I have a Japanese PS2 model SCPH-10000 that for some reason has a problem with DVD's. The guy who sold it to me told me that it ran PSX games fine but that he would sometimes have to restart it several times to get it to load PS2 games. He probably thought this because all the PS2 games he tried were on DVD-ROM. Actually, it loads PS2 games on CD-ROM and music CD's just fine, but when I insert a DVD-Video or a PS2 game on DVD-ROM it just spins forever and says "Disc Reading..." and eventually says "Disc Read Error." I tried restarting it several times as the previous owner suggested, but it kept doing the same thing. Does anybody know how I could fix this problem, or at least make a loophole around it (like swapping discs) ?
The SCPH-10000 is a launch unit from Japan and as such probably fitted with a KHS-400A or B laser, which given it's age is doing pretty well to be reading anything! If you go to the Sony thread, then into Sony disassembly guide for the PS2 Tool, download it and then read the section on the DVD drive unit you'll see exactly how to clean the unit off. My suspicion is that you'll be required to purchase a new laser for it though.
this is common on ps2s, laser lens is fucked, you need a new lens to fix it, its kinda expensive, i think it would be cheaper to get a new ps2 instead buy a new lens, ppl will tell you that you can fix the lens moving the pot of the lens, but this will only do one thing : stop cds from work. You have done a bad deal. Cheers
Not necessarily a bad deal, but you have to acknowledge that purchasing older consoles carries the risk of facing mechanical issues such as failing lasers. It is more than likely the laser is on its last legs however. It is a common problem, sadly! I totally agree with Serantes re not moving the 2 pots under the laser. Tweaking those pots only damages the laser.
I had the exact same problem with a jp launch unit. Though I use a different unit now, my launch model still works thanks to a bit of cleaning. I just cracked it open and got all the dust out, I had to use a knife in places to get some of the build up off! The launch models innards are very different to the later fat models, they seem to have been designed to store dust! Also pay attention to the metal bar the laser moves along on, mine had heavy build ups of grease and muck that can't have been good for it. FYI mine made a "ticking" noise when it could not read the disc. If yours does not, it might be different. (I am no tech boffin)
Yeah, Warakia, mine makes a ticking noise too. You guys are probably right that I'll need to get a new one, but in that case it can't hurt to try cleaning it first. It wasn't that bad of a deal as the unit was only 30USD.
Well, I tried taking it apart and cleaning and that didn't seem to help. There really wasn't much to clean, actually, just a little bit of dust and the grease Warakia spoke of. In fact, it appears that it won't even play CD-ROMs now. By the way, I have an American PS2 of a different model - would you think that I could transfer the DVD drive from it? It's a SCPH-50001.
