PS1 My PS1 is skipping on spotless discs. Any way to fix this?

[TamagatchiTamaHiro24]

Thought I might ask. My console has occasional trouble reading some discs that appear, at least to my eye, to be spotless. Is there any way to adjust the laser strength or something to fix this, or is it worth looking into buying a whole other console?

 

[bjork]

What model of PS1 is it? If memory serves, the originals had issues overheating, until the version with the red box in 97. That would cause skipping and people did all kinds of stuff to try and combat it, but I saw "put your playstation upside down" as a common one back then.

 

[TamagatchiTamaHiro24]

What model of PS1 is it? If memory serves, the originals had issues overheating, until the version with the red box in 97. That would cause skipping and people did all kinds of stuff to try and combat it, but I saw "put your playstation upside down" as a common one back then.

It's an SCPH-9001. No Parallel port, single AV port, but original design.

 

[Klonoa7]

Back when I owned a PS1 and had that problem I would clean the disc lens with a cotton swab that had a slight amount of isopropyl alcohol on the tip and the games ran fine after that.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

might have to look into getting a replacement laser. They're not too expensive, just have to make sure you get the right one for your model. Swapping it out is fairly easy.

 

[bjork]

It's an SCPH-9001. No Parallel port, single AV port, but original design.

Doing a little clicking around, it could be time to replace the optical drive entirely, or that it just needs lubricated. I guess both involve disassembly, so that may be more of a chore than you're looking for.

 

[RageBurner]

If you are noticing an abnormal amount of noise when the PS1 attempts to read a disc, it would point out to what Bjork said. Maybe the drive motor could be faulty, or the lens assembly could be.

 

[FFTW]

The Playstation 1 (and 2 too) is well known for laser errors, so that would most likely be the case. I recommend a replacement laser.

 

[maddogmcclure]

Turn it upside down

Kidding aside, the real fix is a new laser and a replacement PSU like the PicoPSU

 

[Leon]

As has been said already it's likely the laser failing, replacing the laser is braindead easy on the ps1 so you could probably just buy one off of ebay or somewhere and do it yourself, no soldering required (last i checked, it used a ribbon cable).