Oh my. What a thing to start with. Seems to be the biggest demand issue I'm beginning to see with my little repair business. My success rate is only about 70% so far. I am NOT an expert, or a Sony tech. I am a self taught tinkerer. Those who have tips, improvements, or corrections to my advice, please post it. We can all benefit from a whole communities experience.
EDUCATIONAL INFO ONLY FOLLOWS. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PS2 CAUSED BY THESE TIPS. OPENING YOUR PS2 VOIDS ANY WARRANTY YOU HAVE. Most of these procedures require basic technical skill, and a willingness to risk the destruction of your non working PS2. Once the warranty is gone, you may have little to lose.
Disconnect all power first.! When opening your Ps2, note where all long screws came from (important!), mark their holes if necessary.Make sure all screws are removed, and warranty seal sticker is cut. Beware the power/reset switch ribbon/wire cable. VERY FRAGILE. If you are going to do more than cleaning, it is a good idea to gently disengage this switch assembly from the PS2 top cover. Still be very careful with the now dangling power reset switch. If you rip this from the motherboard, and miraculously manage to not rip the cable in two, putting it back on requires a near TOTAL disassembly of your PS2. VERY involved, and best avoided at all costs.
It seems that a number of factors can lead to Disc Read Error (DRE).
Number One: Filth! The most common issue is a dirty lens. 50/50 alcohol/ distilled water mix, a Q-tip, compressed air.
- Remove CD/DVD assembly cover plate. Number of small screws and location varies with version. Compress air the whole thing so no dust is going to blow back on to the cleaned lens. Gently clean lens with alcohol/water solution moistened Q-tip. Be gentle and thorough. Compress air the llens, but NOT DIRECTLY. Gentle is the theme here.
Re assemble and test. If that does not help, try to clean it once more.
Good luck. When I have more time I will address what I have learned in regards to other disc reading issues, such as spindle gripping -(slippage making a grinding noise that causes DRE with blue/black discs) and the deadly tedious, touchy, and risky CD/DVD laser POTS adjustment.
Anyone else with tips, please post!