Hello folks, Lucent here.
As a couple of you may remember from a few scathing words I said about Sony a couple of months back, my PS2 has recently begun displaying DREs (Disc Read Errors). These errors are common in generation 1 PS2 devices, and are covered under warranty. However, as the typical warranty from an electronics store is 3-5 months many of our generation PS2 warranties ran out a couple of years ago.
Now, one solution to fixing this problem is to fork over a little cash and ship it off to have its lens cleaned and its motor repaired. However, the motor damage is not always the case as I have come to find. So in a sense you'd be spending hard earned money and a few weeks for a simple maintence to your PS2.
Now, many of you are probably saying, "But yeah, I want it fixed by a professional. It's gotta be hard!"
Not true little timmy, that's what I'm here for. I have a simple step-by-step tutorial just for FFO that I'm going to walk you throguh to clean your PS2 and hopefully rid you of those nasty DREs.
First off, before you grab the toolbox, remember that opening your PS2 (or any console system) violates any warranty you may have, so onc you crack this bad-boy open, its all your responsibility from here on in.
So, without further running of the mouth, here's the meat:
PS2 LENS CLEANING TUTORIAL
Before we begin, here is the list of common tools that you'll need to repair your PS2 lens.
*Normal phillips head screwdriver
*Jewelry (Small) phillips head screwdriver
*Q-Tip
*Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl)
Optional Materials:
*Can of Air
*Butter knife
Taking the PS2 apart is fairly simple, nothing too complicated. All that you’re basically going to do is remove the upper shell, remove the lens cover, clean the lens, and put everything back together again. Just be sure to follow the steps and read through each and understand it before going through with it. Sometimes the instructions may seem a little too in depth or complicated, but just use your common sense and you should understand what I’m trying to say. It’s a lot easier if you print it out, as well.
Step One [Click for Diagram]
Make sure that you have a neat, clean area set aside for taking the PS2 apart. A small box or cup to put screws in wouldn’t hurt, either. Flip your PS2 over so that the bottom (horizontally speaking) is facing up. There should be 6 screw covers, 4 plastic and 2 rubber, that need to be removed. You can use the butter knife for this, or your nails, whichever is easier.
Remember to remove your PS2 network adapter if you have one.
The screws should now be revealed. There should be 2-4 more screw covers on the outer side of the base, underneath the controller ports (where the system goes out a few inches from the base). The older model PS2’s have 4 plastic screw covers, while the newer ones have only 2. Remove them all, and you should now have a total of 8-10 screws unveiled. Set the screw covers aside.
Step Two
Using the normal sized phillips head screwdriver, remove all of the screws. REMEMBER where the longer screws go, or mark the holes with a piece of tape or anything that will remind you of which holes the long screws go into. If you do not remember where the long screws go, you could put a hole through a circuit board by trying to force the long screw in where it is not supposed to be. Make sure all of the screws are removed, and put them aside.
Step Three [Diagram 1 , Diagram 2]
Before removing your PS2 shell, split or peel off the small warranty sticker on back-right corner of the PS2. If you don't remove this sticker you won't be able to open the case.
The PS2 shell should now be ready to remove. Be very careful when taking the upper shell off, or you could damage the PS2. To take the shell off, you first should place the PS2 horizontally, with the PS2 logo facing up. Next, you need to move the side of the shell out a little, sideways, so that the Eject/Reset buttons are not blocking the shell, and it can be lifted off. Just play around with it a little and you should get it. Then, lift it at an angle, like opening the cover of a book. Take the bottom (Vertically speaking) of the shell, with the PS2 logo on it, and lift it an angle. You should notice a small wire around the area where the Reset/Eject buttons are. The wire should be taped to the top of the Lens cover. Remove the tape, and then carefully lift the cover so that it is laying flat, and the PS2 is open like a book, connected at the middle by the wire. The Lens is now almost accessible.
Step Four [Diagram]
To gain access to the lens, you need to remove the lens cover. The lens cover is located right in the area where the PS2 ejects the tray out, just above the tray. It’s square shaped, and has a small white circle piece on it. To remove the lens cover, simply take out the screws located on the side with the Jewelry screw driver. Place the screws aside, and lift the lens cover. You should now see the lens, a small circular glass piece located in the back of the disc tray.
OPTIONAL
Now comes the optional part. If you have a Can of compressed Air (which you can purchase at any electronics store like Radio Shack), you can use that to get all of the dust out of the PS2. Spray all around the area, especially the fan. You don’t need to remove anything, just spray. When it seems that the dust is removed, go on to step 5. Please, -do not- shake the can of compressed air.
Step Five
Now, the lens can finally be cleaned. Take the Q-Tip and swab it generously in the rubbing alcohol, and give the alcohol a moment to drip, you do not want any excess pooling on the lens. Take the Q-Tip and carefully rub the lens in a circular motion for a good 30 seconds. Then, flip the Q-Tip over to the dry side and dry it off in the same circular motions. Be sure you are doing this in a very well-lighted area so you can see if the Q-Tip left any small hairs on the lens.
The lens should now be clean.
Step Six
All that’s left now is putting the PS2 back together, which should be fairly easy. Place the lens cover back on, making sure that it’s tight and snug in position. Screw it in place and flip the shell back into place on the PS2. Screw the screws back in, making sure the longer screws are going into the correct holes. The screws don’t all have to be tight, so don’t sweat it if 1 or 2 of them aren’t seeming to fit into the holes all of the way, as long as they’re in the right holes. Put the screw covers back into place, and you’re done. Congratulations, your PS2 is now cleaned and working like new, without having to spend a dime! Feel free to repeat this process in the future, as well, if Disc Read Errors ever occur again.
If you encounter any problems in this procedure, or if you damage your PS2 in any way while doing this cleaning process it's not my bloody fault! ^_~;;
so u might have to do the same thing..
