A Tale of Two PS2 Slims - Faulty Retro Console Restoration

[@joshuadj22]

Lol "If you don't want to void your warranty" I'd be impressed if they offered a 15-year warranty. But in all seriousness, good video.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you enjoyed it bud. Protecting your warranty sticker is more about preservation. To collectors a sealed unit is more valuable than one that has been opened and repaired. To the average person it probably doesn’t make a difference. Obviously PS2 isn’t collectible but that’s the idea.

[@AnarickTheDevil]

@@BorderlineOCD Cant you just heat the tape up and slip it off without the void appearing all over the it? Pretty sure I've seen it done before on a video.

[@mansour7117]

@@AnarickTheDevil if you want to warp the sticker

[@jbath2033]

@@BorderlineOCD isn’t collectible yet…..

[@minmogrovingstrongandhealthy]

@@AnarickTheDevil That doesnt work on these because most of these stickers get damaged soon as you temper with them, especially peal it off. They are similar to hologram stickers, once you mess with them they are damaged forever.

[@nemmail]

Your video just saved Christmas. My son (10Y) has been getting in to retro videogames and got a PS2 this summer. Its been working fine so far. For Chistmas his mom and I managed to track down a copy of ICO. A game he has been taking about for months. But alas this morning when he wanted to start playing it. We were meet with an unreadable disk error. Other games were working fine. After trying a bunch of tips and tricks with nothing working I found your video. I took apart the unit and set the potentiometer resistances to match the references you measured in the video. The game now works! - Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@gamechep]

You're a PS2 wizard! You not only repaired them to perfect health, you also rescued the consoles from becoming e-waste!

[@momfiethehunter504]

Good job on finding out about those switches. Also very creative with making some new clock batterys, currently preparing for a planned power outage by fixing up some old 12v car batteries so I can use them to power my wifi router as well as my tv and ps4

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks bud. How long can you power that setup with a few car batteries? I applaud your determination to game through a blackout. That is true devotion.

[@momfiethehunter504]

@@BorderlineOCD currently have 1 good 60 ah 12v battery and 1 80ah high current 12v battery that I'm trying to fix. Got at least 2 hours playtime from that good 60ah battery on my 360 without my tv connected. I just tried out my tv plugged into the converter and it sounds like my tv power supply doesn't like it since it's making buzzing noises but it does seem to work. I also could connect my soldering station up instead of my consoles and clean up my work bench and finish some projects that I didn't have time for so I guess I should just do that instead

[@momfiethehunter504]

I also need to order some batteries for my ps4 controllers as well. It's funny that I have to order some batteries for those because all of the ps3 controllers that still have working batteries outpreform my 1 working ps4 controller

[@murraykriner9425]

Well done. Rarely see anyone grasp so completely the repairs they undertake like you do. Bravo.

[@kritikalazz2021]

Did exactly the same as your video adjusting potentiometers, & hey presto it works again just when I was about to order a new laser. By far one of the best vidz with clear instructions to follow so thanx.😊

[@itamarazulai6767]

I've just discovered your channel, your content is informative and interesting.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you, glad you're enjoying it!

[@optimusp517]

That’s one of cleanest battery job I’ve ever seen.

[@Nanotronik78]

Wow! Fantastic!!! Now I know how to try to repair my PS2 !!! You are a good worker repairing the best jewels in the history of videogames !!!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you enjoyed it. It's apparently a common issue with these so good chances you'll be able to bring your unit back to life.

[@BMR86]

your videos are like when I first discovered Voultar's channel.... very talented well put together videos man! I'm really enjoying your content!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you like them!

[@hashrulsubzero]

I've never thought seeing someone using a car product to restore PS2's faded black plastics. Awesome!

[@94Vape]

Wow thanks, I haven't been able to get my ps2 to read a disc in 5yr, dusted it off today and thought I'd give it a go, just put home distilled ethanol in those spots you said and it's working like a charm.

[@Junkyard_Dawg]

Great job on fixing the two PS2 slims. It's good that you had an accurate resistance reading to go off of, since someone clearly tampered with the "dirty" slim. I've fixed a few fat PS2s that had disc reading issues. Aside from the mechanical issues of dust and dried up lubricant, they also have the potentiometer for adjusting CD and DVD. Fortunately I've never had to mess with that. On the fat PS2s, they have gears that can adjust the height of the rails where the laser slides along. The gears can reach a maximum height, and then drop back down to the lowest point once you passed the highest point. I would make marks where the gears originally were, just in case, and then I would count how many clicks of the gears would have from the laser at its lowest point until its highest point, before it drops back down. I would tune in the laser until I could read discs reliably. To test the lasers, I would make sure my PS2 could read smooth and scratched discs, but since the PS2 can read many types of discs, I would test a PS1 game, a music CD, a DVD movie, a DVD based PS2 game, and finally a CD based PS2 game (blue discs games like Half-Life, Soldier of Fortune, et cetera). With a full suite of discs to test, I would be confident where the laser was tuned. You can also tell if the laser is reading well when it boots a disc before you ever see the dashboard of the PS2. Keep up the great work. I'm looking to get a PS1 Digital Kit when they are back in stock, so I can mod my newest PS1 with HDMI.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks dude, this was a fun pair to work on, although I may have underestimated the effort of working on two units at the same time! I admittedly haven't seen any fat PS2 repairs in recent memory. I'm sure I'll eventually come across a repair lot with one. After working on the PS2 Slim I feel the same way about it as the PSone. It feels a little cheap and flimsy and doesn't have the same nostalgic kick somehow... I'm prepping to work on the trio of original PlayStations I picked up recently, and happy to say the repair manual is more in depth than the PS2. I do think an oscilloscope would make things easier when working on the laser, and I'm considering getting an inexpensive one just for that purpose but not sure if it's going to do the trick or not. I've seen some rather interesting looking ones on Amazon for $40 lol... On the PS2 laser adjustment you mentioned (took me a couple of reads to visualize it but I get it now), how do you know what the right height is? So after you mark the original position and reset it, do you go through the gear teeth one by one and test? Good luck getting your hands on the PS1Digital Kit. Saw Voultar's install video and it looks like a fun and challenging soldering exercise!

[@Junkyard_Dawg]

@@BorderlineOCD I click through the teeth of the gears one at a time as you said. The PS2 CD-based games are some of the hardest discs to read on the PS2. I would have the top off the console and adjust the laser height one increment at a time until I could get reliable reads. I would then test the speed it boots into the game. I would finally test all the disc types I mentioned previously, to make sure the laser height was good across the board. The laser module on the fat PS2 also has a black cover that can be removed to expose the source of the laser. I also clean that, because it is possible for dust to get down there, where a regular surface clean on the top of the laser would not get. I absolutely love the fat versions of the PlayStation consoles. They have the most modding capability. I have two SCPH-50001 PS2s with Free MC Boot that loads all the games from a 1 TB internal SSD. Out of the 300 games I have, only one doesn't work. I personally tested all of them. Somehow the e-mail notification when the PS1 Digital Kit went in stock did not send to me, which is odd. Hopefully I'll get the next stock notification. I ordered my XStation ODE today. I'm going to secure a SCPH-5501, since I need a PU-18 motherboard.

[@wsketchy]

Someone probably messed with the potentiometers thinking they were undoing screws

[@SetyaPriatna]

@Harley Mekhi ive seen this comment everywhere, with the exact same reply...

[@Crest6680]

@@SetyaPriatna likely a bot

[@waltersobchak7275]

@@SetyaPriatna it’s a scam. Don’t go on the site. They always like you said make a comment and with that same reply

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

A few PS2 revisions had a design flaw where a spike in voltage would short the laser coils, and in turn would fry the LA6508 chip. On slim models this could happen by opening the drive lid while the disk was reading. This could also happen when using scratched discs as the console would try to increase the power of the laser to try to read the disc, resulting in the coils overheating. IIRC Sony tried to address this by adding a pack of diodes in parallel before the coils. Another option was to perform a "romeo mod" which would power the LA6508 chip with 5V instead of 12V. So what I'm saying is use clean disks and try not to play too much with the lid switch once a disc is being read. 😉

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

Should have just made more fat models

[@lordudelloyd]

Thank you for this video. I was able to void my warranty and fix my ps2 slim that has been in a box forever. Was able to just spray electronics cleaner in the door switches and work them and now it plays just fine

[@KyloRen0127]

Thanks to your fine troubleshooting work, I was able to fix my PS2 Slim just by cleaning the disc lid sensors with 91% isopropyl alcohol!

[@farmerfreakeasy]

Indeed, my Slimline had an issue with the door lid sensors too..... i had an issue for several years with intermittent "the disc tray is open" messages. Thought it had finally killed my system, so i disassembled with the help of your video. As i was analysing the frontal sensor, the on/off button suddenly fell off the circuitboard ! It wasn't actually soldered on, but instead attached by some very dry glue base. After managing to take out the battery, reattach the on/off button, blow some dirt out of the frontal sensor, i finally discover(i think) that the problem is the main disc rotary is dead. Thanks for the video. (I can't believe where the battery is in the PAL territory version).

[@allansouza3563]

What an amazing discovery! Keep the good work, greetings from Brazil. Also thanks KZbin for recommend this.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for the sub! Força Brasil!

[@maurolocchi]

Damn man, I got a ps2 slim two days ago from a trash bin and it has the same problem. I looked for help on yt and various forums but anyone couldn't help, and then i see this video, amazing. Tomorrow I will try this and I hope it's working because I really wanna solve it. Sorry for my bad english

[@agmb911]

Man, your work is my ASMR

[@BorderlineOCD]

Haha thank you, I try to balance talking vs. just showing the work so glad you find it relaxing.

[@malagueta1986]

Very nice video. I love PS2, and watching you repairing them is awesome!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you like them!

[@Crylhound]

You know you love the ps2 if your ps4 has the same start up sound and the same background as the the ps2 :) I love it!

[@JavierHernandez94236]

This is so informative! I am looking foward for some audio repair on PS2 units. Have a nice day

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I never know what the next repair pile will bring, so you may see it here eventually :P

[@maverickhuntersyd]

Thank you for teaching me about the fuses and lid covers! Now I don't have to go straight to the pot tweak when something doesn't read discs.

[@arturomail]

This is a very professional video. Good work, man.

[@MajesticFreak]

You make a great job with your videos I really enjoy it and learn new things I hope u will do more videos like that with different consoles Keep it on

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you like them!

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

Really enjoying your videos. Bought a 60gb ps3 recently which had discs stuck in it which I managed to fix. It is very noisy so after watching some of your videos I want to take it apart even more and do the thermal paste. Thanks for the links in the description as I know what to order then.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you're finding the content useful. I think you mean the lithium grease for the drive rather than thermal paste, unless you're re-pasting your GPU/CPU as well.

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

@@BorderlineOCD plan on repasting the CPU and GPU but the lithium greasd I will use on my ps2 fat as I am having problems with that laser. So if I give it a good clean and grease it might help it more.

[@Norrecito]

Great work with those switches! :) Very informative repair indeed. The funny thing is that there are many pot tweaking videos on KZbin (for different consoles) but tweaking the potentiometer never solved anything for me. (Tried on 10+ systems by now)

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks my man, glad you enjoyed it. I think an oscilloscope would improve the odds of a successful pot tweak and I’m considering getting one soon. It’s hit and miss with resistance values but yeah the odds are stacked against you given the higher likelihood that the laser is just probably dead most of the time.

[@lpoki8897]

Repairs like this are the best, just a spit shine and they good to go. I've fixed 2 or 3 slims by noticing the the lid has gotten juuuust enough heat/wear that it bends slightly. So now they don't reach the lid button, put some paper snug under there and they where good to go.

[@nathanmead140]

The battery inside PS2s are only for the clock, the system configuration and game saves are stored on the memory cards which are flash memory in SONY memory cards.

[@WaxFly]

Thank you! This helped a ton. My friend's PS2 and mine work again.

[@usoppusogekinggod1144]

wow! I had my console kept for ten years because It stopped spinning the disk and just I bought and use the liquid and bang it works again, Thank you

[@WilliamLattuada]

The little black latch that presses down the back sensor button on my ps2 slim broke off, I tried to glue it back on twice with superglue but every time I open the tray it snaps off again! I don’t know what to do😭

[@james42519]

There are 2 door closed switches. The back middle one was messed up on mine so I taped it down and worked. The switched still worked but it didn't get pushed down enough for some reason. There is another swirch on the power button board. I would have checked the switches before anything really

[@Marin3r101]

I'm not sure if you are aware but disk is reserved for use to ID magnetic media formats. Floppy Disk, Hard Disk etc. Optical medias are ID'd as discs etc. Compact Disc, Digital Video Disc etc.

[@jordankelly6781]

Thanks!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Appreciate the Super Thanks buddy. Cheers.

[@Ultronator]

I have a PS2 slim that doesn't read the discs. Tried to follow this guide only to find after putting it back together that the power will no longer stay on (light goes from green to red after a second). Fuses seem to be good, but I'm guessing I may have disturbed the power connector and need to reflow the solder over there. I didn't adjust the laser yet.

[@thumbscake]

I burnt out my whole laser trying to adjust the cd, could you list the ome ohms for both the dvd and laser and tell me whats to high or too little for both, theres so much conflicting information on google

[@migue647]

The first console that I bought with a lot of work and savings, the previous ones were bought by my mother v: I still have it in its original box, it is the model scph-90001

[@BorderlineOCD]

That would be the Xbox 360 for me. Finally scraped enough money working part time to buy one. I asked for a lot of consoles growing up. The answer was a resounding "no". It was nice shopping in the bargain bin for games though haha.

[@Ateks_]

Thanks for this videos, now I can finally use my ps2 again

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad I could help

[@johnDingoFoxVelocity]

actually there are two models of the ps2 slim for future use and repair model 1 ps2 slims have a dial up modem port still model 2 ps2 slims dont

[@BorderlineOCD]

The only other model I have in my repair pile are a couple of SCPH-79001s. The pair in this video are SCPH-75001s. Both have ethernet built in. I'm assuming you are referring to yet another iteration?

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

@@BorderlineOCD there is a SCPH-9000x that has the external power supply built in.

[@javadb76]

such an amazing video. this actually fixed my problem thanks

[@DontWorryAboutIt1026]

This is a very nice video I think my virgin PS2 might have the same issue

[@ricicloriparazionimr.g]

Great job 👍👍 thank you very much, greetings to Italy 🇮🇹

[@02jeepwj]

i cant figure mine out all of the fuses tested good switches are good the laser will move but disk still wont spin even with a supposedly brand new laser and disk drive

[@bindusar7297]

My ps2 is reading the disc but when I enter the disc after the ps2 logo there is a black screen

[@shoeflaps]

Really common issue this, especially after people started tampering with the sensors to get the slims to boot backups. First thing I look at if a slim isn't reading games.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Once you know, you know! First thing I’ll check in future if I ever come across these systems.

[@shoeflaps]

@@BorderlineOCD People started gluing them down and stuff to trick the console into thinking the lid was closed. You don't really see it on the 90000 models, I think Sony implemented a different check.

[@doYYY-gq1ox]

Nice video. On my unit, I pushed on both switches and the disc start to spin and stopped after a few revolutions, and then turn off. Would appreciate any ideas. Thanks.

[@daniejansevanvuuren3117]

I have PS2 slim the problem with it is that the disc trying to spin but after a while it started to spin but no at a high speed where can start looking for the problem? Thanks I enjoyed your repair video 😊

[@Alex68dash]

i think i blew a fuse on mine when i was dialing the laser. I didnt plug the ribbon back into the laser and when i when to go do a test my ps2 started buzzing and i shut it off. reconnected the ribbon cable to the laser and now the disk doesnt want to spin

[@Alex68dash]

update: turns out i was using the wrong kind of laser for my ps2. i had bought 2 lasers. One was green like the one in the video and the other i had was like orange/yellow. Turns out that the green underside laser was incompatible with my version of the slim causing the disk drive not to spin. I put the other one (which was more like the original one i had in my slim) and it worked fine. Turns out you do need specific lasers

[@BorderlineOCD]

The SPU laser (Philips) needs to be changed with the same laser, but the PVR802W and the KHM430 are interchangeable.

[@fend0]

I have a problem with two lasers, both don't read CDs at all, but the DvD games can be read, I set the DvD screw value to 1646 +/- and it was able to read two DvD games, one in good condition, and the other in bad condition.. on the CD screw, I've already tried several values, but none of them worked... I tried the value represented in this video, but it didn't work.. Could it be that the laser is almost dead or close to dying?

[@retrodude6215]

Why was the sound pitch off on the consoles?

[@wasstation3]

Hey sir , umm...do u know how i can remove the scratches from the outside of the console like the one u have ?? if u know tell me plz cuz i really wanna do it and thnx

[@fat_sonic]

Omfg, thank you so much! I was so happy to see that I can play my sonic mega collection plus again! Thank you!

[@Systemsquirrel]

You should always test slim PS2's with discs you don't care about. It's a common problem for the adhesive that holds the laser's ribbon cable to the RF shield to fail allowing it to come in contact with the disc leaving a circular scratch.

[@BorderlineOCD]

That's hilarious, permanent damage to your disks? The build quality of this system is definitely questionable...

[@Systemsquirrel]

​@@BorderlineOCD It's not that the ribbon detaches it just starts to peel up where the curl is from the upward pressure than gives it enough slack to come in contact with the disc. Sony solved the problem with the SCPH-9000x slims.

[@nitrax8629]

Can agree with this, my PS2 slim did this to Jak and Daxter. Luckily that game didn't store anything at all where the scratches were, it only uses just over 1GB of the disk!

[@moliver_xxii]

hey, where can i find the service manual? thank you!

[@waltersobchak7275]

I’ve bought 16 PS2 on ebay and all were not reading disc. I cleaned the lenses and got 14 working fine. The other two ordered lens and now they are fine.

[@thewoodbarionshow2223]

Great work Awesome repair video!👍

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you brother, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Taquito694]

at the moment i have the Problem with my ps2 slim that it wont read DVDs But it reads CDs can you help me with that ?

[@CrashFan03]

you need to either adjust the DVD pot on the laser, or replace the laser outright

[@maddymuhat8079]

is that a different version of ps2? i noticed the ribbon cable near the lens. it has different position

[@dablakmark8]

can you link me to the service manual for this ps2

[@AnarickTheDevil]

I have a ps2 slim that I've had sense the model launched. It has lose video port and I cant find a single video on how to fix it.

[@BorderlineOCD]

The multi-out connector isn't terribly difficult to reflow. Just look for any video on reflowing broken pins on a through-hole connector.

[@AnarickTheDevil]

@@BorderlineOCD Ya I'll just need to pick up an iron and accessory.

[@nathanmead140]

@@AnarickTheDevil it will be easier with hot air i got my hot air thing for $45 on Ebay and it's very nice and has a digital display with adjustable temperature and air flow (one of the best tools i have bought for this kind of stuff just can't use it very much because i don't fix smd or through hole stuff with lots of pins very often)

[@danelectr]

Is the PVR-802W lens compatible on those units?

[@Dr4wfox]

"15 years after benn release, someone finally poped that cherry"... I swear that's not what this video is about, mister FBI guy!

[@Itsuki_Takeuchi]

My idea bridge the faulty switch, one Switch is enough?

[@SuperRoytom]

Fantastic work

[@invincible_ssj4]

I don’t know which part of the ribbon I must glue back!!!! Mine fell off but on the other side witch goes into the console I mean the other end of the ribbon which he fixed , anyone knows which part of the ribbon I must glue back let me know and if it’s ok with glue, thanks

[@krazyspade5324]

Question! Never soldered before, all I need is the essentials to actually do the repair correct?

[@Spelter]

I would've polished the middle plastic strip and to redo the paint I used military shoe polish and heat up the plastic a bit so the oils can enter it.

[@axelgallegos9913]

Hello excellent video, a question by chance do you know how to recover the movement of the blue spheres that are shown in the main menu of the Playstation 2 slim

[@BorderlineOCD]

They don’t move when the time hasn’t been set. Set the system time.

[@SwagMonztr]

you my friend are a god tysm!! fixed my issue in seconds!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad it was helpful to you.

[@blacksheepbandit6578]

I have two slim PS2 both won't load discs I'm gonna try it i hope it works

[@anthonyacevedo8366]

I have my old ps2 that won’t power on would u be willing to take a look at it

[@Sislik5182]

Hi, wanted to ask, my playstation will load the disk only when the Ps2 is in vertical position, any idea what the issue could be ?

[@theeffete3396]

Could be motor strain. Open the case and clean any dust around the motor and laser assembly. Check to see if a hair is wrapped around the spindle (this is actually a pretty common cause of disc-reading errors, believe it or not). Also check the tray switches. There's the two shown in this video, but there's also a third on the front of the laser assembly. This is supposed to press against a metal plate to tell the system when the laser is in the 'forward' position.

[@xXYannuschXx]

My PS2 Slim is starting to have the same fault. I need to put something on the lid to fully press down the switches to get it to read the disc.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Use some contact cleaner in the both holes. It should revive the functionality of the switches.

[@james42519]

Might not work. The plastic gets worn down ovee time too so.might not be pushed enough. Like I said another comment i taped down back middle one and it works fine with switch on power button.

[@rkrenicki]

I recently found your channel, and I am enjoying your videos. I do wonder, do you speed up your videos a little? There is an unusual audio skipping that I keep hearing.

[@migue647]

Does the laser power change depending on the model? I have seen other videos on KZbin that leave it at 750 ohm, or maybe those have chips to read copies

[@BorderlineOCD]

I would suspect the values can vary depending on revision. I saw similar videos with values in the range like you saw and I just don't know what to make of them. I have another two silver SCPH-79001 so it will be interesting to see the stock values on those (seals are intact) compared to this pair of SCPH-75001s...

[@MacPaiin]

I read on a forum that the fat model and slim ps2 actually needs different values. But I'm still not certain what exact numbers they both have since people seem to confuse and mix the numbers between the models :S

[@IX3zero]

nice job! i would really like to see a video where you calibrate the potenciometer of a dreamcast drive

[@BorderlineOCD]

I have a couple of Dreamcasts and they all arrived with dead drives. Would love to bring one back to life but I haven't found any great repair info on it and I'm not eager to do a trial and error approach. I will be on the lookout though. Although I have a GDEmu I would love to have one of the physical discs working.

[@summerishere2868]

Man you are a pro. You make it look easy, which it is really not. Awesome work! Btw I measured the resistance not with the two points of the bottom but with one from the top and the bottom, can this cause issues? Another question I have a ps2 slim there were the motor seems to try to spin faster 2 or 3 times and then the disc error appears, could be this a motor problem or it is likely that the laser is old (or needs adjustment)?

[@marshmallowwolf3976]

"bad design or low quality material". Mate that console has survived for 20 years and still works, my own that i've had for 15 still works. Its likely the fault is just a build of of dirt or the eventaul drying of and grease or lubricant in those parts. The only issue i've had is that the laser rail has dirt buildup preventing it from sliding properly which as you know is easily fixed

[@ZathrusGizmo123]

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!! As a former computer industry service technician I applaud you for your EXCELLENT video and diagnostic skills. Bravo! Do you have a Patreon account I can buy you a well-deserved beverage for your efforts??? I recently had my PS2 apart due to the clock battery dying (mine is the onboard CR2032) as well as the dreaded DRE issue. I muddled with the trim pots too to get the drive reading again, but I didn't have the ohms values available to me. Your video gives me the values to check for now, thank you! Do you have a link to the PS2 service manual (it's a techie thing 😉) Again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for doing this EXCELLENT video! I l subscribed, of course, and will now check out your other videos.

[@ripleysmith7583]

Good job on the lasers

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you my man, your comments appreciated as always!

[@amargamer5423]

Mine has the same problem some how the data reseted by me just clicking the power button and all the data reseted and tried inserting discs but wont read them and i have no idea how to fix it by this video makes me wanna sell it cause im scared ill break it

[@Modzie868]

Hi, by chance do you have the service manuals for the said model ps2s??

[@marinien18]

It didnt work on my slim so what does that mean

[@couchtomatogaming]

I was wondering if you can fix my PS2 Slim

[@aldichodox2053]

why the laser drive doesn't move at all, sir?

[@welshtony1]

Good job fair play. I keep debating on having a go at fixing retro gear and watching videos like this on the easy fixes are not helping haha

[@herooftime9921]

Send it to him

[@welshtony1]

@@herooftime9921 I mean pick up other used gear from say ebay with faults and have a go at fixing it myself. Plus anyway im sure the shipping from the UK to him would be far more than the products are worth lol

[@BorderlineOCD]

Naa if you think you'd enjoy it just go for it bud. You gotta start somewhere, just stick to older systems at the beginning. The circuitry is simpler, traces are larger, etc. eBay can be hit and miss, as sometimes "untested" systems have had prior failed repair attempts. See if you can source something locally, or if you wanna do eBay definitely scrutinize the listing details and the seller feedback. But its a hobby like any other. You get better with each repair. Kitchen appliances are good candidates as well. I know they're not the sexiest things to fix but I did my first soldering on things like that (broken power cables, blown fuses) and can be good practice.

[@gokhankurtman635]

What is the correct values for potansiometer?

[@BorderlineOCD]

My measured values on the virgin console were 1.043kΩ and 0.524kΩ on the DVD and CD potentiometers respectively.

[@mrd5023]

@@BorderlineOCD i valori per la ps2 fat invece quali sono?

[@YenPox69]

Does the model of the ps2 affects the calibration of the laser? I have the model scph-90001 and i'm having this issue, but i don't have a chart of reference values for different models.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Possibly. I don't know if the optical drive was changed for the later revisions. The resistance values also differ from system to system even with the same drive so it's an imperfect procedure, but might give you an idea where to start.

[@FilmFan-iv7sz]

What kind of grease do you use to lubricate?? Or can I get away just using contact cleaner. The wires connected to fan do you use electrical tape or can I just use normal tape as currently they are not taped down. Is there any safe way to do pot adjustment with a reader as not sure how they work

[@BorderlineOCD]

I have the stuff I use linked in the description. I think on this particular unit the tape isn't a big concern. You can skip it altogether as that cable isn't going anywhere. You can use any kind of tape these units aren't generally known for overheating. If your drive is working don't change the potentiometers. If they need adjusting you'll need to use a multimeter. I'm not a fan of trial and error on pots without reading the value as you can inadvertently sent too much power to the laser and drastically reduce its life.

[@FilmFan-iv7sz]

@@BorderlineOCD I don't have a multimetre divice I know it anti clockwise to increase power to laser. So it is better to turn it clockwise or anti clockwise

[@andrewkoines6389]

Very nice fix. What was happening at about the 17:54 mark? I saw the resistance going up, but what exactly was going on with the screwdriver you were using?

[@BorderlineOCD]

The optical drive has two potentiometers which act like variable resistors. If you reduce the resistance you are able to deliver more voltage to the laser (increase power). Conversely if you increase resistance you can reduce power to the laser. When lasers begin to die you can sometimes get more life out of them by adjusting the potentiometer. The previous owner of this unit probably did that in an attempt to get it to read disks, when in fact the laser was completely fine. By lowering the resistance he make the laser more powerful but as you saw it wasn't reading disks properly. I increased the resistance to bring it back down to the power levels of the "virgin" unit's drive, which I knew had never been tampered with due to the intact warranty seal.

[@andrewkoines6389]

@@BorderlineOCD Awesome. Was there a screw that you were turning to alter the resistance?

[@BorderlineOCD]

The potentiometers have screw heads that rotate. They're known as trimmer potentiometers or "trim pots" and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The pair on the optical drive are small SMD variants.

[@andrewkoines6389]

@@BorderlineOCD Awesome, thanks. Really like your videos.

[@user-wj9xq7ig2v]

Sometimes the best the units to buy are the ones that are little broken like this. They stop working and stop being used in a sense preserving them for us.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Yeah it’s a great find when it broke down early in its lifecycle (specially when it’s a minor fault). You never know what you’re going to get in bulk lots. Sometimes they look like their owners used them as footballs, other times they’re in great shape.

[@loelco8162]

Thanks Paul💯

[@Tenjio79]

Amazing video, ive learned a LOT. Thank you for that. I have a PS2 SLIM model first gen with a bootscreen freeze. The console booting to the the systemscreen and just freezing up. It refuses to start a game. Any clue what this might cause?

[@BorderlineOCD]

No idea buddy, haven't run into a unit with those symptoms yet.

[@gc9575]

I would love a video about DVD resurfacing! Here IN Argentina this console has been very popular but original discs not so much ;) recently I got my hands on several rare discs and they are unreadable :(

[@JerrySM64]

Since he may not have seen your comment, I'm gonna help you now. There is a good video on doing a resurface made by the KZbinr "The Game Museum". I attempted it myself with my copy of Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix which got scratched by my PS2 and can confirm that it indeed made the scratches a lot less. I could've gotten it completely scratch free if my friend continued polishing it, but for now, I'm happy with the result. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3-bdodtlt2UhM0 Good luck and also greetings to Argentina from Germany. :)

[@Silverturky]

Hey dude! I know this is an old video but i would highly recommend not using expensive games on these slim consoles you get for repair. Sometimes the laser ribbon cables start to unstick and they belly up and touch the disc underneath. Ran into this problem myself but thankfully i test with fifa haha

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for the tip. A few folks shared similar experiences. Surprised I haven't run into this yet but good to keep in mind. Seems to be a prevalent issue with the Slims.

[@ZeldaLegend31]

mine want working until i closed it many times rapidly and with slightly more force

[@slimsketchy1489]

I once bought a PS2 from a thrift store. The guy said that I don't know if it works or not it's all your luck. I looked for seal and it was intact. So I was like what could go wrong. I paid him I guess it was $2. Took it home and connected it to TV. It didn't played games for some reason. I opened the lid and clicked on the micro switch that tells the console that disc is in. Nothing. So I opened it up and surprisingly all ribbon cables for the dvd drive were disconnected. It was a sealed console keep this in mind. And cables were disconnected. I connected them back up and it worked. Thought I'd share this..

[@BorderlineOCD]

Yikes. Do you have memory of peeling off the warranty sticker? Is it possible the warranty sticker was a reproduction? I think scammers will always find creative ways around these seals. I personally haven't had success removing stickers like this without the "void" print separating. Tried both heat and alcohol and it still tears. I'm able to remove an original Xbox sticker no problem (and everyone needs to remove their Xbox clock caps so not sure a "sealed" unit is a good sign from a longevity standpoint) but I do it for aesthetics more than anything else.

[@slimsketchy1489]

@@BorderlineOCD yeah it was genuine seal. I also thought that this sticker might be replaced at some point. So I had another slim which I was using at the time and compared the stickers visually. It looked very similar no difference at all. When I removed it it printed void on the console as you mentioned. And all screws opened with that satisfying "click". Also the console was in great condition too.