Anyone who owns a Playstation 2 knows they weren't the best made consoles in the world. I've had to fix mine constantly, and at one point I went as far as to buy a second one since I got so fed up with trying to fix my first one. One day my friend came over and we decided to fix my PS2, and now it still works fine. About every couple of months or so I need to just do a routine check-up on it, but that isn't so bad.
First, there are a few items necessary to this operation, and they are basically house hold items most people have laying around. What you're gonna need is the following:
-A small philips head screw driver. Althought I couldn't find one of these sometimes I used a sharp knife with a pointy end. However I do not really recommend that since it would ruin the screws.
-Q-tips/Swabs.
-Rubbing alcohol.
-Dust Buster/Compressed Air
The first step to fixing your ps2 is opening it. When doing this you void the warranty, so I am warning you. First disconnect all wires connect to the PS2. Next thing you should do is remove your Network Adapter and HDD (if applicable). To take the Network Adapter out you can simply use a quarter to turn the screws. To get the HDD out there are two silver metal tabs on either side of the Network Adapter facing you, press them in and the HDD should slide out easily.
Next there many tiny little squares on the base of the PS2, remove these with your fingernails/flathead screwdriver/ect. Each of these little black squares contain a screw, and there are two different lengths of screws, so mark where which go when you take them out. Whenever taking anything apart, always record your progess so you know how to put it back together. After that you need to remove the sticker on one of the sides of the PS2, wherever this is. This voids the warranty, so don't carry on any further if you don't want to do that.
Reminder: There should be no wires/controllers/anything connected to the PS2 at this time.
Now that you want to move on, remove the top of the PS2 carefully. The wires to the power button and eject button are connected to the top that you are removing, so do not pull it to hard and/or fast, this may cause the wires to rip, then you're in deep trouble. Place the top of the PS2 right next to the rest of the PS2, keep it on even level, and make sure the top of the PS2 will not fall off the surface you have placed it on.
After you have removed the top of the PS2 carefully the top of the CD drive is visible. This top of the CD drive needs to be taken off, so take your philips head screwdriver and unscrew the four screws that hold the top of the CD drive on. These screws are extremely small, so I suggest putting them in a white/light colored bowl so you do not lose them. These screws are vital in keeping your PS2 working properly and smoothly. Now, with the top of the CD drive opened a CD may be visible if you had one in there, remove it, it is blocking the item we need to get to. However, hold onto the CD to test the procedure after you're done. Once the CD is moved out of the way the lens will be visible, this is what we were looking for. In case you don't know what the lens is, it's a small circular clear object that is mounted on a black plastic surface. The lens is what reads the CD.
Since the PS2 is already open, take this time to clear the PS2 of dust. Clean the ventilation areas and the fan. The fan is tricky to clean since it moves so easily, but I suggest holding it in place and using a q-tip to clean it. A Dust Buster or a vacuum with a hose can be used to suck some of the dust out as well. However, I suggest compressed air. Once all the dust is gone on the inside, clean the outside USB ports, controller ports, memory card ports, and all the ports on the back. After that it's back to business with the lens.
Now take the cap off of the top of the rubbing alcohol bottle and pour some alcohol into it. Then, take a q-tip and dab it lightly in the alcohol, you don't want to drench the lens with it. Take the q-tip and lightly dab the lens with it, make sure the alcohol gets onto the lens. Give the lens awhile to dry (a few minutes should do the trick), and that's the end of the procedure.
To test to make sure it works put a CD on the tray and put the top on the CD drive (if you don't the CD will wobble off of the tray). Now you may plug the power chord in, and the video/audio chords in as well. The top of the PS2 still should not be on, it still should be laying next to the PS2, but flick the power button on in the back, then hit the restart (more flattened button) on the front to activate the system. Try to get the PS2 to read the disc, it now should. If it still cannot read the disk try this procedure again. If it doesn't work after that then there may be a different problem with the system.
Good luck everyone, and happy gaming!
Questions/comments? E-mail me at chem1calburn@yahoo.com
