Ps2 Lasers

[Alvito]

How can you tell the difference between a cheap laser and a original sony laser?

Heres what has happened:
Bought a used Ps2 from a member of these forums. $200 for a modded ps2, a good deal at the time, Feb 2005.

Used it for 5 or 6 months. My brother watched a DVD movie when he had his accident, played it 4 or 5 days straight, stopped booting up games.

I went to Pacmall to have them look at my Ps2. They said the motherboard was gone.

Took it to a modded in toronto to have it looked at. Says the laser in it is a cheap laser and needs to be replaced.

Now I'm pissed. Did the guy who sold it to me rip me off? Or was it PacMall striking again on the lone brown man of the mall?

I'm really angry right now. I'm going to try to get into contact with the seller. I know its been a long time. But i deserve some answers.

[Avenger]

Swapping in a cheap laser sounds like a lot of work given they are barely worth $40.

Sounds more like age of the unit, I didn't even know they made "cheap" lasers. That's just me though.

[haveblue]

If you're getting Disk Read Error.. check this out, it might be helpfull:

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ps2.ars

Happened to my (unmodded) ps2 as well.

[Alvito]

Sorry, i should have told you guys what the problem was, games dont load.

It goes to the browser screen.

[audit13]

Sorry to here about your troubles.

Does it read movie dvds ? What version is your ps2 ?

[DJXP]

isn't this the one you asked me about in private messages ??

From what I could tell it sounded like the v9 dead beef syndrome.

[Siefer999]

If you're getting Disk Read Error.. check this out, it might be helpfull:

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/ps2.ars

Happened to my (unmodded) ps2 as well.

wow, thats one detailed fix...

[champ91]

it's not reading backed up games you mean? or authentic ones?

the mod chip may not work

my ps2 was really messed up and the mod chip wasn't compatible with my ps2 for some reason and it would not read fake games. my solution was swap magic. more work but definetely the best solution and not that expensive. and it's compatible with almost all games.

a little advice for you. the people who do mods on ps2s usually only know how to mod ps2s and that's it. they aren't technicians or engineers who really understands how the chips and boards work. there are however, a few who really understand or know how to fix a ps2. because i tried getting mine fixed but keep getting mixed answers and you know how they always want to charge you for even a little diagnosis. i took my ps2 to three different stores, they all gave me different answers and solutions. one said buy a new one, the other said to replace the motor for like 70 bucks or something. and the last one , he knew how to fix it and it was just a simple adjustment of a little medal piece and he did it for free because it was a neighbour. so don't believe everything you hear, they may not be telling you the truth. and i think the laser head has a sony sign on it, not sure though. dont' go off on the original seller either or you might end up apologizing and making yourself look pretty bad.

[sxz]

If your PS2 is one of the older fat models and it's version 1 to 4 then the problem likely is your laser. HOWEVER it is not because the original owner replaced the laser, it's because the V1-4s are known to have really crappy lasers on them from Sony. If your PS2 is V5-x it could also be your modchip. I believe on some of the older modchips they tend to put extra stress on the laser by staying on the entire time you play a game/DVD so it may have been too much for the laser to handle. The newer chips now turn off after it boots the games/DVDs so it takes some stress off the laser. So it could be either of the above for you, just find out what version of the PS2 you have and see if you can find any known problems with that version + the modchip.

[deactivated1245]

I'm really angry right now. I'm going to try to get into contact with the seller. I know its been a long time. But i deserve some answers.

I think after almost a year of use, it's not fair to take it out on the seller. When you buy used items you take a risk that things will break, since used items obviously don't have a warranty.

Also, pulling the race card because a store told you something false isn't fair either. It might have been inexperience on the part of the store, or maybe they rip everyone off.

[akito925]

ahh I'd should try the laser adjustment for my ps2,, but haven't gotten around to doing it.

[haveblue]

It worked for me.. somewhat..
Mine stopped reading DVD's.. then it stopped reading ps2 games (both silver and blue), then it stopped reading ps1 discs as well.. The little knob fix I posted earlier fixed it for ps1, but I think mine has the voltage problem mentioned later in that article.. I'm a bit scared to mess with it, but really I should just go for it because I haven't used it in like a year anyway, so it's not a big loss if I break something..

[Alvito]

isn't this the one you asked me about in private messages ??

From what I could tell it sounded like the v9 dead beef syndrome.

Its a V10 modded with Magic 50k, la-508 is blown and possibly the laser.

I think after almost a year of use, it's not fair to take it out on the seller. When you buy used items you take a risk that things will break, since used items obviously don't have a warranty.

Also, pulling the race card because a store told you something false isn't fair either. It might have been inexperience on the part of the store, or maybe they rip everyone off.

I just want to know if the seller knew there was a NON sony laser in there. OR if it was PACMALL that switched lasers on me.

[deactivated1245]

I just want to know if the seller knew there was a NONE sony laser in there. OR if it was PACMALL that switched lasers on me.

Ok, I see where you're coming from. I guess it would be a good thing to know.

[Anessa]

Its a V10 modded with Magic 50k, la-508 is blown and possibly the laser.



I just want to know if the seller knew there was a NONE sony laser in there. OR if it was PACMALL that switched lasers on me.

yeah it's a risk with them. I've heard stories of Pac Mall stores swapping OEM batteries out of the phones they sell and switching with HK knockoffs.