SegaXtreme

Home	Forums	What's new	Resources

Slim PS2 Reliability Problems?

racketboy - Oct 21, 2005

		racketboy		Oct 21, 2005
			One of the main reasons I've resisted buying a PS2 is that I've heard so many horror stories about the DVD drives dying out quickly on the console. However with the release of the slimmer PS2 (and the addition of lots of SNK ports) I'm becoming more tempted to get one. Has anybody known of/heard of any similar reliability problems with the slimmer PS2?

		it290		Oct 21, 2005
			I've heard of several problems, especially on the initial run of slim consoles, with the laser burning out - particularly when people install mod chips. However, I've owned mine for several months now and have had absolutely no problems. I'm using the magic tool and swap magic, but not a mod chip. Seems pretty reliable to me, and it doesn't get very hot at all (mine is in a well ventilated area, of course). However, I wouldn't say I've had it long enough to say it's totally reliable, and it does seem a little flimsy. I wouldn't use it as a full-time DVD player, either. The slimline is nicer than the regular model in some ways, though. First of all, it's a lot easier/cheaper to play imports if you want to do that, using the swap magic route. Secondly, the built in ethernet port is nice. You can also now use an external USB hard drive along with another program to install some games to HD, so that's another nice feature that was once exclusive to the larger model.

		Berty		Oct 21, 2005
			When i was at the games shop and we initially got the first natch of machines in, about 20-30% of them were DOA. Another 20% got returned within 3 months of release with DRE's. The trouble was that from the SCPH-50000 onwards they included support for +R DVD's and this is what has been causing a shit load of problems with the DVD drive burning out, (or blowing a set of caps) I still prefer the older model though as it fit the HDD nicely without having to buy a caddy.

		racketboy		Oct 21, 2005
			that's cool. I probably wouldn't mod it -- I've heard that it does cause problems. tell me more about this "swap tool and magic trick"...

		Cloud121		Oct 21, 2005
			Wait, will Swap Magic work on a Model 2 without any case modding? Dumb question I know.

		it290		Oct 21, 2005
			Well, yes and no. You can buy this little thing called the 'magic tool' which is basically just 3 tiny pieces of plastic. Stick each one in its proper place and the PS2 will no longer be able to tell that you've opened the lid, allowing you to use Swap Magic. Costs about 5 bucks, and doesn't invalidate your warranty, plus it's much more convenient than a slide card or flip top. If you buy this, make sure you get the newer version, with the small '#3' piece (part that goes next to the hinge), as the original version wouldn't let you close the the lid of the ps2 with piece #3 in. I have the original version of the tool, and I got around the lid closing limitation by opening up the ps2 from the front, being careful not to disturb the warranty sticker, and sticking a piece of foam tape on top of the mini switch next to the hinge. Works fine.

		racketboy		Oct 21, 2005
			is this just to play imports? and this is for the slim model?

it290

Oct 22, 2005

	
	
		
		
			is this just to play imports?



and this is for the slim model?

No, you can use it for homebrew as well. The disc itself is for both models but the 'magic tool' method is only for the slim PS2. For the regular one another circumvention technique is required.

OT - 3000 posts! Woot!

:banana

:banana :cheers

		racketboy		Oct 22, 2005
			The HDD isn't supported by the slim model, is it? But what you're saying is that it acts just like a modded XBox -- playing games from the HDD?

slinga

Oct 22, 2005

	
	
		
		
			Originally posted by racketboy@Sat, 2005-10-22 @ 07:45 PM



The HDD isn't supported by the slim model, is it?



But what you're saying is that it acts just like a modded XBox -- playing games from the HDD?



[post=140955]Quoted post[/post]

There's an article on slashdot you might want to read: New Slim PS2 Compatibility Problems...

		racketboy		Oct 22, 2005
			i've read it already -- it's just the new silver one in Japan

it290

Oct 22, 2005

	
	
		
		
			The HDD isn't supported by the slim model, is it?



But what you're saying is that it acts just like a modded XBox -- playing games from the HDD?

You use an external USB drive.

		ExCyber		Oct 23, 2005
			Actually, since the PSTwo has the Network Adapter hardware inside, it has an ATA/IDE bus inside as well. However, the connector obviously isn't there, and there is no 12V supply inside the PSTwo. As for the drive failures, the consensus in the "scene" seems to be that Sony cut some corners on the drive control electronics that made it so that if the drive's microcontroller crashed for any reason (one possible reason being a dodgy modchip installation, but it could also be caused by e.g. a brownout or a bad power supply brick), one of the coils in the optical pickup would fry. A fix for this was apparently added in V13 (the newest PSTwo units; in North America these are apparently the ones without a modem jack). However, PS2 drive reliability has never been something for Sony to be proud of, and I've also been told by someone who I believe to be credible that under certain conditions, the use of damaged/defective DVD discs can cause drive failure in every model prior to the PSTwo.

		SilentSnipeR		Oct 23, 2005
			it's wired that they kept the ide bus but didn't make use of it. I might get my local mod chip guy to install one for me,

racketboy

Oct 23, 2005

	
	
		
		
			Originally posted by it290@Sun, 2005-10-23 @ 01:52 AM



You use an external USB drive.



[post=140958]Quoted post[/post]

So I could just have an external USB hard drive hooked up to it and boot all my game from there instead of using the DVDs? That would be very cool and I wouldn't need to worry much about the DVD drive.

What about from network drives?

		it290		Oct 23, 2005
			Network - I don't think so, at least there's nothing that I'm aware of. I think it would be possible using a linux-based tool and Samba, but would probably be slower than reading from DVD (copying files over Samba on my network, I usually get about 1200k/sec throughput). To boot games from USB, you need a tool called USBExtreme, and you still need to boot to that first. Keep in mind also that not all games are supported/compatible. But many are.

		racketboy		Oct 23, 2005
			USB isn't too slow? I guess it would definately have to be 2.0 eh? Anyway, that would rock incredibly hard I suppose it would work for playing older PSX games as well? Now I'm REALLY starting to think about getting one...

ExCyber

Oct 23, 2005

	
	
		
		
			USB isn't too slow? I guess it would definately have to be 2.0 eh?

It may be USB 2.0, but it is not Hi-Speed USB (i.e. it is USB 1.x speed; an implementation can meet the USB 2.0 standard without supporting the higher speed).

	
	
		
		
			I suppose it would work for playing older PSX games as well?

Nope. These products work by replacing one of the IOP modules from the PS2 operating system with a custom version that implements the same API but reads disc images from HD instead of actually reading a disc. PSX games do not use the PS2 operating system, so they don't work with these products. I've heard that DVD9 games also don't work without some fairly involved hacks because (as far as I understand it) the replacement module doesn't correctly implement some DVD9-related API calls. Also, it's worth noting that these products do not really defeat the PS2's disc authentication system beyond the fact that they can boot themselves, so they can only rip originals (without some other method of defeating the auth).

		Berty		Oct 23, 2005
			For DVD-9 I just use DVD Decryptor and it seems to work fine for all games that i have encountered