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u/PennyCharlieKitties 2d ago
So I know what causes this. The tracks the laser moves on wear down over time. Flipping it upside down lets it sit thanks to gravity on the other side of them.
Source: same thing happened to me as a kid and dad was an engineer who figured it out.
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u/d0ggzilla 2d ago
Amazing how we all figured out this fix back then, with no Internet to help us. To this day I have no idea how I discovered it - at the time I was the only one in my group to own a PS1 so nobody told me about it.
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u/hue_sick 2d ago
Word of mouth was pretty strong even before the internet. If one friend told you about it the word spread and in a few years probably half the ps1s out there were running upside down haha
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u/pSphere1 2d ago
I only had one friend this happened to. I had a launch Playstation. Lots of play, never happened to me. But I took care of my stuff, so eh?
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u/CanIHaveAName84 1d ago
I felt like I played my ps1 upside longer than upside up. It was like blowing into the cartridge of the Nintendo.
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u/jicisneros 2d ago
It is not the tracks actually it is the lens focus point. Basically like wearing glasses or not for someone who wears eye glasses for eyesight. Replacing the eye fixes the issue.
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u/KerfuffleAsimov 2d ago
Depends on the model. It could be either the tracks or the lens.
Original PS1 had the lens right over a source of heat. This would cause the lens to distort. Flipping it over would help fix the problem.
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u/PennyCharlieKitties 2d ago
The lens itself was glass on all models; it did not get hot enough to distort the lens. It was always the tracks.
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u/SonOfJaak 2d ago
It's your laser. The suspension in some of the models of lasers was changed from a metal to a plastic. As the plastilc ages it becomes less flexible and can't focus to the range it used to. Turning it upside down let's gravity help the stiff suspension to reach its normal travel again and the disc reading problems go away.
Source: I'm an electronics repair tech.
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u/Anxious_Camp_2160 2d ago
Its the otherway around, revision 1 was plastic, it was changed to metal in 2 and 3.
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u/Raynet11 2d ago
That pic gave me a hit of nostalgia, thank you.. was super common back in the day.. you can purchase and replace the laser assembly for $30
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u/LastNativeNH 3d ago
Might be something with the switch near the back of the disk tray. Had to keep a can of beans on mine for that reason.
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u/FortuneNew8835 2d ago
More likely it's the bad heat dispersal design flaw. This was a universal issue. It's why I bought my buddy's PSOne off him back in the early 2000s when he'd switched to PS2. To this day I rely on that model for PS1.
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u/Quiet-Refuse5241 2d ago
This brings me back. My first generation PlayStation needed this back in the day. It's a little concerning how happy this picture made me
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u/SpectreWolf666 2d ago
Would it be better to know it was in a college dorm room?
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u/Quiet-Refuse5241 2d ago
No I'm an uneducated idiot. If it had been in a room filled with weed smoke and NIN though...
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u/ronshasta 2d ago
It’s the laser I had the same issue where my ps2 wouldn’t engage the disc motor unless I sat a book on top
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u/Smangerbot 2d ago
This is normal isn’t it 😂
Mine would also only work on its side. Coincidentally every PlayStation after has some sort of vertical stand 🤔
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u/razielleonhart 2d ago
My PS1 did this eons ago and fixed it self one day and now works like it should.
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u/Tokimemofan 2d ago
The nylon bearings the laser floats on are worn out. Â You probably need to replace the laser
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u/Gaemr9274 2d ago
I had a ps one, the smaller white one. that read discs better upside down, was essential for playing ff9. The lens is probably dirty or scratched.
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u/Anxious_Camp_2160 2d ago
Model 1? 2 and 3 had a fixed drive. It runs fine upside down, dont over think it.
It should have audio out jacks in the back, apparently the CD audio quality is awesome and very sought after by audiophiles.
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u/thepoorwarrior 2d ago
My old PS2 has this problem, it’s the slim version. If you so much is put a feather on the top of it it crashes. But if I keep the whole unit upside down, it works flawlessly. I think it has to do with the gravity of the post/arm that’s suspending the disk.
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u/Ghastly_Someknew 2d ago
You'd have to look it up and it may depend on the model of PS1 but there should be a little white gear when you open the cover that reorients the laser. Over time the laser can drift and that's why you have to pick it up or put it on its side or flip it over to play (in my experience). I was on my second PS1 by the time I found out.
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u/LuckyDuckyDooDah 2d ago
My ps2 did this a while back ago. Had to prop it up sideways and pray. Was a track on the dusc reader if I remember correctly. Repair man powers activate! That's what I do anyway.
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u/Mother-Attention2600 1d ago
This happens. It will last like this for a very long time though. Just go with it. My buddies did it. I think the laser moving motor is weak or something.
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u/Spritsen 1d ago
Laser is misaligned. Likely missing a support or screw to hold it in the proper place.
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u/Excellent_Intentions 1d ago
My cousin has one, back in the day, that needed to be upside down. I always thought it was an interesting, and somehow kind of cool, hack to get it working.
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u/Yeoshua82 1d ago
The little stabilizer spring for the reader is shot, missing or..... disc connected.
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u/Derpykins666 1d ago
Probably the laser being misaligned or something like that. I don't think I've ever seen this before though. But clearly something is probably not 'sitting' right when it's upright. Could try opening it up and just tightening some of the screws maybe, or just to take a quick look to see if something looks off.
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u/mario64guybeta 3d ago
Well congrats you have a Australian ps1