Just a quick question for console owners, how many of you guys exit the game to the menu screen, then hit reset then turn off the power when you guys shut down your system? I've been doing that since the earliest iteration of video games (atleast reset then power for snes) but is it still a common proactice? Does is still make a difference in systmes life span like it use to ?
Here's a legitimate question that might help: of the games that work vs. the games that don't work, what color is the bottom of the disc? For instance, some are silver like a normal CD, some are gold, and some are purple. There may be other colors I don't know about. The colors mean something, meaning they are different formats. I know that purple games are CD based games, and the silver ones are DVD based games. I had a PS2 break and it would only play the purple games because the PS2 using 2 separate lasers, depending on the game. You might have busted one of those lasers, in which case you might be screwed. Sometimes there are replacement lasers, though, and it's always always always a good idea to try cleaning your lense with alcohol.
I see your points, but the time frame doesn't matter in a way; no one forced the PS2 to come out when it did. Even if their goal was to beat everyone else out of the gate, they still had a good year head start; plenty of time to actually work such things out and still be the first on the market with room to spare. And I don't remember any real problems with Sony DVD players in general - just the PS2 capabilities with DVDs (and games), so I'm not sure how much the 'technology' aspect applies. But I could be wrong about that. I don't want it to sound like I'm bashing the PS2 here; I have all three now and have enjoyed them all. But I was one of the folks who didn't get a PS2 at launch because of availability; and that seems like a good thing. I give Sony tons of credit; but I feel like there is criticism that is also well deserved. To me, Drew sounds like he has the problem some others in the thread have talked about, and what I've seen plenty of before; his system could be on it's last legs. Unfortunately, the suggestions he's getting here are probably dead on, particularly with a three year old system.
So I e-mailed Sony and they sent me an e-mail telling me to call them because the problem was so extensive. I did, and after talking to the lady they agreed to repair it for FREE and ship it back to me for FREE ... all I have to do is pay to ship it to them. I think this is pretty sweet seeing as I have had this ps2 for about three years and the warranty is like a 30 days one.... also seeing as its probably my fault its broken, this is a hell of a deal.
Got my playstation back a couple of days ago... everything works fine again... looks like the replaced the laser and something else (and cleaned it)... outstanding service.
That's awesome! I have had my PS2 since Summer 2001. Since there is only a 30day warranty..... I though what the hell, why not open it up and put in a mod chip since, well. My ps2 was already starting to hickup. I had no idea they would do something like that for you. I really haven't had any ttrouble with my ps2. Okay....enough with that. I don't think this post even made much sense....time for bed.
Just curious, how much did you have to explain to the lady on the phone and how long was the phone call?
I told her all the problems (didnt tell her what was the cause of the problem was...) and talked with her for about 5 minutes. At some point she asked for my mailing address and I said No because I didnt think it was necessary... then she said that it was so they knew where to ship it back to and that convinced me. Its ridiculous that they replaced all this stuff three years after I bought the thing.... and also broke it myself.
That's pretty awesome DrewP. I also didn't know that they would do that. That's something I'll have to take note of if my PS2 ever does get screwed up somehow. Although, maybe I would just get a PStwo instead. BTW, I had asked about the PS2's reliability in another forum and I saw no one that really had any problems with it. Most either had it from launch and had no problems or broke it themselves/had it stolen/sold it. There are a few DRE's, but those are usally pretty easy to fix. There was also a story similar to DrewP's about the support from Sony. I didn't want to bring this thread back for something offtopic, but since DrewP filled us in on the actual topic, I might as well talk about it again. Here's the thread: (guess what my username is) http://playstation3insider.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3339&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Also, for those who think the PS2 was designed poorly, check this other console out. http://www.stevefishwick.co.uk/files/XBOX/inside.jpg http://www.stevefishwick.co.uk/files/XBOX/DVD_removed.jpg I'm surprised the Xbox hasn't had more problems considering how cramped it is inside.
I hate to break it to you, Droopy, but the cheap soldering on the MOD CHIP broke. Buy yourself a new PS2.
I'm not. Have you seen the inside of an Apple PowerBook or the last 2 iMacs? They have the lowest failure rates of any computer and they are also the most cramped. (We used to call the iMac with the stand the "nuckel busta") http://mactree.sannet.ne.jp/~kodawarisan/imacg5/imacg510.jpg
Drew, Recently my b*stard cats (funny, I got them for the kids and they seem to like me the best?!) were doing their favorite game of run and chase each other all over the house when one got tangled up in my controller cord, send the PS2 crashing into the deck. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Turns out I opened it up and found that the disc tray has a grove on the bottom of it that was broken off, making it unusable. Now I've removed the top cover and I have to manually put the disc on the mount, which is a pain in the ass. If the door doesn't open, I'd be willing to bet that is the problem right there.
I admit that I have not. That is one thing I overlooked. Do you have any more pics or could explain how they are able to cool the system? I'm not very familiar with them. Based on what I think I know about them, they sacrifice a little bit of performance to be able to stick everything in there and cool it. I don't think Microsoft took this same approach with the Xbox and tried to put as much power as they could in it. Also, I would trust Apple a lot more with designing something like this more than I would the people that worked on the Xbox. I can't tell very well on the pic you had, but for some strange reason, it looks like it would be easier to cool. (again, based on my very limited knowledge on this type of thing) It seems that the Xbox does indeed overheat a bit, so this is one of the reasons why, IMO.
How many hours can you play before an Xbox overheats? The longest I've played was about 4 hrs and never had any problems at all
I've had my XBOX on for almost 30 hrs straight, and it never overheated. It wasnt playing anything, I just forgot to turn it off.. It works fine today.
It won't overheat all the time, especially depending on when and where you got it, but it is a little more prone to it due to the design. If you have in a hot area with little ventillation, I would probably be a little more worried about having it there.
The XBOX is practically built like a PC. Unless you have crappy components, the thing should be solid. I'm not surprised you hear about a lot less problems with the XBOX. The new design on the PS2 doesn't say much about the original design. All that space they cut out...including the expansion bay, which pretty much makes the HDD pretty unfortunate. As much as I've played some great stuff on the PS2, on hardware they have been extremely subpar this generation. Good to hear about your PS2 prob getting fixed, Drew. That's awesome that they did that.
Am I missing something on the Xbox design? Looking at the pics, it looks like there isn't much room for moving air coming from the fan. The HDD and DVD drive are taking up a lot of space. Like I said, I'm not an expert on the cooling of systems, which prompted my questions on the Apple products, but I would assume that the more open area you'd have, the better air flow you'd have for cooling. According to some of the guys in the thread I gave earlier, this is definitly something that leads the Xbox being able to overheat easily. I'm not really following what you said Rokkit. If I understood you right, you're saying that the space they took out for the PStwo shows how much extra space was in the PS2? AFAIK, one of the reasons for the decrease in size is the fact that the EE and GS are together in one chip for the PStwo. The built in NA and the removal of the HDD also leads to the size decrease. (the difference from the lid type disc holder and the disk try may have helped as well.) I don't understand the hardware thing either. If it is durability wise, I've already addressed that earlier; if you mean power wise, I think that it is far from subpar, at least compared to its counterparts. I just wish it supported bumpmapping and other little tricks that the Xbox could use. Boy would games look awesome then.