How long is "average use?"

[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!