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Thread: PS2 issue - not reading blue games

  1. #1
    Keeper of the Terror Mask
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    therealdire51

    Default PS2 issue - not reading blue games

    A friend of mine is having some issues with his PS2. I said I'd ask here to see if you guys might have an answer for him aside from "send it to Sony" or "buy a new one". He doesn't want to do either, for a reason which will soon become apparent:

    I bought Ico last week. It was a used copy from GameStop, but it's rare to come across that game at all, so I snagged it while I had a chance. I took it home and popped it in my slimline PStwo (model #: SCPH-75001, for those of you following along at home) and it played fine up until a third of the way through the opening cinema. It faded out to white and never faded back in.

    So I pulled it out and looked at it. Along with turning out to be the only blue-bottomed PS2 game I own (making it the only CD-ROM based PS2 game I own), it had some minor scratches, but no gouges. The scratches were too deep to be taken out with a home polisher, so I took it to the local CD swap shop and traded away Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows for a free professional polish. Got the disc back and it looked pristine.

    I took it home and put it in my PStwo and it got past the point it hung on before, but locked up again at a different point in the opening cinema. I looked at the disc again and saw a series of hair-thin, fine scratches that were still on the disc.

    So I took it back to GameStop, thinking it was defective. They popped it in their PS3 and hey presto! it worked perfectly. Then the guy tells me that my PStwo probably has lens difficulties.

    "Say what?" I say.

    "Yes, sir," he says. "Most players that switch back and forth between formats have different lenses. The PS2 just has one lens that it warps and deforms, so often the lens mechanism will get stuck on one format and it won't play the other."

    "Huh," I say.

    "Sir," he says, "you should call Sony and see if they'll replace it for you."

    He gives me the number, then takes my game out of the PS3 and hands it back to me. While the game is still running and Ico's still running around onscreen.

    "Hey, you just took the game out and the system was still running it!" I exclaimed.

    "It's a very powerful system, sir," he says.

    At this point, I go home and look up the "blue disc problem" online and find a bunch of self-help tutorials for the older PS2's. They suggest cleaning the lens. So I do that, gingerly, with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. And Ico still doesn't work.

    I'm very frustrated. See, my reasoning is, if the laser's stuck on one format, how come I can play PSone games without any issues? Those are all CD-ROM based. If my laser was stuck, wouldn't I just be able to play PS2 DVD-ROM games alone?

    I don't really want to send my system off to Sony, because I'm not sure they'd send me my own system back. As for why it matters, well, maybe it's better to show rather than tell:



    My wife did that for my birthday last year. That's automotive "flip-flop" paint. The paint changes color from red to green to gold. I kinda don't want anything to happen to it. I'm sure you can understand why.

    So. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe a good place to get it fixed where they won't mess up the Hiryu logo in the process? Maybe the name of a good lawyer to sue Sony for putting such a POS laser array in the PStwo to begin with?

  2. #2
    Cherry (Level 1) Starwander's Avatar
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    Your best bet is to replace the laser. PS2 slimline lasers are very cheap (less than $20.00) and are very easy to install. It could be done in less than ten minutes.

  3. #3
    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    It may be one of the few games that are incompatible with 75001+ models. They removed the Emotion Engine (EE) and Graphics Synthesizer (GS) and combined them into a single chip. I know Initial D Special Stage loads but freezes on the opening screen. I somehow doubt the laser is busted already.

    If it loads ps1 games, then it can still read cds.

  4. #4
    Keeper of the Terror Mask
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    Default

    Thanks for the answers, guys. I'll forward them to him.

  5. #5
    Pac-Man (Level 10)
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    I tried ico in my slimline and it worked. I say if you try another blue disc and it freezes then it is the ps2 if it doesn't freeze then it is the disc.
    neo geo system

  6. #6
    Insert Coin (Level 0) extrarice's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dire 51 View Post
    A friend of mine is having some issues with his PS2. I said I'd ask here to see if you guys might have an answer for him aside from "send it to Sony" or "buy a new one". He doesn't want to do either, for a reason which will soon become apparent:
    Ars.Technica has a good article showing you how to re-align the laser on a fat PS2. I don't know how applicable it is to the slim model.

    I had this problem with my fat PS2, but the technique in the above article didn't help. For a while I was able to play purple (CD) PS2 discs by standing the PS2 vertically (ala the Monolith from 2001), and DVD PS2 discs by turning it back horizontally. Go figure. Fast-forward to today, and even standing it vertically will not load CD-based PS2 games. So I'll be switching out to a slimline model. Which brings me to...

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowkn55
    It may be one of the few games that are incompatible with 75001+ models.
    Is there a list of incompatible games out there somewhere?

  7. #7
    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    Doesn't look like Ico is on the list.

    http://www.us.playstation.com/News/C...les_75001.html

  8. #8
    Great Puma (Level 12) jonjandran's Avatar
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    If you can open the PS2 to clean the laser you can buy a new one off Ebay and replace it for less than $30.

    Works every time

  9. #9
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    Well first off I would check out the warrenty. to check if it is covered in removing the case of the PS2. So that you could just replace the case and send it to them and they send you back the PS2.

    If your case applies then call the PS2 persons and explain to them your recent problem but you do want the art to damage or whatever. Then you can send it in and see what happens.

    However since you appear to care more about the art rather the PS2 I suggest buying another PS2 mini and switch the cases and sell it back.

    Again like a early post mentions maybe certain games will not play on your system. Personally those blue coated discs are there to confuse people and I really hate them.

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