Disc Read Error - Discussion

[Jedi2016]

I'm not sure if this has been fully discussed as of yet, in terms of a dedicated thread.

I've heard recently that some PS2's have problems with DVD9's, now that more games are being produced that go over the 4.7GB limit onto a dual-layer DVD. GTA:SA, for example (is MGS3 a dual-layer disc?). I don't even have GTA:SA (not my kind of game, nothing personal.. hehe), so I haven't experienced this problem yet.

The reason for the thread is simple enough. Even though I don't have GTA:SA, I will be getting GT4. And frankly, I don't like the idea of having my PS2 crap out while I'm playing, and being without for a few weeks while it's repaired. The recent thread in the GT4 forum indicating a similar problem as GTA:SA makes me a little worried.

The only DRE's I've ever gotten were on non-Playstation discs. Certain kinds of DVD-R's, for example, and once on the Datel mini-disc I use to transfer saves between my memory card and MAXDrive. And these are always at the Browser screen when first loading.. once it's loaded, it's always problem free. And I've never once had a problem with any actual game, PS1 or PS2, CD or DVD.

For the record, my PS2 is U.S. launch-day model 30001. No modchip, no changes, no third-party peripherals (except the DFP, but that one's fully "legit", so to speak). Completely stock. The only other device I use is the aforementioned MAXDrive, but that's just a standard USB Flash drive.

The reason I've heard put forth most often for DRE's is "the laser wore out". I thought about it for a bit, and came to the conclusion that it wasn't the laser itself, but the motors that drive it. With some games, like GTA, that spool information continuously off the disc during gameplay (no load times, a technique first introduced in Soul Reaver for the PS1), the laser is often heard scurrying around the surface of the disc in order to load everything that's needed. Continued "thrashing" of the laser could indeed lead it to wear out with extended use.

But I'm not sure if that's all the information. I've played many "spooling" games on the PS2, including all of the Legacy of Kain games, and never had any problems. Which leads me to put forth more questions:

Is the problem really limited to "old" PS2's? Or are even the new "slimline" PSTwo's susceptible to it?

Does the problem first appear as a failure to read CD-based games? Then later "grow" into a full-blown DRE on all games? (as mentioned, I've never had a problem playing any game, including CD-based ones).

For those PS2's that develop the problem, how long are they usually active? Many hours per day, for extended periods? Only a few hours a week? Once in a blue moon?

Basically, I'm trying to determine whether my PS2 may develop this problem at some point. And in the process, perhaps gather enough information to dispel some myths about the DRE (like it being caused by certain games).

As mentioned above, I do have an "old" PS2, a launch unit. It's never given me any problems in all these years. While I have been using it a great deal lately (usually between 2-3 hours per day, in stretches ranging from ten minutes to four or five hours). But there have been times over the years where it's sat under the entertainment center for months without even being turned on. All in all, I'd say my PS2 has seen a lot less "wear" than other launch units.. maybe as little as half the total hours that many gamers might put on it.

If DRE's are a wear-based problem, I'm probably fine. If they're strictly an age-based problem, combined with certain types of games (DVD9's and CD's), then it's possible I may have a problem some day. I'll be perfectly happy if my PS2 can just make it another eighteen months or so... once I get a PS3, it won't matter.

I'd like to see what everyone else thinks, particularly from those who have had the DRE problem and have had to have it repaired by Sony (or that simply broke down and bought a new console). Ideas, theories, observations, etc. Let's discuss.

 

[Revheadnz]

I've got a 4th or 5th gen (I can't remember) PS2, chipped, and with GTA:SA I've only had one DRE since I bought it. But I have had an awful lot of "Please insert a PS2 disc" pink screen since I had it chipped. When I play GTA and any other disc, whether it be PS2 original, PS2 copy or DVD video it only starts first time 1 in 3 times. It does start eventually though. I don't think this is age or GTA doing this, just the chip.
I'm getting scared about my PS2s chances of playing GT4. However, when the time comes (god knows when) I have faith that it will play GT4. Or so help me god, my PS2 will fly straight through my bedrom window.

 

[Jimmy Enslashay]

For the record, noone's PS2 has really "crapped out" because of San Andreas. A lot of people went out and bought new PS2's (some PStwo's) because their older PS2 didn't handle it as well. I am one of those people, and I haven't had a single DRE, freeze, etc.

Also, I believe GT4's problems will not be as bad as San Andreas's problems, for the simple fact that San Andreas, and all GTA games, are constantly loading new things onto the screen, a lot of things to handle on 1 disc, etc. At a guess, GT4 will run fairly smoothly, and if you go out and buy a new PS2 (or PStwo), my guess it that it will handle the game quite well in comparison to San Andreas.

So frankly, I don't think you have too much to worry about, but there is a slight problem with the Dual-Layered discs for games as big, and similar in the loading area, as San Andreas. I just can't wait for the PS3. 👍

 

[yesterdaylight]

Hey guys. cool that you are discussing DRE here, because i happen to know some things about it :-D because my PS2 went through it earlier this year while i was in the process of refurbing it and putting in a modchip. PS2's get DRE's for a few reasons:
1. because the laser gets dust on it, and is unable to get a clear read on the disk.
2. the laser goes out of calibration, via the pots on the bottom of it, or the various set screws which keep it mechanically in line.
3. the laser wears out (rare)

There are a few things you can do if you have DRE: first you try cleaning your laser. you need to take off the cover of your ps2, and the cover of the cd drive. dip a Q-Tip in rubbing alcohol, and swab off your laser eye. lens cleaner also works well. some ps2's have dual layer lenses.. in that case there is a second lense under the visible lense, and you should swab that one too. second if that doesnt solve the problem.. there are a two, or three, depending on the model of your ps2, different mechanical adjustments you can make. first is the set screw on your laser, which holds the laser to the slide rod. it should be tight enough so that your laser does not wiggle at all, but loose enough that it can still slide along the rod okay. some people say to oil the rod. bad idea ! don't do it. there is another adjustment... as well. depending on your version there are either 1 or 2 white wheels to turn at the back of your disk drive. i have only tuned the ps2's with one wheel. this calibrates the angle of your laser, you move it 1/8 turn at a time while testing your ps2 to see if it allows for better reading. i have no experience with the two wheeled version. a third option is to replace the laser unit. you can buy them on ebay for around 25 or 30 dollars depending on the version you need. (you match it to the version you have) and it's really easy to replace the laser. just unscrew the set screw, pull out a ribbon cable, and replace with the new one. you will need to adjust the tuning wheel(s) at the back when you do that too. I hope that clears up some questions on DRE. if anyone has anything to add or if i am wrong on anything.. by all means say so ! i have used every one f these methods of repair on a few ps2's and they all work very well ! enjoy !
-Ian

 

[Blackbird.]

I have a brand new Killzone game, opened on the 27th and about 5 minutes ago I started it up and it said disc read error. I blew on the disc wiped it with a soft hankerchief. Unplugged everything and blew into it and reconnected everything and still disc read error. Any suggestions?

Oh and I have a Network Adaptor connected to it with an Ethernet cable.

 

[KieranMurphy]

The only DRE's I've ever gotten were on non-Playstation discs. Certain kinds of DVD-R's, for example

I thought PS2s were incapable or reading burnable formats like DVD-R or DVD+R.

For the record, noone's PS2 has really "crapped out" because of San Andreas.

Mine did. It completely stopped reading discs not long after I got San Andreas. Thankfully I was able to fix it myself. It's an easy enough job, took only 10-15 minutes.


KM.

 

[Blackbird.]

So KM do you think my PS2 is dead?

 

[KieranMurphy]

So KM do you think my PS2 is dead?

I don't know. All I know is that when my PS2 stopped reading discs after I played San Andreas for a while.

If it's an old PS2 and you were thinking of getting a new one anyway, then it might be worth your while trying to fix it.

However, if it's still within warranty then you could let yourself in for trouble by trying to fix it yourself. If you don't correctly fix it, then your local Sony centre or whoever you ship it off to get fixed might refuse to fix it because you ruined the warranty by opening it.

The only reason I tried a self fix job is because it's almost 4 years old now so I would have bought a new one if I couldn't fix it myself.

My advice is that if it's still within it's warranty, see if your local Sony dealer will fix it for free or see about having it sent to Sony for fixing for free. If it's out of warranty and it's refusing to read any discs, then it might worth your while getting some good illustrated online guide to fixing it. Print it out and follow the instructions. If you've resigned yourself to getting a new one, then you can't really do any harm by breaking it even more.

The only thing you might need that you already don't have for a self repair job is a precision screwdriver like one you might use for fixing a watch or glasses, a couple of the screws are much too small for a regular screwdriver set. Apparently 90% of DRE problems can be fixed by tweaking the little gear wheel that controls the laser position inside the PS2.


KM.

 

[Mark T]

I've had similar problems. After getting about half way through San Andreas I began getting DRE. All other games work fine including GT3, Pro Evolution Soccer 4, Burnout 3 etc. I read somewhere that Sony were sued for producing cheap lasers that could not read the new dual layer discs correctly. They lost the lawsuit and had to replace any PS2s that had the problem. It seems it only happened in America though.

 

[Blackbird.]

Well Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies works fine compared to Killzone that gets a DRE. I kind of wished it were the PS2's fault because it'd be easier for them just to repair there problem instead of me having to go get a new copy of killzone.

 

[Blackbird.]

Sorry people, after I put in AC4 I got pissed and posted this and just for the hell of it tried killzone again and it worked. My ps2 does this sometimes. Says DRE for whatever reason but then works again.

 

[rico13]

Well i still have my original PS2 and it reads every game well it might have some truble with old used games but new games no problem. The only problem I have is when I try to put my HDLOader CD it takes such a long time to read sometimes its not even worth going thru all that hasle.(some times it takes up to a hour to read the CD)

 

[Emohawk]

I have 2 PS2s I'm trying to fix, both are 'really old', but I don't know what specific generation.
1) My friend's old one. This one won't read anything, so he got a new one. I borrowed this to practice fix-it techniques on.
Cleaning the lens and adjusting the wheel only yeilded quicker recognition of GT2 (the only PS1 game I have handy). Before it would say 'reading disc' for about 30 seconds before getting it, now it recognises it as soon as it turns on. It loads up untill the end of the disclaimer before crapping out. DVDs and PS2 games aren't recognised at all.
I would have adjusted the set screw, but the closest thing I could find to that discription was a really tiny torx headed screw. I don't have any torx heads at all, let alone one that small.
No matter what I do, when thinking about something it makes sporadic horrible grinding noises. This is not the laser rubbing on the disk, it makes the same noises with no disk, tray open, whatever. I have no idea what it's doing.

2) Mine. I've never had any problems reading any game, although I've never had a blue disc. I played through most of San Andreas on it with no trouble whatsoever.
The problem is DVDs. It seems to be at specific points on the disc where it will mess up every time. The picture and sound get garbled and it will A: get better, B: skip ahead 30s->a few minutes, C: Give me a blue screen with the message 'Error reading disc'.
I haven't cracked it open yet, hopefully the wheel adjustment does something.


Help?

 

[Jeembo]

My ps2 has been making really brutal sounding grinding noises recently as well. It also takes a LONG time for it to do whatever it does when it's "thinking." In fact, while playing Jak 3 last week, I was on the final boss battle (i think) and it started grinding and wouldn't stop. The controller wasn't responding and the boss kept floating around shooting me causing no damage. My last save in the game was about 2 hours before too, so I lost a LOT of progress in that game due to this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[zonekill]

My ps2 has been making really brutal sounding grinding noises recently as well. It also takes a LONG time for it to do whatever it does when it's "thinking." In fact, while playing Jak 3 last week, I was on the final boss battle (i think) and it started grinding and wouldn't stop. The controller wasn't responding and the boss kept floating around shooting me causing no damage. My last save in the game was about 2 hours before too, so I lost a LOT of progress in that game due to this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Yeah, the grinding noises, i had them too. So maybe its the same problem as i had. I have a 30004 R V5 PS2

The problem is a tiny white piece of plastic that is sitting on the wormwheel that drives the laser back and fort. Dont play if you hear the grinding noise it will only make it worse!

I dissambled the PS2 and i saw that there was dust and lubricant (or how do you call it?) in the wormwheel. I cleaned the wormwheel. And the grinding noise was gone.
But after a few months the problem was there again, i fixed it the same way. This time i took the whole laser slide mechanmism apart and cleaned also the 2 axles were the laser units slides on.
There are tutorials on the net.

It isnt that difficult to fix the problem, but be carefull if you have absolutely
no experience, dont do it!!!

 

[Jeembo]

Yeah after some more searching around the forum and the rest of the 'net I found the problem. All I had to do was grease up the axles that the laser slides on. It was about a 15 minute job and I've never opened my ps2 up before . I think I got the laser dirty though because it's frozen up with a black screen twice since I closed it back up.... So it looks like I'm gonna have to take another 10 minutes out of my life to clean that..

 

[Revheadnz]

Hey. In the last two days while playing GTA:SA I have had two DREs. Also recently when I play DVDs my PS2 can't get through a whole DVD without DREing. I don't have any experience with opening up my PS2 so should I just take it to a shop to get fixed? The website of the guy who installed my mod chip says that he can do laser cleaning and adjustments, should I get this done?

 

[ZAGGIN]

i have some expreience of disc read errors as i am on my fourth ps2. some of you might not be aware though that the ps2 can scratch your games. this also causes DREs.

to check if your games are scratched turn them over and look at the surface. about a centimetre from the centre of the disc you might see a thin band that looks like it is has been scratched onto the disc. it may only be a hairline scratch on some games, but on other games it might be more pronounced. there maybe a grouping of several rings in perfect circles. the grouping could have thin and thick lines, some more visible than others.

im not sure what causes these rings, but if you move your ps2 when it is on, it can cause the game disc to 'vibrate' because there is no stabiliser inside the ps2 to kee the games steady. another theory is that if the ps2 is knocked or moved forcibly, then it could cause the laser lens array or some part of the inner workings of the cd drive to fall out of alignment and come into contact with the disc surface, thus causing the scratches i mentioned earlier. oddly from my experiences, cd-based games (as opposed to dvd-based games) dont seem to suffer from this problem untill the DREs are almost common place when booting up your ps2.

if your games are taking longer to boot up, then a DRE is imminent. first check your games for the 'perfect ring', then see about getting your ps2 looked at.

 

[Revheadnz]

I haven't ever dropped my PS2 and I never move it while it is playing. The worst that has happened to it was leaving it on the floor at night with the tray open (for some odd reason) and standing on and breaking the tray. I just slotted that in again though and that was almost a year ago now so I don't think that has anything to do with it.
Out of all my games theses are the ones which do/don't work:

GTA: SA: Doesn't work
Gran Turismo 3: Does work
NFSU2: Does work
Kaido Battle 2 (import) : doesn't work
Shutoku Battle 01 (import) : Doesn't work

I think the easy to read games (single layer non import) discs are working fine, it is only hard to read (Dual layer or import) games that are causing problems. All the same, I have booked in a $25 laser clean and realignment for my PS2

 

[KieranMurphy]

If you don't mind opening it up and tinkering around, here's how to fix the famous "Disc Read Error" messages and get your PS2 back up and running:

How to fix the PS2 Disc Read Errors

This repair method has worked for me and I've repaired 2 friends PS2s using this method.

Be careful with when tinkering with the DVD drive - the lens could blind you if you stare into while it's on. Do not activate the DVD drive mechanism or switch the power on unless the DVD unit has it's top cover on.


KM.

 

[Blackbird.]

Well I got mad because I failed a mission on SA for the millionth time and I threw my DS2 down unfortunetly right on top of the PS2, now after 5 seconds of SA gameplay DRE comes up every single time. I think this was my fault this time.