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How to Clean the PS2 and Fix “Disc Read Error”

December 7, 2018 by Mitch Bartlett 12 Comments

Last night me and my girlfriend were going to face off in Guitar Hero. However, my PS2 just froze while trying to read the disc. After about 4 minutes it said Disc Read Error. It had been getting this way for a while. It would take forever to read the game disc and it would sometimes sit forever at the Browser/System Configuration screen. The unit is 8 years old so I would imagine some filth has built up on the disc reading laser lens inside of it. I decided to clean it out to fix this problem. Here’s how it’s done:

Supplies:
Cotton swab
Small (micro) Phillips head screwdriver
Standard Phillips head screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver
Canned air (optional)

1. Remove all peripherals from the Playstation 2. Discs, memory cards, controllers and modems.

2. Flip the unit on it’s top. 4 rubber feet and 4 square plastic coverings need to be removed from the bottom of the unit.

Remove Rubber Feet

3. Remove the coverings using a flat head screwdriver. Then remove all of the screws using the standard Phillips screwdriver.
Removing Rubber Feet

4. Flip the PS2 back on it’s right side. Remove the cover carefully, angling it down toward the front of the unit and flipping it over. Careful, there is a ribbon cable attached on the front side.

Remove Cover

5. After the cover is removed, the top of the disc drive is revealed. The top of it must be removed with a small screw driver. Remove the 4 screws to it.

Cover Removed

6. Carefully remove the top to the disc drive, and the inside is exposed along with the disc reading lens.

Removing Cover

7. Using a damp cotton swab, gently clean the disc reading laser lens.

Clean Lens

8. To finish things off you may want to use some canned air to clean out other parts inside of the unit. Put the PS2 back together and it will read discs just like it did when you first purchased it.

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Filed Under: Gaming

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Steve says

    September 7, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    I just did this on my ps2 it was intermediately playing dual layer discs (xenosaga I) and after cleaning it its running perfectly

  2. Tori says

    May 29, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    Just tried this. Found two old ps1 games from
    When I was a kid and wanted to play but the discs wouldn’t read! I tired cleaning the discs with everything but no luck! Used these instructions and now they work perfectly! Thankyou!!

  3. Dart says

    January 23, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    Super quick fix. Back up and running in perfect order. Thank you.

  4. Sancho25 says

    February 2, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    You forgot one thing. You have to open the disc tray while the system is open, unplug and clean the underside of the lens and the reflective mirror under it. This is the biggest culprit. I am surprised more people haven’t included this important step in repair pages.

  5. Mark says

    January 3, 2017 at 3:12 am

    Sounds good but not the answer! I’ve cleaned the laser used to read PlayStation 2 games now it only reads PlayStation 1 and music discs it will not play DVDs and it will not play PlayStation 2 games. I’ve also manipulated my big PlayStation 2 to where I can get a hex wrench into the gear that adjust the laser. My machine used to load the game before the browser screen even came up. But now no matter how much I adjust the gear it doesn’t work for PlayStation 2 games.

  6. Flea says

    December 9, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Thanks a lot! Was stressing out, had my PS2 since it got out and suddenly just stopped, but it worked right after I tried this!
    Now I can go all over my Final Fantasy’s again!! ^^

  7. Jon says

    February 6, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Thanks bro good instructions! Easier than I thought. I finally got Killzone to work.

  8. Lionel says

    November 8, 2011 at 9:40 am

    Mitch! u r a STAR!! : )

  9. Seb says

    March 15, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Awesome thing, don’t hesitate trying it, it’s easy and everything will work again ;)

  10. BP says

    June 3, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    It took 8 minutes to load a Guitar Hero song until I found this link. I cleaned the lens and it works like a charm – no waiting!!!

    THANKS!!!

  11. ammar says

    June 7, 2009 at 5:05 am

    i did all of that but now it dosnt read the disk

  12. kratty says

    January 8, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    I did all that,didn’t need to,just stand ps2 player on left end,believe it or not it works perfect now

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Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

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