What would cause PS2 to boot somtimes?

[ihaveanosebleed]

Yup, the white cog can make a big difference booting cheap DVD-R’s and on you last post it didn’t sound like you were using any decent media. Going back to original setting and starting from there is a good idea.
For christ sakes get some good media. Maxell DVD-R’s had a booting range of less than ¼ turn on my V4’s white cog. Princo’s had a little over ¼ range. Originl DVD’s and Verbatims worked with over ½ turn range! You want the white cog right in the center of the working range and it’s best to adjust while reading a DVD’s data as close to the outer edge of the disk as possible.