What should I do??????

[87gsxr711]

So I got an old PS2 from a buddie. The "fat" 30001 model. It doesn't work. Well it kind of works. It will read PSone games only. No PS2 games or DVD Movies. I have tried everything I can find to fix it. It was obviously out of warranty so I opend it up and cleaned the dust out, cleaned the laser, tried standing up vertical, and upside down, tried the tape on the disc trick, followed the steps for adjusting the white cog wheel. I even went as far as trying to adjust the output of the DVD laser. Nothing worked.

I called Sony and for $45 +S/H, they will send me a refurbished one with a 90 day warranty. That is assuming they will still take this one even though the case has been opened. I was able to get the warranty sticker off and back on without much damage. Worst case I guess is they say they won't ship me a refurbished one, that they have to fix this one for $75. I guess they could say no to both and I am out S/H both ways.

For $50-$60 + S/H, I can buy a new laser from someone like www.richspsxparts.com (http://www.richspsxparts.com)

For $80-$100 I can buy a used system

For about $130 I can buy a new PS2 Slim.

As a member of CAG I obviously want to spend as little as possible, but wisely at the same time.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

Honestly, I'd go the new laser route, since it is the same price as if you shipped the PS2 off to Sony and got a refurb for $45.

All you'd need to do to put in the laser replacement is take out the disc tray, unscrew a couple screws, slide the old laser off its rails, remove the guide arm from the old laser, screw it on the new laser, then put the new laser back on the rails and close it up.


Plus, I think Richspsxparts ships items free in some cases,so that laser may definitely cost less than what it'd cost to ship to Sony. It says free shipping on all domestic orders and some international ones, so unless you live in like Thailand, you should get free shipping for the laser.

I have a 30001R with a great laser which I bought for its controller ports to replace the ones in my 50001. If you want, I'd pull the laser from that and sell it to you for $10(plus shipping). Although, it'd be up to you to determine which shipping method would be best suited to ship such a sensitive part, since I would probably send it via priority mail flat rate envelope($5) with delivery confirmation(.60-.75) wrapped in a bubble mailer for padding.

Either way lemme know what you do regarding this....

[Blackout]

Hit it and quit it.

But seriously, I removed the "void warrantly" thing and it was pretty apparent I did, but they still took it. Just keep repeating "DRE, DRE". Not sure if that still works though.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

Well, maybe if you included the seal, but just placed it in the box you send the PS2 into them in, so it looks like it may have fallen off due to the age of the glue during transport.

Otherwise, I don't know how well not telling them the seal is on there or not will go, though I think the OP said they had theirs still. I know when I called them the one time, they hung up on me when I said the seal was NOT in place.

And honestly, getting a replacement laser is still cheaper, as long as that richspsxparts does ship for free for domestic orders. Replacing a laser is a 20 minute job, tops, if you know what you're doing. Though, the OP also said they tried everything imaginable before thinking of a replacement laser.

I've NEVER done the white cog(height adjustment) or the laser power adjustment procedures, since I feel there are more inherent risks involved in doing those.

For example, adjusting the height TOO high can cause the laser to scratch rings into your discs when it's trying to read them and adjusting the power of the laser can kill it even quicker.

So, if for nothing, the OP hopefully kept track of how far they adjusted the things they did on it because if they try to replace the laser themselves, it may be dead before long as well.

[87gsxr711]

IAmTheCheapestGamer - check you PM, I am deffinately interested in you laser.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

I sent you a return PM. Apparently, after testing it, that laser wasn't as strong as I remembered. It still does read discs(including the dreaded blue bottom ones), but it takes anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute to read them.

So, I can't in good conscience sell you the laser for anywhere near $10, since it'd be ripping you off and giving you a laser that is no more useful than your current one.

I just hope you did keep track of how far you adjusted things in the PS2 as far as the height wheel and power adjustments go because if you buy a new laser for the system and slap it in there, it could die within months or it could scratch your discs all up.

[87gsxr711]

I absoutely did record and/or mark all of the original settings before I made any adjustments. Once I discovered none of the changes fixed the problem I re-set everything back to the original setting, so I am back to square one now.

IAmTheCheapestGamer - thank you for checking yours. Maybe cleaning it make it better. How does it work on a "standard" PS2 dic rather than the dreaded blue bottom.

Anyone else got a laser they would be willing to test and sell?