exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

Well, just to prove the point that idle retro gear dies unexpectedly, my PS2 Slim decided to throw a wobbler whilst I was trying out FMCB and just suddenly had a failure.

This is it, can you spot what's wrong?


You actually won't be able to as it's a laser fail, apparently common in the PS2 Slim. It still reads PS1 games and CD's, but DVDs are suddenly off the menu :stars:

Luckily spares are cheap and available, so I have ordered a replacement unit which I'll get round to at some point in the near future, but bloody annoying nonetheless.

Also added to the collection this week, a GBA SP Tribal:


I had been planning a project to re-shell and add an IPS screen, but the case is so nice it's just getting a re-screen :)

I sold my blue one many years ago and wished I hadn't so it's nice to have one again :)

SP screens look so much better than standard GBAs thanks to their IPS screens but I much prefer the form factor of traditional GBA.

I keep meaning to get an IPS kit for my transparent purple GBA

That said I tend to play everything on the 3DS XL

rubber_jonnie wrote: 26 Feb 2026 08:52 This is it, can you spot what's wrong?

I can spot that your PS1 below is upside down in terms of optimal disc reading capabilities :)
Or at least mine, as well as a friend of mines, eventually ended up suffering the can-only-read-discs-reliably-when-flipped-upside-down-syndrome.
Wonder why that happened and if Sony fixed whatever that flaw was at some later revision of the machine.

alexh wrote: 26 Feb 2026 16:12 SP screens look so much better than standard GBAs thanks to their IPS screens but I much prefer the form factor of traditional GBA.

I keep meaning to get an IPS kit for my transparent purple GBA

That said I tend to play everything on the 3DS XL

Unfortunately this SP is an AGS-001 so the screen isn't brilliant but the price was right.

I probably have too many Gameboy variants, but this is my Advance that was re-shelled and given an IPS screen:


I do have an OG DS from close to when it was released and still have the box ect for it, plus I have a DSi XL, but none of the 3d variants. I may get one...

agranlund wrote: 26 Feb 2026 16:29

rubber_jonnie wrote: 26 Feb 2026 08:52 This is it, can you spot what's wrong?

I can spot that your PS1 below is upside down in terms of optimal disc reading capabilities :)
Or at least mine, as well as a friend of mines, eventually ended up suffering the can-only-read-discs-reliably-when-flipped-upside-down-syndrome.
Wonder why that happened and if Sony fixed whatever that flaw was at some later revision of the machine.

Lol, its not ready for upside down operations just yet, but I will keep an eye open for it failing!!!

The PS2 on the other hand should be fine with a new laser, though I ultimately want to use FMCB and a USB stick with it. I already have FMCB installed on a memory card, I just need to get it happy with USB sticks next.

OK, so the replacement laser assembly for the PS2 Slim (Correct one this time) arrived today and I had it installed in a jiffy and the PS2 is once again reading DVDs.

Next up I need to crack on with understanding whats what with FMCB so I can use USB for disc images :)

Don't get your hopes up - it's usb 1.1 so very slow compared to reading from DVD. Some games will work, some won't, others will take ages to load with stuttering FMV. Fat PS2 with internal hard disk is best!

JD

Hellraiseruk wrote: 14 Mar 2026 20:20 Don't get your hopes up - it's usb 1.1 so very slow compared to reading from DVD. Some games will work, some won't, others will take ages to load with stuttering FMV. Fat PS2 with internal hard disk is best!

JD

Yeah I get there's limitations, but I'd like to give it a go 😁

@stephen_usher

You're famous on Adrian's Digital Basement 😁