If Your PS2 Phat Won't Read Discs, Try Cleaning The Lens - Full Guide

[blainelocklair]

Hello everyone!

 

Do you have a PS2 Phat that isn't reading the discs anymore? The answer MIGHT be simpler and more economical than you think. Try cleaning the laser lens. Unless you've cleaned out your PS2 in recent years, it might need it anyway. I have several and they get filthy inside!

 

If you need this done, I hope this set of instructions is helpful along the way. Enjoy!

 

Full guide here:

 

 

 

[solidus]

I bought one used on LetGo a few months ago. It wouldnt read a single disc. I opened it, use compressed air on everything, then cleaned the lens with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton swab. It hasnt failed to read a single disc since. I highly recommend doing this yourself. Its very easy and fixes read errors pretty often it seems

[RARusk]

I'm surprised that no one has come up with an SD Card reader replacement like there is for the Saturn and DreamCast consoles.

[derFunkenstein]

11 hours ago, RARusk said:

I'm surprised that no one has come up with an SD Card reader replacement like there is for the Saturn and DreamCast consoles.

With the proliferation of PS2 phat SATA adapters, there's no need. And since many games are in excess of 3-5 GB, you're not fitting much on even the largest SD cards. It's so cost effective to just use a hard drive, I can't imagine PS2 ODEs are even a viable product.

 

Also if you have a slim PS2 (or have a Sony-original network adapter), you can play images from an SMB share over Ethernet with OPL, so you don't even need a hard drive.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Also adjusting the infamous white gear can make it work. Basically it controls the focus distance and it's loose enough that it will come uncalibrated with use. But it's such a pain to get in there that I stopped bothering. At least you can use a lens cleaner disc without taking everything apart.