The Story of Amaury and Technology

I hate technology.

The end!

Anyway, my PS2 is going out again, and both my mom and I are getting sick and tired of having to buy new PS2s because they decide to stop reading discs. Right now, it's still reading PS2 discs, but not a lot of PS discs.

I started a walkthrough of Crash Bandicoot and a 3rd walkthrough of Spyro the Dragon, but I had to postpone Spyro the Dragon because it wouldn't read. It read Crash Bandicoot fine, but not Spyro the Dragon. I even tried Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon, and neither of those worked.

My PS2s seem to go out every 2 or 3 years (I even had one go out barely after a year passed), and we're getting sick of this -- it shouldn't be happening. Someone I know has had their PS2 for about 9 or 10 years, so I don't know why they hate us. I clean it out with an air can about once month, just like I do with my computer.

This is like the 5th one, I think, with the first PS2 being a fat one.

After we got the one I'm using now, I started keeping a plastic wrapper on it for dust protection when not in use since we have a lot of dust, but I lost it a month or so ago, so it hasn't been protected.

Anyway, any help or advice will be appreciated, and I apologize for the rant. It's just really, really frustrating.

 

Are you certain that dust is what is causing the problems? I've had mine for probably nine years now and I've never blown the dust from it. I believe the lasers that read the discs are very sensitive--perhaps you shouldn't be using the compressed air on them?

 

Yeah, this was my thought as well. I've had mine for five years now, and I think it's best to leave it be. The dust usually isn't an issue, though I have no real proof to back it up.

Are you sure that your Spyro discs aren't scratched at all?

 

I use the air can to clean out the ventilation areas and around the laser itself, but not on it directly.
For the lenses, I use a cue tip with alcohol on it and clean them that way.

I was reading somewhere that some PS2s had problems with the laser moving down or something and needing to be readjusted.

No, they're relatively new. (In fact, I got the Collector's Edition three-pack to replace the old ones that were badly scratched.)

Also, other games, such as Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, have more scratches, and they work fine.

 

You know, I don't think that the laser even needs cleaning. Why not just leave it be and see where it goes from there? It's good to want to take care of your things, but maybe that's what's causing the problems in the first place.

 

There is a thing called over doing it, if you over clean the laser/lens too much too man times a day you could mess up your ps2, so my question is how many times do you clean you laser/lens every day?

 

OP says once a month.


I would say you are fine to dust the vents (though the PS2 isn't that powerful strictly speaking, just specialized, so it doesn't run that hot under normal use). But I wouldn't mess with the laser at all, dusting around it or cleaning directly until you start hitting issues. Just too fragile of a part on PS2s

Not a magic bullet but having the PS2 standing vertically puts less strain on the laser so that should help keep the next one going longer and maybe get back a bit of functionality now.

 

oh I didn't even notice that ty mixt for pointing that out.^ ^

 

PS2 games that give me problems are Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers, and Action Replay Max, because they are blue.
Why is this?

Also, my PS2 games still work, but it's not reading my PS games -- at least the ones I tried, which are Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon.
Why is this?

 

So, according to a technician guy my mom talked to at worked, I guess there are two lasers in a PS2, and the one that reads PS games went out. What we're thinking of doing is getting a PlayStation so I can still play my PS games. They're about $50 less than PlayStation 2s -- they're going for $99 on Amazon.

Just a note: This was a while ago, actually, that my mom did that. I just never posted an update until today.

 

More specifically (for those that care) There is a laser for CDs and a laser for DVDs and the CD laser is the one that is going bad here.

I would be willing to bet that if you had any blue PS2 discs that they aren't going to work either. That would be the only loss I can think of for buying a PSX over a new PS2.

 

Yes, my Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers games are blue discs and don't work. Also, even after getting a new Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, the PS2 still ran hard.

Why are there blue discs?

 

The blue discs are CDs rather than DVDs. Particularly in the early stages of the PS2 that made them cheaper.

 

You can pick up a used fat PS2 for $30 or a used slim PS2 for $40 at Gamestop. Doesn't seem quite worth it to me to have both consoles when PS2s are so cheap.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking the same now, too. Wouldn't a new PS2 be better, though? Logic says a new one would last longer than a used one. Same goes for any kind of technology, really, no?

 

Well we're talking what is the optimal time to cost balance here. Given your history I would think the used, or at the very least refurbished.

 

Right. For some reason, that completely slipped my mind even though I just mentioned, haha.

So, wait, where is the other laser, then? Because when I open my PS2, I only see one laser.

 

They are in the same housing. so you will only see the one "laser" but if you were to open it up you would find two little actual lasers. At least in theory, I've never done so myself.

 

Why not get a PS if the PS2 is giving you problems with PS games? They aren't expensive. I've seen a BRAND NEW one for $5 at a pawn shop here in my town (I know a unopened box when I see one in person).
About the air thing I wouldn't recommend it. It could damage the laser thing or in some way make it rust or rot.

 

We got a refurbished PS2 today, so this can be locked.