I thought I'd throw this one out here to see if anyone's got any advice.

My PS2's started acting up. The symptoms:

1. I have two memory cards -- one for my saved games, one for Jen's. With either memory card in the first slot, the PS2 refuses to boot up from a game disc. It'll start, and then I'm left with a blank screen. If I take the memory card out, the game will start normally. If I then put the card back in, I can load my saved games successfully.
2. Jen's memory card claims that it's unformatted (it might be -- this is from new), but when I try to format it, it never finishes. I've left it for over an hour, and no progress.

Is my PS2 dead? Do I need a new one?

The PS2 of a friend of mine started failing to read discs. He got it repaired or swapped out by Sony for either shipping or for free. And this was only a few months ago and he purchased his PS2 within a month or two of it being available. I'd call Sony and at least see what they have to say.

And this was only a few months ago and he purchased his PS2 within a month or two of it being available

Hmm, interesting. My girlfriend's brother has a busted PS2 which started freezing up during games and movies. He thought it was because he left it on for a long time once (odd, none of the systems I've ever done that to have hurt from it). Then again, I never pounded my systems to fix them, either, do it might be the user and not the machine

My friend Tod also recently needed to buy a new PS2 because it started failing to read discs. This is a widespread-enough problem that I think a cottage industry has sprung up around repairing PS2's. My local computer game store has signs up offering PlayStation repairs and they carry spare parts on hand.

Not sure if Tod knew about Rod offering PS2 repair service before he bought his replacement.

If it's not reading disks there is a fix involving adjusting the laser focus. They showed how to do it on tech tv and in game pro magazine.

Here's a link

"Hey, Tod. Still got that old Playstation lying around?"
"Why?"
"No reason..."

My friend Tod also recently needed to buy a new PS2 because it started failing to read discs

But I'm not talking about reading discs. I'm talking about reading memory cards. Anybody had this problem with their PS2?

You might have blown one of the fuses which protects the controller and memory card slots. The old PlayStation had the problem where if the fuse goes all of the ports just go dead.

all of the ports just go dead

It's not quite that bad -- the port's not dead, just not working properly, and the controller works perfectly. Maybe my PS2's a later rev where the failure mode is different.

This is a widespread-enough problem

Yes, even the mighty Watchdog on BBC1 did a feature about this. There were a surprising number of early models suffering from disc reading problems.

There were a surprising number of early models suffering from disc reading problems.

When I bought the PS2 (from Currys), the salesman was attempting to pimp his extended warranty by telling me that PS2's were renowned for the laser dying and being unable to read discs. Bearing in mind that the extended warranty would have cost something like twice as much as the PS2 itself.

So I asked him if he was knowingly selling me something that wasn't "fit for the purpose". He shut up.

But I'm not talking about reading discs. I'm talking about reading memory cards.

Understood. Sorry I got off on a tangent. My point is that there's enough problems with PS2's due to the sheer size of the installed base, that you might be able to find someone local who does PS2 repairs and can help you. I mean, you live in London now, for goodness sake.

Tangentially related...

I have never heard of someone having problems with the memory card part of the PS2 hardware... everybody and their brother's dog has disc problems, but the memory card slot?

One question, are these memory cards Sony branded? I have heard of people having trouble with the cheap knock offs. If the card has become corrupted it is very possible the PS2 is hanging when it tries to read the card. Either way, I'd suggest buying another Sony brand memory card and see if the problem continues... if it doesn't, try copying over game data until you find the culprit...

...but then it's very possible you've tried all this. In that case... oops.

One question, are these memory cards Sony branded?

Yep.

If the card has become corrupted it is very possible the PS2 is hanging when it tries to read the card.

The card reads fine once the PS2 has loaded the game. I've also tried it with a brand-new card (so you'd expect no corruption), and it won't format the new card (which, even if the card was corrupted, you'd expect to completely wipe the card).

Looks like it's hosed. I'll see if I can find a game store that does repairs next time I'm in town, otherwise it's time for a new one.

Wow. That wasted an hour of my (otherwise useless) day. Sounds a lot like my stories from the comic book store.

Yeah, some real gems in there. I liked the bit where he's marking grammatical errors on resumes and handing them back.

One time we got this copy of a chapter of a sci-fi book in the mail from some guy who was apparently self-publishing it. I think he maybe wanted us to carry it or order a few copies or something. The owner had no interest (especially since we barely carried novels), but one day when I was shirking my other responsibilities I read it. The story was basically as bad as you'd expect a self-published novel to be, but the worst part was the horrible grammar and spelling, not to mention the weird typos. So I went next door to the copy shop, bought a red pen, and marked it up. He sent his mailing address along with it, so I stuffed it back in an envelope and returned it to him. (He may have even had a SASE in there for some reason, since I can't imaging spending 30¢ on it.)

Weeks later, I get a phone call. It's the guy, and he's calling to thank me for the corrections. Seriously. And he's not pissed or anything. Weird.

True story. Swear to God.