RF Generation Message Board

My cousin sold me a PlayStation 2 slim for $20, but the disc won't spin. If I put weight on the disc cover just right, it attempts to read the disc, but fails. I understand that it is not under warranty anymore, but I am experienced with electronics, and I am perfectly comfortable taking it apart and fixing the problem myself. Trouble is, I don't know what the problem is.

He says he has another one he will replace it with if I cannot fix it, but my girlfriend was planing to buy that one herself, so I'd rather just fix this one.

Not likely worth much, but I had one that ran better sideways than flat.

does it look very dirty inside the disc tray? maybe there's something jamming the center from spinning properly. you could try manually rotating it while it's off and see if it feels like it sticks at all. otherwise i'm not sure, the servo motor or whatever they use to spin the discs could be dead.

Its probably not even worth fixing really. Getting one specific part would probably cost half of what you paid already, and you can find a working system, whether its fat or slim, for cheaper than the part with enough digging.

slap it. Seriously. I sometimes have issues as well and a good slap when it's off then turn it on and works

Well, I went ahead and opened it out of curiosity. It look normal, but I think the motor that makes the disc spin may be broken.

I'd suspect the switch that tells the system the lid is closed. You may be able to rig it to think it is always closed. It should work fine except for multi-disc games.

Actually, that is not the problem. after I removed the top, the first thing I tried was plugging it up and holding that down. IT's the motor. Not worth fixing these days, especially since my cousin is just going to replace it with a working Ps2.

I'm right there with you then. These things are everywhere.

Yeah, Half Price Books by my house has a literal pile of slim PS2s. Didn't check what they were going for though.

I'm quoting that out of context for posterity for a little while. :P
Favorite solution.

There are multiple switches that tell the system the lid is closed, AFAIK.  I taped them down on my slim, and everything works fine.

Choose your problem:

- The lens is mis-aligned.
- The "gears" are gooked up and need to be cleaned/re-oiled.
- The entire laser mechanism is broken.

The first two are easily fixed, the third isn't. I'd just buy a new one for $5.

Could you please tell me (or possibly diagram for me) where all of these switches are? I could only find 1.

Ok, little update. I found the sensors and taped them down as well as removed the spring from the device that stops the disc when you open the system.It spins discs now. However, it displays a "disc could not be read" message when I try to play a ps2 game. The odd part? PS1 games work.

That's a sign the laser is misaligned. I had the same thing on one of my fat PS2's. There should be a little thing next to the laser you can turn to adjust it. Adjust it a little, then try tot see if it reads PS2 games. Eventually, you'll find the sweet spot and it'll work.

Didn't work. I'm done fooling with it. I'm getting a functional one anyway.

I'd say the same as everyone else, you can get PS2s so cheap that their not worth fixing unless you already have the parts lying around(or the fix doesn't need a new part)

Violence and technology rarely mix well but... I approve this