[reflexiv]

Sounds like you have a Stealth Mod chip--I had one and got the same problem with multi-CD games. The reason is that the mod chip only turns on for long enough to boot the game, then it turns off. That's why your PSX won't read the second disc without powering down and up again, and why reset doesn't work either; the stealth chip is turned off. Eventually they changed the design so you could install it in either stealth or non-stealth mode, but the early ones could only be installed as stealth. So you can buy a new chip, or do the swap trick with multi-CD games.