new laser assembly which is their _Official Solution_ to the problem which they suggest is normal wear and tear. That's BS though because this is happening to people with NEW units.
Is that not the most impressive thing you've ever seen? Those guys have my respect til the end. I shudder at the efficiency and complexity. Everyone who's a nerd should check this out. Find a winbox and gasp in wonder!
Theres a place in Cupertino, CA (really close to where the poster is located) called "Wierd Stuff" or maybe it's "Crazy Stuff." Anyway, it's something like that. The place sells all sorts of used and surplus computer and mechanical-industrial equipment. Sorry, I don't have an address or phone number, and a quick search didn't turn anything up. The place is located just outside the entrance to AMD's headquarters. (within an eighth of a mile or so) That should be all you need to find it. Good Luck!!
Thanks for the clarification, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. Do you think this means that each "node" would have to have mulitple transciever stations in order to relay the signal to someone further "down the line"? I was visualizing a system sort of like that used by cell phones where the distribution of transcievers creates a blanket of coverage for a particular area; as long as you're within range of at least one other transciever, you got a signal. Or are there just particular internet access points, any one of which must be within the range of your transciever?
A company called Ecrix produces the VXA tape drive. The cartridges have a 66Gb capacity and the transfer rate is advertised "as high as 6mbps." I don't know if or how well it runs under linux but this thing looks pretty sweet. At comdex last year I saw an ad where they backed up a system on one of these drives then immersed the cartridge in water, next they froze the whole thing. After they thawed the solid block of ice and let the tape dry thoroughly they were able to restore all the data. You can pick one up for just about a $1000.00. I'm interested in getting one of these for myself, so if anyone has used one, please comment.
The article says that they're using mostly old helical type antennas, no reference to sattelite dishes. Think about it, with a dish you need line of site, usually to a sattelite although, you could problably set up some type of dish to dish relay system but that would require an impossible network of dishes. These guys are using omni-directional RF to do this. There's no way dishes could be used for a system like this unless it was a simple point to point connection and even then, I don't think you'd be able to use the WaveLan cards mentioned in the article. So don't get your hopes up for that collapsible, portable laptop connected take anywhere dish cause the reality is even better-AFAIK the hardware is small and can be made extremely portable you just have a limited travel range.
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We have a big Xerox copy/scan/print machine at the office that sometimes locks up with:
Fatal Error: Starvation in Scan Processor
I experienced similar issues with my PS2 before I'd had it for even six months. It turned out to be a known issue with a working if not well documented solution.
Basically, the unit first got real picky when it came to reading the 'blue' game discs. This worsened until it wouldn't read them at all. At one point a few weeks ago, it started having problems with regular DVD games.
A little research with google showed that *lots* of folks were having the same problem. I looked a little deeper and found a solution that has worked perfectly for me.
I had to open the unit, voiding the warrantee unfortunately, and gain access to the cd/dvd mechanism under the black shroud. Off to the side of the reader is a small screw that required loosening by about a quarter revolution. The websites said that this screw was a fine tuning (focus) mechanism for the laser which over time comes out of focus. I don't really buy that, it looked to me like it just provided 'tension' for the laser positioning sled as it was positioned over a guide rail with no visible electronics near-by.
In any case, it worked like a charm and I can once again play all my games. I don't really see the connection between this particular screw and reading discs, unless certain discs require the laser to move into positions that are more 'deep' or 'shallow' than others and that the tension of the screw was preventing movement into those more extreme positions.
I wasn't happy about voiding the warrantee, but I'd rather do that and take my chances than give Sony ~$100.00 USD for a new laser assembly which is their _Official Solution_ to the problem which they suggest is normal wear and tear. That's BS though because this is happening to people with NEW units.
Now that's funny!
Finally, someone else who's seen it.
Is that not the most impressive thing you've ever seen? Those guys have my respect til the end. I shudder at the efficiency and complexity. Everyone who's a nerd should check this out. Find a winbox and gasp in wonder!
Theres a place in Cupertino, CA (really close to where the poster is located) called "Wierd Stuff" or maybe it's "Crazy Stuff." Anyway, it's something like that. The place sells all sorts of used and surplus computer and mechanical-industrial equipment. Sorry, I don't have an address or phone number, and a quick search didn't turn anything up. The place is located just outside the entrance to AMD's headquarters. (within an eighth of a mile or so) That should be all you need to find it. Good Luck!!
Thanks for the clarification, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. Do you think this means that each "node" would have to have mulitple transciever stations in order to relay the signal to someone further "down the line"? I was visualizing a system sort of like that used by cell phones where the distribution of transcievers creates a blanket of coverage for a particular area; as long as you're within range of at least one other transciever, you got a signal. Or are there just particular internet access points, any one of which must be within the range of your transciever?
A company called Ecrix produces the VXA tape drive. The cartridges have a 66Gb capacity and the transfer rate is advertised "as high as 6mbps." I don't know if or how well it runs under linux but this thing looks pretty sweet. At comdex last year I saw an ad where they backed up a system on one of these drives then immersed the cartridge in water, next they froze the whole thing. After they thawed the solid block of ice and let the tape dry thoroughly they were able to restore all the data. You can pick one up for just about a $1000.00. I'm interested in getting one of these for myself, so if anyone has used one, please comment.
The article says that they're using mostly old helical type antennas, no reference to sattelite dishes. Think about it, with a dish you need line of site, usually to a sattelite although, you could problably set up some type of dish to dish relay system but that would require an impossible network of dishes. These guys are using omni-directional RF to do this. There's no way dishes could be used for a system like this unless it was a simple point to point connection and even then, I don't think you'd be able to use the WaveLan cards mentioned in the article. So don't get your hopes up for that collapsible, portable laptop connected take anywhere dish cause the reality is even better-AFAIK the hardware is small and can be made extremely portable you just have a limited travel range.