Update: I've done it, the games that didn't work before gets read by the ps2, does the full animation, thinking it has read it but it says "disc read error", any help?
I did a detailed cleaning on my girlfriends ps2 (without asking her) with the help of this video and it looks 100x better! She walked in the door from work and I had the console completely taken apart on our dining room table. She thought I had taken apart a car stereo lol. The look of horror on her face when she realized that it was her PS2 was priceless. But everything went smooth and the console runs perfectly and looks great. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
So, long story time! After watching this video repeatedly for the last year, I decided to finally open and clean my beloved PS2--my favorite console of all time. Since 2000, it's been around 8 different pets, dealt with me as a child, and has moved to multiple houses with me, so it was pretty dirty and banged up. I only recently cleaned an Atari 2600 that once belonged to my mother and uncle, but this was my first attempt at making a more complicated console seem new again (and prevent it from becoming a fire hazard.) Everything went well, and I even took pictures through the process...except for the very last step. I carefully removed my console's lid when I first opened it, and I was incredibly delicate with the fan and the laser assembly. I spent a total of 5 hours cleaning, taking my time and getting every last bit of dust and fur out that I could. But then...right as I was flipping the lid back on to put the last screws in...the damn ribbon cable for the eject and reset button just popped out. On the side under the disc tray. And I lost. my. shit. I can't explain the sense of heartbreak, dread, and fear I felt in that moment. I started to tear up thinking, "I just broke the pride and joy of my game collection." I know I could get another PS2, but this one has been with me for 18 years. I'm quite attached to it with the amount I've played the thing. Thankfully, the cable wasn't ripped, so I opened the whole thing back up, found the slot for the cable, and despite the blue tab separating from the silver ribbon, I could still wedge the cable and tab in as if they were still connected. The power and eject button work just fine (for now...?), but if they stop working, I'll find a replacement. I know how to open it up, now. So my caution to you, whoever reads this and wants to follow this guide: Be more careful than you think you should be. Or even want to be. Some parts take a little bit of force or moving around to get them out or in, but still...take every piece apart slowly. Don't rush. Follow the guide closely. Keep track of and be careful with the ribbon cable and thin fan wire. Don't touch the laser except with a q-tip and don't go overboard with cleaning it. It's a fun console to clean, but god, it nearly caused a breakdown, even when I thought I was being careful. And thank you for the video, Adam! Despite my mishap, the "figure it out" mentality played a key part in calming me down in order to fix the problem. I googled the issue and found a video of someone removing the disc tray to show me where the port was, and then I was able to do it on my own. I still want to clean the other consoles I have, but now I feel like I'm much more prepared and actively cautious. I'm still frazzled, but...the PS2 is looking good, sounding good, and playing even better, so there's my silver lining.
i have fat ps3 80gb, and it is new in box, and a used ps2 that it has been working for 4 months, even the inside is new, even the fan, i am not using play stations, but i like using them and restoring them, i have completely restored 3 ps3 slim, 1 ps4 fat, and 2 ps2
Good ol PS2. No matter how many successors and competing systems that come out in later years like PS3/4/Xbox 360 and Xbox One I always find myself coming back lol.
I found my PS2 slim at a swap meet for 5 bucks and it was clean as fuck. Bought a power adapter and it's perfect. Pawn shops and swap meets are straight come ups for stuff like this if any ones interested in a cheap system to take apart and learn on.
Just bought a fat ps2 for $20 with 2 mint controllers, saw this video and think I'll clean it cuz there's a lot of dust in the fan but I'm super super OCD and want to keep my warranty labels so I'll be finding a way to open it with out cutting them
Beyond excited that I came across this video!!! This is exactly what I needed to learn how to do for my PS2s. I initially was too scared to open them up on my own but with your help this gives a novice such as myself the confidence to do it. Thank you
Nothing will beat that system generation. An amazing time to be a gamer. Things today, kinda boring really, especially compared with what we have today and how the gaming scene has moved to.
I was scrolling through my timeline and saw a bunch of people talkin about they ps2 and made me wanna try and fix mine so I watched yo vid and followed step by step. And now it’s reading discs again thanks big homie
+Michael Francisco The PS2 has two lasers. One for CD games, one for DVD games. It's possible one of the two is damaged or dirty. Happens all the time. The exposed one is easy to clean, as I did in the video. The other...much harder. I didn't even attempt it.
More prices it has one laser but two lenses, and yeah the other one looks like a pain in the ass, I just discovered the existence of the second lenses yesterday -_- I looks on how to get into it and omg it's a pain >.>
AdamKoralik well i never expected this but i was walking around on tues as it was trash day in my area and i saw what looked like a new ps2 in the trash so i picked it up and brought it back home. everything on it works and there isn't a single problem with it. the only thing that is missing is the expansion bay door on the back and there seems to be hardly dust in it nor scratches on the console it self and it works fast. its a fat model but works great
Thank you so much! My old PS2 finally stopped working today but thanks to your video I was able to clean it out and figure out what was wrong with the disk player. I am so happy it's working again, you're a life saver!
Adam Koralik despite being terrified the entire time while cleaning the laser lens, I followed your instructions and now my PS2 plays black and blue discs now. Thank you very much
Thanks to this video, I fixed my old PS2 (SCPH 39004). I had disassembled when I was 15 and I was not able to reassemble it. Now after 10 years I can play again with her.
Awesome. It's been like 5 years since I last plugged in my PS2 and today I tried to get into SMT: Digital Devil Saga but my disc tray wouldn't eject. This was super helpful in getting gunk and dust from the inside. Surprised that this machine I purchased in 2002 is still going strong.
You shouldn't use Windex to clean any delicate electronic components such as the CD drive laser. For these sensitive components you should use a 50/50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and water. This is because the isopropyl alcohol will evaporate quickly and won't leave any chemical residue behind.
Yeah, just that good ol 90+% IPA will work much better. I don’t suggest mixing with water or using dilute IPA (less than 85%) because the little remnants of water particles can cause rust or corrosion.
Thanks for the tutorial. I just finished using this to help with my 9 dollar goodwill ps2 find. It worked when I got it and read disks just fine but I could really smell the dust inside and didn’t feel comfortable using it until I cleaned it out completely. I had never done anything like this before and everything went fine with no issues. It works great now. I couldn’t have done it without this tutorial.
While you have the lazer assembly in the open position, you can clean the old grease on the metal slides with Q tip and lightly lube them with white lithium grease, it will make the disk tray operate more smoothly and load games a little faster.
Loved this vid: Thanks for the upload! So, this PS2 console was lying around in a thrift shop gathering dust for years, Adam almost completely disassembles the console, then re-constructs it - At 22:37 Adam turns it on for the first time... Works first time...! :) Kind of a testimony to Sony engineering! I still have mine... Its given me hours of fun (including some memorable Tekken with my son) - I clean out the vents with a soft brush and vac it, I dont like to mess with the CD tray too much, but I tend to use a "CD cleaning disc" to clean the lazer reader inside... Seems to work well. Havent tried the Eric H trick to add "White Lithium Grease" to the rail and teeth, but even the grinding sound from the tray can be fixed, it seems... I will be trying the magic erazer trick, as i have a few blemishes on the soft black plastic case, like Adam says ordinary house polish works to bring it back, cheap car polish seems to work well too... Maybe the PS2 will become so iconic, good working examples will become high value items on Ebay? You never know...
I bought a fat PS2 from a friend about 10 years ago. It was always a little slow to read discs but still functioned properly over the years. I gave this a shot and had a lot of fun with it. Now the console works better than the day i got it. Thanks.
if you ever tried to wipe off the ps2 scrates with a wet cloth it doesn't do anything.just makes the scratches shinier.the way he did it, it actually worked.
FOR PEOPLE WHOSE DVD READER IS NOT OPENING! I finished everything, opened the ps2 it was working. Wanted to see if it is playing games and i pressed the eject button but it was not coming out, tried again but it was still the same. Then i realized i have tighten the under screws too much, i loosen them up a little bit. Then it was fixed.
Hi Adam, Thank you for this excellent and informative video. I restored a non-disk reading PS2 (and gave it a much needed clean out) thanks to your detailed and clear instructions. Much appreciated.
Thought about opening my PS2, but was a bit worried I might "break" something. Got a second PS2 real cheap in a marketplace deal recently so. I thought I'd follow this video. It's been a eventful afternoon and night opening, cleaning and putting everything back together. I like tinkering and cleaning :D The only part I was a bit worried of was the ribbon and had some trouble getting that part back on, couldn't remember how it went back in, it was actually fairly simple haha. Will clean my own PS2 tomorrow! The PS1 is so much easier to open in comparison. Thanks for the video :D
Man I remember watching this back in 2013 (along with your other videos around this time), I didn't need to watch this then since I had a slim ps2, but I enjoyed watching stuff like this. Fast-forward almost 10 years later, I recently purchased a fat ps2 and I'm planning on deep cleaning it like this, had this video pop up in my search about cleaning them and it filled me with nostalgia. I'm glad to see you still making content.
The Nostalgia is real!! I’m going buy me one, the two I own as a kid stopped working and I didn’t know them what I know now about them. Great video, and what a find for $3 👍🏼👍🏼
I have my ps2 since I was 8 (this year I'm turning 23). It was always working, but I was getting really anxious that someday it would stop, because I could see all the dust from outside already. Thanks to your video I successfully cleaned it and now the grandma underneath all my consoles is finally able to breathe again! thank you so much and greetings from germany
My first playstation was the ps2 slim still have it and cleaned it recently also i got my hands ont the fat model 😁 dirt cheap 25 games and a console 25 euro.s
i recently got my ps2 from my best friend because he traded in one my ps4 games for a remaster of dark souls which kinda pissed me off (well not that pissed but i jokingly called him a prick for it) and as a way to make amends he said "ok you can pick out any game in my room to keep, anything" then i spotted that ps2 fat baby that always sat at the edge of his closet and me feeling nostalgic picked that and boy was it dirty as hell couldnt even read games but wasnt gonna give up on it so easy and boom found this video copied everything i saw here boom it actually works now! so yeah this video i say legit
I had to do this to my Ps2 when some dust got inside and was messing with the laser reading disks. I didn't really get THIS through, although instead of mister clean i opted for a cheap bottle of Turtle Wax plastic shiner/cleaner. Came out really good and smelling faintly of coconuts. XD
I watched this video a while back for no reason really just to infuse my brain with random information but now my brother is going to New Jersey and he said when he came back I had to have found the ps2 somewhere in our house and clean it up and get a new power supply and controllers so instantly I was like "I know exactly how to do this!"
The PS2 was the first time I seen scalping. Remember when you couldn't find them in stores and were going for double the price on eBay. Early online days, but I remember it quite well.
was so glad you did this video I had turned my laser pots up just a touch and was trying to figure how the controller/memory board was attached, after i watched this video I realized it was the lower half and the small black screws were for the CD cover thanks for the vid
Thank you for showing how to clean the PS2 original just got one from the store for 50$ cleaned it pretty good only tough part was putting the ribbon for the buttons back in bent them a little but still work good for me it’s all about learning how to clean each system that I have at home
About the sticker, the warranty on consoles was lifetime repair, but sony just recently stopped repairing PS2s like 2 years ago? So future people dont be afraid about the sticker thing.
Whoever designed the Fat PS2 had some kind of sick fetish for ribbon cables. 4 Ribbon cables for the DVD Drive on the ones I taken apart. Soooooooo much fun!
Adam, I really appreciate this video tutorial you uploaded on here. My aunt gave me a 2001 PS2 (SCPH-35001), but it was constantly freezing with certain games. Apparently the previous owner did not take good care of it before selling it, but with this tutorial and my own patience, it works like brand new! Again, thank you for uploading this, as it helped me fix this classic system up.
22:56- Get some White Lithium Grease in a tube and apply it to the teeth and the rail on the bottom of the disc tray. That fixes the grinding sound - but do not remove the grease or it will do that again.
+Eric H. In many cases re-greasing these parts could remedy that grinding noise where the teeth don't sit in the worm gear. Generally though, it could just be considered a preventative measure. Once you get the above grinding noise, the plastic teeth are (almost) finished in my experience. I've heard you can use a lighter/heat to re-shape the plastic so it's firmer though.
Just restored my first PS2. I ended up having a different model than this one so the guts and screw locations were different but this video still had a bunch of great info mate. Teh restoration was a success. Thank you!!
The power button notation isn't letters, so it doesn't mean "on" or "0" or anything. Just ISO representations of open/closed circuits designed to tell the story in a language independent manner. The line illustrates a closed electrical circuit (on), and the circle represents a gap in the circuit (off). Thanks for the tear-down, it helped a bunch.
I used to mod the fat PS2's back in college- I remember opening one up and there was a gigantic dead water bug in it. I also once fixed someones fans by cutting up a poland spring bottle and crazy glueing my home made plastic rudders to it lol.
I have same PS2.Completely RESTORED after watching this video.All it took was SCREW DRIVERS, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, and INFLATABLE AIR PUMP.UNSCREW, CLEAN, remove DUST.Power switch was easy after watching video.You should have more VIEWS from all GAMERS out there!
I have a question. so ive had my ps2 Fat for about 8 years now. i use to play it all the time. i stoped playing it for about 1 year and when i tried playing it agian it gave me a problem. what i mean is: my ps2 starts normal it plays all the games ect..but after about 10 min, my ps2 turns off and the power light just starts flashing green and red without stoping. its strange becuase, even if im not playing it: (not on) it still starts doing that after some time. can anybody help. ps. I already replaced the power strip in the ps2. (did not work)
Thanks for the tutorial, dude. My PS2 wouldnt play my copy of silent hill 2 without skipping and I never took the console apart in the many years I've had it and it just needed a little cleaning and it works pretty good. A few hiccups here and there but nothing too major which i'm thankful for.
3 dollars? are you serious? here in my country, this version, the fat one, costs about 100 dollars, just the console, thats right, a 15 years old console costs 200 us dollars... pretty fucked up right?
Thanks for the video I had bought a PlayStation 2 Bundle off eBay and it was pretty dirty now it's all super clean and best of all it looks brand new thanks to the seller keeping it in good condition minus the dust from storage
Do you hear a high pitch noise that gets higher for a few seconds then stops when you turn it on? If you don't hear that the motherboard is likely not working. :/
hey adam. i bought a ps2 for like 5/10 dollars and the top of the console where the ps2 logo is on it. is really scratched allot can you tell me some stuff what i should buy to make everything dissapear or make the scratches go away or at least as invisible as possible? thnx allot!
Restored my childhood PS2 that somehow got paint poured on aswell as stickers all over It and left In the dusty closet. I scrubbed It and got It looking almost brand new I even fixed the blue disc error I say almost because no matter how hard I try I cannot get the dust out of the fans without opening It I was worried opening It would have bits falling out everywhere so I decided to look It up, thanks for the video
Decided to watch this video again since my model of PS2 had the ribbon cable for the two buttons on the front,I also learned that the two tiny screws in the lower left corner, for the disc tray itself,let you remove it,with the system unplugged
I followed this guide because my ps2 wasnt turning on. I left it unassembled for a while trying to figure out online what could have gone wrong with it. I gave up and reassembled it and it magically turns on now. Very confused, great guide brotha
I bought a ps2 last December and this video inspired me to clean it... and holy f**k it was nasty 🤢, and I also managed to get the console to read blue back discs 👍
Actually the fat PS2 I bought off of Amazon a few years ago had the opposite problem. It would read DVD games but not the blue CD games, took it apart, cleaned the laser, has worked flawless ever since.
I had a try with mine to and i will say if you have a ps2 that is messed up do this to it. When i did it my ps2 hasn't been used for 10 years and now it does.Thanks for the video :-)
Thank You Adam. Your Video help me fix disc playing error I was having. The game shops in my area infuriated me. So I look to your video. Thanks. Continue on with your RU-vid Channel looking forward to more content.
Great video Adam, wanted to throw you a serious tip though because you made it sound like you would have assumed the console was a dud if it didn't read correctly: Even if it didn't initially read either game, that could be fixed by manually adjusting the height of the laser in the disc tray. Again as stated in the video kids under 18 don't try to do this without adult supervision. Everyone should know the laser on a PS2 can do serious damage to your eye, do NOT look at it while the system is powered on. Always make sure the disc tray cover is in place before plugging in or powering your system on to prevent serious harm. Having said that, what you do is move a small white gear on the laser assembly and as it turns it raises the height of the laser until it reaches it's maximum height, at which point it drops back down to it's lowest height. If it partially worked to begin with, mark your starting position with a sharpie before turning the white gear until the laser drops to it's lowest position. This way you can reset it to that point later if need be. Now try testing your games again with the laser in this bottom position, if they still don't work turn the white gear some more and continue testing and raising the height of the laser in this fashion until you find one that works with both types of games. This has personally worked for me before multiple times on occasions when my PS2 would refuse to read particular games or movies. (God of War II comes to mind as being problematic at one point) I still have my own original fat black PS2 and it's working as great as ever! Anytime I've encountered disc read errors on otherwise undamaged discs this has fixed them. Also I'm not sure if it would make a difference but as a side note it seems to me for a fully comprehensive test you could try a PS1 disc, a blue bottom PS2 game, a silver bottom PS2 game, and a DVD to ensure you've achieved full functionality. But maybe that's overkill and not necessary.
