Tempest Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Not sure if the PS2 counts as classic yet, but this forum seemed to be the best place for this thread. My PS2 (Fat model) has decided that it won't auto boot discs any more, it always goes to the browser screen. Once on the browser screen I can go select the disc and it plays flawlessly, but no matter the disc it won't auto boot them anymore on start up. I tried using a lens cleaner I had laying around, but that didn't seem to do anything. Is this a sign that my PS2 is dying? I haven't noticed any issues during games as once they start up they seem to have no issues, it's just that the PS2 doesn't seem to want to automatically start them anymore. Any ideas? Maybe I should try a different lens cleaner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 Old article, see if this helps Dealing with PlayStation 2 disc read errors Ars console guru Rob Nelson has the low-down on how to fix your PS2. ROB NELSON - 11/9/2003, 9:20 PM https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2003/11/ps2-repair-guide/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 I'm not getting read errors or anything, it just won't auto boot games for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 Bit late for this advice now, but never use it in the upright position, they've been known to struggle thanks to the force of gravity with continued use. I'm trying to think if there is a setting in the bios settings for skipping automatic disk read, I know that sounds really stupid, but it might be a thing - especially if you have a 'modern' bios installed. When on the browser screen, if you open and then close the disk drive, does it automatically read it then without having to select it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 There's no option in the settings for auto boot. And no, it's on its side and inserting a disc at the browser doesn't auto boot it, I still have to select it. I'm wondering if the 500GB Sata drive I have in the network adapter could be causing the issue? I'll try disconnecting it and see. Maybe it's trying to detect the hard drive first and timing out so it doesn't get around to auto booting the disc or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 52 minutes ago, Tempest said: There's no option in the settings for auto boot. And no, it's on its side and inserting a disc at the browser doesn't auto boot it, I still have to select it. I'm wondering if the 500GB Sata drive I have in the network adapter could be causing the issue? I'll try disconnecting it and see. Maybe it's trying to detect the hard drive first and timing out so it doesn't get around to auto booting the disc or something? That is an interesting thought but I can't answer because my PS2 is now soft modded with an SSD and it autoloads FreeMB from the HDD. I can still play from discs but I'm pretty sure it doesn't auto load them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 I removed the drive but it still wouldn't auto boot. I'm starting to wonder if it isn't the laser now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 10 minutes ago, Tempest said: I removed the drive but it still wouldn't auto boot. I'm starting to wonder if it isn't the laser now. Accept I would think that if it were a laser issue, then it would also have issues reading the disc when you manually select it. You did state it does load up fine when you select it right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 38 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said: Accept I would think that if it were a laser issue, then it would also have issues reading the disc when you manually select it. You did state it does load up fine when you select it right? Yes that's true. I played through Lego Star Wars I & II last week without any issues. However that doesn't mean that the laser isn't starting to go, it just means that it's still good enough to play games but maybe it's not good enough to read a disc quickly enough to trigger the auto boot? Just a guess. Maybe opening it up and using some alcohol on the lens would help? How hard is it to replace the laser in a PS2? Have you ever tried it? EDIT: Found this video. It doesn't look too hard, but I see a lot of points where you could screw up your PS2 if you weren't careful: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 I think the main issue with PS2 laser replacements it getting legit good replacements. I see on a few tech/modder's groups I'm part of where quite a few will get dud laser assemblies. I honestly haven't tried to replace the laser assembly in any optical system because I'm not really equipped to properly adjust the laser and timings needed. They aren't usually just drop in and go type things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 18 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said: I think the main issue with PS2 laser replacements it getting legit good replacements. I see on a few tech/modder's groups I'm part of where quite a few will get dud laser assemblies. I honestly haven't tried to replace the laser assembly in any optical system because I'm not really equipped to properly adjust the laser and timings needed. They aren't usually just drop in and go type things. Yeah that's the thing, if I have to adjust the laser setting then I'm not going to try it. I did that on my TurboDuo and I'm still not sure it's 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 So I just did some more testing and it will auto boot blue discs, just not the silver ones. I think this points to the laser going. I opened the PS2 up (not that hard actually) and gently cleaned the lens with alcohol but still no go on auto booting silver discs. I guess I'll just have to put up with it for now and if it starts giving me issues I guess I can try and do the laser replacement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 I can't contribute much useful except that when my fat got wonky, it was very hit or miss..games stopped working before movie DVDs. Movie DVDs WOULD sometimes work on the 4th, 5th, or 17th try at spinning the disc. But eventually, it just stopped working period. So for me, it wasn't like it was all at once, but it was definitely the laser failing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 I managed to find a NOS laser on ebay from Sony with the original packaging (not one of those Chinese knockoffs) for only a couple dollars more than the knockoffs. Not only is this an official replacement part (hopefully) it already has the height adjust screw in it and the solder blob removed which were the two parts I was worried about. It's also a rev C laser vs the rev B laser I have which means it should be more reliable from what I've read. Hopefully I won't have any problems installing it, but as I already was 90% of the way there today when I cleaned the lens it shouldn't be a problem. I figure I can always reinstall the old laser if this one doesn't work so there isn't much risk. The funny thing is that I use my HDD for most of the games, but I want the system in working order just in case. This one has a little history to it, I got it from Al himself when he was doing PS2 development work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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