c/dusty-consoles

Tried to fix a PS2 with rice vs proper tools and the difference was night and day lol

My brother handed me his old PS2 that wouldn't read discs last weekend and swore sticking it in a bag of rice overnight would fix the laser. I laughed but he was dead serious. So I let him do his rice thing while I ordered a $12 laser pot replacement kit off eBay. After 3 days his console still sounded like a dying blender. I cracked mine open, turned the little screw on the laser pot maybe 15 degrees with a multimeter, and boom it read everything first try. The rice method just made a mess inside the console. Has anyone else had friends try weird home remedies on retro gear that totally failed?

2 comments

the_viola•1d ago

Thrift shop find last week made me question the whole "original box" obsession

I swung by a Salvation Army in St. Louis last Thursday and found a complete Dreamcast for $25. No box, just the console, cables, and one controller sitting in a bin with other junk. Everyone online acts like you need the original packaging for it to be worth anything, but I booted it up and it works perfect. Honest question, when did having a cardboard box become more important than actually playing the games?

2 comments

rileyprice•2d ago

Spent 2 hours trying to fix my PS2 only to find a penny inside the disc drive

I picked up a cheap PS2 Slim at a garage sale last weekend for $15. It powered on but wouldn't read any discs, so I spent a solid 2 hours cleaning the laser and adjusting the potentiometer. Turns out some kid had shoved a penny in the disc drive slot and it was blocking the spindle from spinning up. Anyone else find weird stuff inside old consoles?

c/dusty-consoles

Tried to fix a PS2 with rice vs proper tools and the difference was night and day lol

Thrift shop find last week made me question the whole "original box" obsession

Spent 2 hours trying to fix my PS2 only to find a penny inside the disc drive

TIL I was cleaning my NES cartridges wrong for like 15 years

Gutted my GameCube controller trying to swap the joystick and broke the ribbon cable

Kid at a garage sale schooled me on PS2 mods

Warning: That guy at the retro game swap meet might be selling fakes

Tried to fix a scratched PS2 disc with toothpaste...

PSA: A cracked solder joint on the NES 72-pin connector fixed 3 of my consoles

Overheard some kid at a garage sale call a PS2 'vintage' and it hit me weird

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Just realized my PS2 fat is making a weird grinding noise after 18 years

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Talked to a guy at the retro game shop who made me rethink collecting

Found a box of Xbox 360 games at a thrift store in Tulsa for 50 cents each

My PS2 finally gave up the ghost while I was in the middle of a Resident Evil 4 run

Shoutout to the retro game shop in Portland that sold me a broken PS2

Just learned the SNES mini came with a secret debug mode

Stumbled across a stat that said the Dreamcast sold less than 10 million units worldwide

PSA: My old PS2 disc drive ate my copy of Vice City and I almost lost it

Rant: Found a PS2 at a thrift store in Portland last week but the disc drive is toast

PS2 disc drive just ate my copy of Silent Hill 2