How long is "average use?"

[Geoduck]

I've been using my PS2 for about a year now, and the machine starts to show subtle signs of wear and tear (eg. I can now hear a whirring sound whenever the disc drive reads the discs--even on DVD's, not just CD's--like when you run a CD on a PC's CDROM drive.)

Right now I'd like to try to keep from using the PS2 more than I should.

This is how I've been using the PS2 for the past year:

Daily basis= 2-3 hrs (working days), 2-5 hrs (on vacation, or when friends aren't available for a few drinks at the pub)

Usage=PS2 DVD-R format games only (I retained my PSX for PSX games)

DVD playing= none

Environment= Air-conditioned (always), machine is kept under a cloth when not in use, to keep dust out

In short, is this "average use" or am I using it more than I should? Sorry if I sound psychotic in my maintenance, but my PS2 has been accidentally tripped on before (who'd do it on purpose? :) ) and I don't want to shorten its lifespan anymore by overusing it.

A thousand apologies for asking a less-than-technical question, and thanks in advance for any advice!

[bighap]

There is nothing wrong with using your ps2. That is what it is for. Get yourself a laser cleaning disc like this (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384652107&skuId=5216081&type=product). It will keep your laser in top shape.

[TylerDurden]

Hmmm, lemme think.





Number of hours played a day all added together then divided by the total amount of days played = PS2 average use.







Tyler!

[Geoduck]

Number of hours played a day all added together then divided by the total amount of days played = PS2 average use.

LOL! I guess I deserved that--it wasn't exactly the smartest question to ask.

Bighap, thanks for the CD cleaner recommendation. I was looking for a CD cleaner, but wasn't to sure what brand to use. Thanks.

[ihaveanosebleed]

I don’t think that cloth is going to help you against dust. Most of the dust that gets inside a PS2, gets sucked inside by the fan when it is in use. Air is sucked in the front vents and exits the back. The dumbest move ever made by PS2 designers was to have the air flow over an unsealed CD drive unit and right through a cd laser assembly. Very, very, very dumb design!!!!

I haven’t had a good look at a PS2 laser assembly yet but I’ve worked on many PS1 units and I believe the basic sled design is the same. You have the Laser IC chip mounted on the side of the assembly, the laser beam enters the assembly, hits a mirror to bend the laser 90 degrees up through the focus lens, bounces back off the cd and back to the laser IC chip. Perhaps there is no mirror on PS2 units and the IC is directly under the lens, I don’t know.

I do know this, if you clean the top of that lens, you are cleaning only a fraction of the laser assembly. There is also the surface of the IC, the under side of the lens and possibly a mirror that could collect dust.
Picture this, dust is flying over the surface of the laser assembly, the lens is floating up and down vigorously trying to focus on microscopic pits and at the same time acting like a pump sucking dusty air inside the assembly. It’s not hard to see why lasers go bad after just a few months.

I believe there are filters you can get that snap on the front of a PS2 and also use the USB port to power a fan. It would be a good idea to get one. In fact, Sony should send some to every PS2 owner. It’s the least they could do for being so stupid.

[ottoman]

My PS2 started to show signs of tiredness about 6 months ago, I stripped it and cleaned laser lens with lens cleaner an q-tip.

Then I changed cdr brand from datasafe to Verbatim datalife plus and dvdr brand from Clonedisc 1X (Ritek Dye) to Traxdata 4X.

I also got new cd and dvd burner an run lens cleaning disc through ps2 once a month ( 3 times dry then 3 times wet ).

It now working better than ever an have had no problems at all with it.

If yrs getting a bit tired then the worst yr gonna have to do is change the laser which is reasonably easy to do and will give yr ps2 another couple of years life.

Also a block of coarse foam behind the fan ( make sure it coarse or ps2 processor will get hot) does away with dust inside and it don't hurt to strip down an get a hoover with brush attachment in there to remove the excess dust.

Regards

[khafan]

I installed filter (filter that used in kitchen hoods) on front of my ps2 when I bought it and now after two years, there is no dust inside of my ps2 :D

[ihaveanosebleed]

Originally posted by ottoman

Also a block of coarse foam behind the fan ( make sure it coarse or ps2 processor will get hot) does away with dust inside and it don't hurt to strip down an get a hoover with brush attachment in there to remove the excess dust.

Regards [/B]

Placing a filter in the back of your PS2 will only trap dust inside of your PS2, and you don't want that!

[Seven O Two]

mabye his fan shoots inward


ive seen it before, but only once, where the fan was miswired, or in backwards

[ottoman]

Guh!!!!! It does shoot in!!

Have just checked my version 7 an that shoots out an has dust caught up on filter at front. ( Normal I assume)

My version 5 has no dust on front filter at all and the fan sucks (literally- Not in general).

Sorry for bad info guys. Time for stripdown an fan wire swap.

My version 5 is my workhorse at mo and just assumed that they were all da same an that was why dust was such a problem for ps2.

Oh well, in that case Khafan advice is top advice for keepin yr ps2 dust free

Regards

[Geoduck]

Dudes,

a million thanks for all the great advice. I'm just a little confused here; so does my PS2 suck in air from the front or back (it's a V7)?

The filter idea is great, Khafan and ihaveanosebleed. But, where do I get something like that (I haven't heard of them, at least)?

Also a block of coarse foam behind the fan ( make sure it coarse or ps2 processor will get hot) does away with dust inside....run lens cleaning disc through ps2 once a month ( 3 times dry then 3 times wet ).

I'll be doing the same from now on, Ottoman. Actually, I wanted to use an inch-thick piece of styrofoam to block up the fan, but thought the PS2 might overheat. Well, since you've been doing it and it works fine, so I might as well.

One thing's been bugging me, though. My PSX has been working almost perfectly for more than five years, through daily abuses of up to 7 continuous hours, accidental trips and nudges, with almost no maintenance at all (never even used a CD cleaner on it), and it's still working fine (slower, noisy loading, but alive).

The PS2 seems to have such a short lifespan compared to its original.

Anyways, gracias to all :)

[TylerDurden]

Originally posted by Geoduck
My PSX has been working almost perfectly for more than five years, through daily abuses of up to 7 continuous hours, accidental trips and nudges, with almost no maintenance at all (never even used a CD cleaner on it), and it's still working fine (slower, noisy loading, but alive).

The PS2 seems to have such a short lifespan compared to its original.

Anyways, gracias to all :)


You gotta take into consideration that a PS2 is set to play many different kinds of media so bumping it can offset some of those settings. Also copy protection is a bit more hightly regarded than before with ps1, so lasers with the need for higher reflectivity are a good choice to help againts backups.

About the filter thing, a hobby shop or the likes is a good place to look for things like that. Who knows what youll find.



Tyler!

[ihaveanosebleed]

Also, about PS1's ....

They don't have any fan sucking in the dust!

Well just make sure your fan is going the right way before placing a filter. It shouldn't be hard to tell, You want the filter over the air INTAKE. It might be easier, actually to have the fan reversed and pull air in from the back, and have a nice square filter in the back. If you use foam try to find something very light and breathy but I’d go with a fiber filter for a furnace or something.

[hyungsup]

I think I had mine for 2years.... (ver 3)
I'm about to sell it cause it's making scratches on dvds and cds on the centre.....
Someone said that the laser is week... And it wont read some games....
What should I do when the guy wants to test it out???
Does the lens cleaner work???
There's one for cd and one for dvd and I hear it's different

[khafan]

Here is picture of filter that I use and I buy it from a shop that sells kitchen hood spare-parts.

http://www.geocities.com/khafansh3/filter.txt

I use two side adhesive tape and stick this filter to front of my ps2 like this pic.

http://www.geocities.com/khafansh3/ps2.txt

Maybe it doesn't look very nice but it's very effective.
I didn't change this filter for about 5 mounths and color of filter shows,
how much dust this filter absorbed.
.

[Geoduck]

A million thanks for the pictures, Khafan! I think I know where to get those.

Ihaveanosebleed, I tested the front fan's air intake with tissue (put a small piece to the vents, and it just stuck there, meaning it's sucking in), but since I'm not the most technical person in the world, I'd refrain from opening up my PS2 to reverse the air-flow.

Unless there's a step-by-tep illustrated guide somewhere here.

You gotta take into consideration that a PS2 is set to play many different kinds of media so bumping it can offset some of those settings. Also copy protection is a bit more hightly regarded than before with ps1, so lasers with the need for higher reflectivity are a good choice to help againts backups.

Good point, Tyler. Still, I wonder why they (Sony) won't step up the quality control, considering the steep prices we pay for the machines : first generation ones came with a hundred bugs and glitches from laser overheating to CD drive speed problems, and the even the later "upgraded" V5 and above models are said to last only several years with average use (then again, some younger gamers are pretty rough on the machines).

Having said that, I expect to keep my machine going for at least a decade, doing everything I can to keep it alive (while I'm not too cheap to buy another one, I just want to get my money's worth).

Again, thanks for all the great advice, dudes!

[TylerDurden]

Sony doesnt step up the quality control because there really is no need to. In a way they are a modern day Monopoly. Sure there are other game companies out there but with the list of games that Sony has they know youll stick with them (they're countin on it). So basically you have no choice but to deal with the cheaper lasers and buggy systems.





Tyler!

[Geoduck]

Sad but true.

The so-called "competition" Microsoft and Nintendo put up is almost laughable. Most people that buy XBoxes and Gamecubes usually do so only as a supplement to their PS2. You rarely see a guy owning an XBox or Gamecube without having a PS2 already.

Cest la vie...