My Playstation 2 gives me a "Disk Read Error" whenever I try to play original Playstation games?

Question

Does anyone know what the cause of this is? What can I do to fix this?

Answer 1

if this happens with JUST ps1 games then its the laser/lense.  The laser/lense operates on different frequencies for different media type, IE ps1, ps2 and dvd.  If everything else is working and the disc is in good shape then thats your issue.  buying a laser/lense assembly  is CHEAP.  I buy mine for 16 bucks.  and installing it is EASY as 1-2-3

Answer 2

Well there's a couple reasons possibly.  It could be just that the laser assembly in your PS2 is dirty and needs to be cleaned.  If you have a local game shop that is non-franchise they may offer a repair service or you can take it apart yourself and clean it(just be careful, I suggest a can of compressed air and some q-tips and rubbing alcohol to clean the laser lens).  But this may not be the case if the system reads everything else.  Have you tried any of the old PS2 games where the backs of the disks are blue and not silver?  These games, like ps1 games, are CD format and not DVD format.  Sometimes as ps2s age the lasers get weaker and become unable to read CD format disks, if this is the case and a cleaning doesn't help then you may need to get a new laser assembly.  At that point it may be better to get a new PS2, upgrade to a PS3 or you may be able to get it repaired, but it might not be worth the price.  Of course, you can always call Sony and complain until they give in and fix it for free, I know dozens of people who have done that lol.  Hope that helps!