The Sony Playstation Ps3 is a machine which has a tendency to exhibit a fairly common and highly frustrating fault, whereby it can suddenly stop reading your Ps3 game disks or fail to play Bluray movies anymore. Sometimes the console will continue to play DVDs or Ps2 games without a problem but then point blank refuses to read the Bluray or Ps3 disks. In some severe cases the problem will progress to a point where all disks are unrecognized by the console and it will refuse to play any of them.
Why this strange behaviour with disks? What causes it and why can it occur with one type of disk and not with others?
To explain this in laymans terms, the Ps3 uses a laser pickup for reading information from the DVDs, Bluray or Game Disks. This consists of a pickup inside the unit comprising of either two seperate dedicated laser lenses or a single dual refractor lens. The type of lens used by your console, depends on when it was made and what the exact model number of the unit is. This can be found on a label at the back of the machine.
The important thing to know here, is that whichever type of pickup is used, there are two separate laser mechanisms – one dedicated to Ps3 and Bluray Disks, the other dedicated to Ps2 and DVDs. This explains why this problem of not reading disks can be experienced with certain types of disks and not others. The problem is caused by a failure of one of the dedicated lasers to recognize the disk when it is inserted into the console.
As mentioned earlier – in some cases, the problem will progress or show itself from the outset, by an absolute failure to read any disk whatsoever. In this case, both lasers on the pickup have failed and no disk can be recognised by the console.
So – what can be done to fix it?
Well first off, if your console is still under warranty, the obvious thing to do is return it to Sony. This problem is caused by hardware failure and there is no easy fix to be had by pressing combinations of buttons or clearing the memory or approaches of this kind. If your console is still under warranty the problem will be fixed free of charge.
However, unfortunately in most cases, this problem tends to surface once the console is out of warranty and the cost of repair in this case by Sony is currently running at $150.
So what other options are there?
Well, occassionally this issue can be resolved by cleaning the laser lens to remove any residue that may be obstructing it and thereby preventing it from reading the disk. This is a simple enough procedure but does involve opening the console to gain access to the lens. In my experience, cleaning the lens will be successful in resolving the problem in around 30% of cases. Obviously it is important to ensure that the console is completely disconnected from its power supply to ensure total safety from any risk of electric shock whilst carrying out this type of work, which involves removing the case from the console to get at the innards.
Once you have gained access to the lens, you can use some isoprolol alcohol and a Q Tip to gently clean the lens and remove any residue that may be restricting the laser from reading the disk. For information on how to access the laser see the videos linked below.
If cleaning the lens does not resolve the issue then the laser pickup needs to be replaced. Replacement pickups can be obtained for anything between $40 to $70 dollars and ebay is often a good source for replacements. Obviously, be sure that you have identified the correct replacement version of pickup that is in your console before ordering a new one.
As pictures can paint a thousand words in carrying out a procedure like this, full step by step instructions on how to do this are in the videos below. Please click through and view each one in order to view the full procedure.
How to repair a Playstation 3 PS3 Laser Mech 1
How to repair a Playstation 3 PS3 Laser Mech 2