Fixing the Forgotten Playstation

[@Denki]

Got lots to learn, but I did my best 🥹

[@emilyshabang]

Way to screw things up Ken...lol

[@aliceinmansonland448]

Just throwing this out there... Try a facemask to prevent moisture particulates, powderless gloves to avoid skin oils, and they make a little bracelet to ground you when you're working on electronics. PPE is a good thing to demonstrate to your viewers

[@Xerora]

@@aliceinmansonland448 Microscopic moisture particles that aren't enough to cause condensation in the air won't harm anything. Japan, where this thing was unveiled is at least 100x more humid than a human breath, and none of their systems die immediately after unboxing. Same with skin oils and static discharge, none of the things you listed are enough to do any real harm to an electronic device. LinusTech and Jayztwocents have done multiple videos on this, with demonstrations, albeit excessive in some cases.

[@rubenzuniga8599]

Excellent work . Not everything works out in the end with older tech repairs but glad you still made and posted the video!

[@russellsprout93]

Yo get a hold of the tronix fix youtube channel! Guarantee he could fix it for ya

[@Djentlman]

I have a feeling the first laser probably still worked, but the SD card being lodged in there was the issue preventing it from moving along the rail to read.

[@Denki]

I was thinking that as well, but I think it only goes as far as explaining the grinding noise you hear from the drive in Austin's video. I think the reading issue was still the laser being burnt out, since other PSX owners seemed to have the same issue.

[@Xerora]

@@Denki Felt more appropriate to respond from my non-personal (though i maybe shouldn't have also commented with it either.) To compound the grinding noise, and laser burning commonality, there's also the potential that the laser module could've been more damaged by the SD card blocking the track as well. Stressing the motor, and likely the ribbon cable as well. I also wouldn't be surprised if at some point the metal contacts on the SD card also touched something to cause a short earlier in its lifetime. I never really messed with PSX systems since i just use a modded ps3 for a media storage/server, but this was definitely a great change up of your usual videos. Look forward to seeing more! And hopefully you get the PSX back up. Would make a fun PLEX server/ISO loader. :P

[@Denki]

@@Xerora I'd love to get this back up and running in some state down the line, even if it takes a bit of time. Glad you liked the change of pace on the channel, even if the goal wasn't quite what I was aiming for 🙂

[@TheAlphaWoomy]

I was thinking that too, can you see if the old laser works in the computer drive once it’s back together?

[@JopeSane]

It was load bearing SD card. No wonder it broke.

[@JulianSauco]

You can get custom made ribbon cables, don’t leave the game! It’s still fixable.

[@Denki]

This is the first thing I wanna tackle

[@_maximf]

@@Denki You can do it!

[@IAmExisting2.0]

Then you can make a video starting it back up and getting the disk drive to work☺

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

or you can just cut off the mangled bit and scrape off a bit of the paint.

[@KY3ROLOVE]

@@Denki dont give up you can do it im really loving this pls try again you can do this i know you can!!!!

[@niino4329]

I'm that niino guy from the forum screenshot. The mac drive you can find a compatible PSX (x500 and x700 models) laser in is from the PowerMac G5, not the PowerBook G4. (Also, several drives have been used in the PowerMac G5, but only the DW-U21A has that laser). SF-DB11 won't even fit vertically inside the entire PowerBook G4 chassis 😀 A few things: The ribbon cables in the PSX are extremely brittle due to age. They are generic parts (defined by length, pin spacing, number of pins and direction) and thus are possible to be replaced. Hopefully you didn't kill anything when trying to forcefully reinsert the broken cable. You didn't take the plastic part that slides on the worm gear from the original laser and mounted it on the replacement laser, so even if everything else would be working, the drive wouldn't work. There are several versions of the SF-DB11 laser pickup, and only some of them will work (the wrong variant looks almost identical but will cause a short and melt a fuse or even the laser ribbon cable; just google it)

[@CrashFan03]

unrelated to the topic but awesome nano pfp

[@ZiadHamwi99]

Exactly, from my experience in repairing PS2s, blown fuses are a common thing especially when a ribbon cable is plugged in crookedly. I'd think the PSX would have a similar fault protection mechanism like the large number of fuses that were available on the PS2.

[@niino4329]

@@ZiadHamwi99 It does, and the fuses (e.g. PS3) as well as even the excact part number (listed around the center of the board in some tables) are marked on the board.

[@ZiadHamwi99]

​@@niino4329 Yep, they're clearly marked on the board.

[@Denki]

Thank you for the insight and feedback on the laser replacement!! Noting this for when I go back in for a second look. Especially regarding the ribbon cables, I wanna get the theoretical problem ones swapped to at least get the console on. Then tackle disk drive next. Glad you found your way to the video (even if it might have been cringy to sit through as someone with more experience on the matter)

[@aliceinmansonland448]

I've refurbished a PSP and a Vita, my heart weeps for you tackling that daunting task. I still get ill when I hear the words "Ribbon Cables."

[@Denki]

I wish getting extra components for the PSX were as easy as the PSP tho 😭

[@jessekauffman3336]

Thank you for this video I had no clue this system existed.

[@rockslash5614]

The classic thing that happens whenever you think you can fix something that is out of your league. The best thing is to take it to a specialist but at least you were honest and showed the video of your attempt. That's really humble and makes you likeable. Good work!

[@BoringSalmon]

They actually have a mod now that supposedly can emulate the HDD in the PSX. Would love to see a video of someone trying that.

[@KELLZdaLOUTheProducer]

Yes u can used free MCboot on it. I have a memory card with it on there and tried it on the PSX and it worked I just didn’t know how to get the roms on it.

[@theretrocaveman]

Do they? can you send a link to it?

[@DarkSoul-ds2]

@@BoringSalmon We are waiting for source

[@TamaraGirodie]

As an amateur modder, my heart empathizes with you! I have broken many projects when just starting, but with each one I gained more knowledge and skill, and am breaking way less of them now! You got this Ken, keep fixing and modding!

[@Jack32X]

Got one of these! My XMB is in English which makes working through the features a LOT easier

[@Zyro1331]

Epic to see a Video on the PSX! So many have forgotten about it when it was the origin of the beloved XMB UI later adopted by the PlayStation 3. I hope this video encourages all those who owned this system to try reviving it.

[@DrKoneko]

Please don't give up ken! You can get custom ribbon cables and I'm not a big PSX guy but normally with well loved consoles people have already documented what pieces you need to get it working again. I wanna see this thing work though!

[@paolochicco7200]

Send the device to “this does not compute”! He fixes everything 😊

[@D3VINJ]

You got this! Go for that cable! I wanted to see more content on this unit when Austin first showed it and was excited that you got your hands on it! Let this be a learning lesson. You should do a FULL come around and maybe mod it? This unit is beautiful and could be something amazing if you allow it.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

15:30 I personally know how you can fix a flat flex cable. Just cut off the mangled bit and then use scissors to scrape off about a centimeter of the paint on the side that had the contacts exposed. The cable will be a bit shorter but still it should hopefully work, and it's FREE, no need for some expensive custom cables or anything.

[@superduder]

The fella that owned that PSX had small kids. That SD Card is straight up small kids learning wonder.

[@verylongchannelhandle]

I honestly FEEL you on that, I wrecked my 3DS's top screen cable and almost broke down in tears :c But hey, don't let this destroy you! You learn! Get back up and try again ^^

[@laughyourashevilleoff2546]

I had two different regular PS2s (the OG model, not the slim) fail on me due to a faulty disc reader. They were really struggling with QA at this point. I swore off Sony for a while because I also had a 50 disc changer that crapped out around that same time. Also, remember all the faulty memory cards around the PS2 launch? It was nearly impossible to get one in the US the first 6 months-1 year after launch. Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[@seantdstewart]

I have a couple of PSXs that I am working on bringing back to life. They have various issues, broken ribbon cable (my fault), malfunctioning HDD (Dead on Arrival), and malfunctioning disk drive. I hope to repair them enough to modify the software/hardware and at the very least get the PS2 working. Definitely one of the most complex systems I have ever worked on.

[@BrendenPragasam]

Honestly try seeing if you can get replacement ribbon cables for it. There are companies that will make boutique ribbon cables as well, it's not the end of the world. All a ribbon cable contains are tiny traces to connect leads together 🤷

[@B-Side]

The exact same thing happened to me, from the disc drive not working well to the console dying from a ribbon cable getting snagged. The difference is I did all that in the same DAY it arrived from Japan, and I spent $200 on it 😞

[@suspendedhatch]

Since no troubleshooting was done- and the laser was just a guess, standard best practice when items fall out of the drive is to stop the blind parts swap, partially reassemble and test.

[@kaii1527]

Dudeee finally I love your doing videos like this we need more!!

[@Delta132]

I appreciate you documenting this and the mistakes you made, and although your PSX may not be working, it is a good learning experience for other watching possibly doing similar repairs, thanks

[@seanthomson6676]

Nothing worse than that feeling when you try to fix an old console and you just know that you’ve touched something or done something you shouldn’t have. Happened to me when I tried to fix a ps2 from a thrift shop and the console just died after trying to fix the disc drive

[@benzenegaming3199]

I have the same issue on mine and I know there is a fuse that blows quickly. If the Ribbon cable gets moved while you have the console plugged in to troubleshoot it, you blow a fuse. If you have the ribbon cable slightly off, you blow the fuse. There is one fuse that causes it and at first, it was hard to find the replacement and now, I can get them easily and I got mine come back to life after replacing it.

[@cajungoat]

Inside of me are two lasers, one is a dvd reader and the other is a wolf.

[@AleytiaDarogue]

That was such an awesome find. I wouldn't give up just yet. You got this!!!

[@GameShark1080]

I hope the renovations went well

[@RaffaelloLorenzusSayde]

It could be a capacitor issue, not a disk laser lens reader issue. I had several issues with my Playstation 1 console; however, when I replaced the capacitors, everything worked again.

[@makingstatements812]

I have one. Never used it because of the voltage difference. Apparently you need a step down converter so you dont fry it. Theres also 9 different revisions of this thing. Japan has 100v outlets. USA uses 120v outlets. You may have fried it.

[@Zeroknight34]

A little fun fact that very laser is what actually made the PS2 region locked. When it reads the disk it, it checking where the game is from. If it reads that the disk is from lets say the US then it will reject it saying the this disk doesn't belong to this specific PS2. So that's why people bought that special region locked disk. By reading that disk it tricks the PS2 into thinking its a Japanese version. It would allow people to play Japanese games. Now that is no longer the case.

[@MadGearGang]

Great video. If you think the PSX is a challenging piece of Japanese hardware, try replacing the laser on a v1 SEGA/Victor Wondermega! Accessing the laser is literally like the final heist in Ocean's Eleven when they descend down the lift shaft to access the vault, and that's providing you can find a suitable donor laser from a 90s JVC Midi System.

[@IceKoldKilla]

I do wonder if the PSX has CFW for it. Could enable the ability to swap out the HDD for any HDD, maybe even a SSD. Maybe upgrade or swap out other components? I have a rabbit hole to down tomorrow.

[@yaboikathy]

I’m excited to see you put the video out even if it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would!

[@ChaseFire1934]

21 years ago, the Playstation 10 was invented.

[@howdoesgame8879]

I’ve worked on a fair share of these consoles. The disc drive motor not kicking in is most likely due to one of the sensors or microswitches being misaligned or coming unplugged. Also the ribbon cables are actually really standard and common, you can find them online fairly easily although they’re typically a bit longer than the original. As far as hdd’s go, if your hard drive dies in this console it’s essentially a paper weight. These hdd’s are serialized to the console, kinda like the original Xbox but instead of being hardware serialized it’s written in the first few sectors of the hard drive and the encryption hasn’t been cracked yet. And I’m fairly certain because of that you can’t swap the hdd's between consoles, otherwise I'd be able to revive more of these consoles. Lastly, this should be obvious, but do not install ps2 games directly to the hard drive in this thing. Yeah I know it's possible but it's a super easy way to kill your hard drive, believe me you want to keep as much strain off of that drive as you can if you want your console to last. My recommendation is an SMB server with OPL. You could go the usb route but bad stuttering and compatibility issues isn't great. Anyway hope you can fix it! They aren't too complicated, I'm happy to give anymore advice if needed.

[@ChaseMC215]

There was a rumor going around saying that the PS2 hardware was added at the last minute, with the rumor being backed by the fact that Sony Corporation marketed the PSX, rather than Sony Computer Entertainment.

[@Denki]

There's a lot of segmentation with Sony even today, so this doesn't surprise me.

[@TooFurious4]

Could the PSX internal hard drive be used for Final Fantasy 11?

[@kyleallen239]

Ok i have a new mission in life! Im gonna do my best to find parts for that psx and send them your way. No guarantees or anything but i really wanna see that thing up and running!

[@mattnordsell9760]

I remember Adam Korlik mentioned on his channel about the PSX how they were very finicky from the beginning and that is why they are so cheap now in Japan.

[@coolduder1001]

I mean $800 in 2003 for a PS2 that can play DVDs, with a 160gb HDD for recording TV, and let you burn that to DVD, it's not that bad a price. I guess the cheaper version of this setup would be a VCR and a PS2. A PS2 was $200 in the US, and a VCR was still around $100.

[@stephenwilson8625]

I ended up putting a few together to get a working one...still have 2 parts units

[@JFinalXDark]

Trust me, you did ur best! Tbh, I got problems with my Blu-ray Drive in my PS3, and basically killed the motor, to make it work again I was changing the whole drive for another dead ps3 but it turns out, when I was trying to do a maintence for a Sony Vaio long time ago, it happen that I broke the flex that connect the keyboard to the main board (which basically kills the trackpad, also the power button it self) so, yeah, Sony most of the time made things harder to repair and it can be worse sometimes, don't blame your self on it!

[@DeadHawk23]

The moment that SD card came out he should've just put it back together to check if it worked.

[@jameswoll]

Def keep going, that thing's not dead and you don't have to give up! Especially if it's just a ribbon cable, bro! Keep going, you can do it!

[@SuperNeotendo]

maybe the sdcard has disturbed the cdrom mech to read cd's properly?

[@V3cna.]

Okay Not expected but very welcome to see I have one and mine died. There’s basically no documentation or support for this piece of history

[@dunny]

Damn now I don't feel so bad about snapping my PS2's fan cable yesterday, luckily that's only a £5 replacement.

[@ThePoolboy789]

maybe the sd card jammed in the drive was the problem the whole time

[@smitus_hell7564]

wouldnt retesting it after you found the sd card, might have been jamming the laser from moving

[@DaisakoKunandra]

With that ending, it sounds like a good way to get a multi-part series of videos out :P

[@tristanflynn4014]

Long shot, but would ODD TINKERING be able to breathe life into it? Dude works miracles.

[@mikyjacobo6826]

Im just a little upset they didnt reassemble the drive after removing the sd card to check it

[@ScottMGordon]

maybe that sd card was causing issues with the cd drive not working correctly?

[@jamesburke2759]

256GB? they didnt have those drives back then. it was 250GB Was that DVD drive completely different when you showed it out the box?

[@marky3609]

That SD card might have hidden file folders on it either that or the actual content of the drive is hidden within the JPEG images and is encrypted. I'd take a closer look at that SD card myself.

[@MikaiGamer1286]

There better be a followup video of you repairing it for real

[@marksapollo]

There is a channel called ‘Andrew Paul’ he repairs consoles etc but only makes videos now and then, and he has some of him repairing and restoring and modifying a PSX. May be worth you looking at his videos as he details where he got some parts. He gives lots of details on the ribbon cables too as they are very delicate.

[@AOTProductions]

Ken so professional

[@yourpalazraelyt]

Ken got his Austin Evans windows vista moment

[@nathanmerritt1581]

You should use that Panasonic Vieira tv you guys have when you test it with consoles, it looks aesthetically very pleasing in the video.

[@TokenTech]

"I want to go in a little blind for the sake of the content" was your first mistake

[@Denki]

A cautionary tale as old as time

[@googlesucks6029]

Oh man, I wanted one of these so bad and I was really upset when I found out it was Japan only. I probably wouldn't have been able to afford it.

[@StSparky]

Ken, we’ve one at my mother in law’s in Japan. My nieces & nephew used it. Just super nice.

[@vgffff68]

For the people who don't know yes you can replace the hard drives it'll just lock the drive you clone to

[@8bitnation419]

Replace the FPC cables. Get a FreeMcboot memory card and you can bypass the failing HDD and the DVDR laser.

[@lushG678]

160/256 GB in 2003??? I dont think people understand just how insane that is

[@HiGECHANNEL]

Heartbreaking to see the PSX not power on but I believe in you!!

[@Denki]

Ash!! Gonna try to get it working again 💪

[@1-eye-willy]

i have a sony bluray player with the cross media bar, its the only thing keeping me from throwing it in the garbage

[@KELLZdaLOUTheProducer]

I have a PSX and have the same issue only that it will play burn cd’s 💿 and DVD’s but won’t play the standard ones or the PS1 or PS2 games. I wanted to fix it also but looked at it and thought it’s not worth it. So I still used it to play movies. I mite even try to burn a tv show or two. Haven’t used that feature yet.

[@Reddotreticle]

My daughter once inserted a penny into my Mercedes Benz cd player. It stopped in there until it was sold. Guarantee a child put that sd card in there 😂

[@_SurferGeek_]

Ribbon cables can be fixed or bypassed.

[@est-eban4356]

MY PSX still has a damaged check reader, I simply use a memory card with FreeMCboot for PSX DESR and it skips the reader and my ORIGINAL games work without a problem.

[@SilverStormShadow]

"It's pretty finicky IF you need to do any repairs" Honestly with the PSX, it's not if you need to do any repairs, it's when. The PSX is one of history's least reliable consoles, probably worse than the OG 360's with the Red Ring of Death.

[@dagetheone]

maybe the sd card made the dvd drive malfunction

[@mrwang420]

I can't believe they put a 3 fin "heatsink" on the chip. Does it even dissipate heat? Lol.

[@user-wf2ek8hz8g]

The cable is in tons of Sony game systems of the time. If you have access to a parts ps3 phat check it out. Or just grab the cable model number and look it up

[@OldSchoolGamerandCollector]

Hi! Show me how you replacement dvd lens. Please!

[@5tereo1]

for context, the playstation 2 had a whole 32mb of internal memory... as for the memory cards, 8mb

[@FrancoisRoy]

Well obviously this calls for a rematch; you guys need a functional PSX!

[@EmmettLBrown2015]

Don't give up brother, I believe in you I know you can do it!

[@AhYung879]

Summon Tronicsfix 😂

[@zincmann]

I'm not sure if you still have The PSX and if it's still not working but I also imported one I swapped out the laser and it does work perfectly now. I am wondering if you did not replace the track on the laser that you imported into the system because you need to replace the track with the original track from the laser that was in there before at least with the model. I did it would not catch on the gear if you didn't do that. Happy to have a look if you want me to

[@cadenchurchill4296]

Before this video I didn't even know this existed! So cool!

[@DSBOY33]

Always do your research my friend watch videos on how to take it apart before you do it yourself it takes sometimes it takes trial and error when it comes to taking apart consoles it happens I know your pain especially when I replace the shell of my DS and it doesn't power on

[@RndmPolar_bear]

Turn the PSX into a sleeper gaming computer......

[@Reddotreticle]

Hey you gave it a go and gained valuable experience doing it. You will learn for next time from this experience. We’re only human and we all make mistakes. Could be worse.

[@SweetKingTanner]

:( may it rest in peace. A sad day indeed

[@myagi20000]

@Denki have u ever done a video about that PSP TOOL that stands in front of the PS5 at 16:21

[@Reddotreticle]

Wow seeing that dvd rw brought back my childhood memories of renting ps1 games at the video shop and writing them to blank cd’s. Man they were the days 😂 on my plextor cd re writer.

[@TehGameRaven]

It's still fixable. If nothing else, there are skilled people out there that know everything about these things and can do repairs we arent able to do ourselves. Why I'll eventually be sending off my YLOD PS2 compatible PS3 to people thet can revive it because it is beyond my current ability.

[@yourmanDrew]

Great video

[@jeffreybelk5566]

RIP to the PSX, you gave your life for our enjoyment and search of knowledge.

[@manolo.o7036]

you did amazing ken you tried and never gave up and thats what mattered, also W video as always

[@PavethaWay]

We need the Gen 1 PS3 fixed next !!

[@janchristianursuaaguilar7434]

woah ken the most bizarre hardware sony made fr.

[@fiorexd6176]

is it not possible to just replace the ribbon cable? .. (possibly a dumb question.. but im no expert) - if the actual lens can be replaced hy not the the cable?

[@smiths7317]

The ribbon cable is standard off the shelf part.

[@brandyberry14]

Ez fix hopefully u can get a replacement ribbon cable. Or send it to someone who can fix it

[@AnthonyChopra]

in theory when i was 9 we was the generation of 9yr olds that did in fact have the PS3 New style for the menu.. thoo us in UK and US prob hardly saw it but the menu design was a thing

[@syarifahhabsyi1959]

Bro my psx mod matrix . I want back to original , disc trsy cannot open and hatd drive not working . Howto fix it