The console powers on, shows the white Sony screen, and the black PS logo screen, but then kicks me right back to the home menu, and won't read discs.

The discs spin, as I can hear the motor going, and when I open the tray the disc is spinning, but it just asks me to insert a Playstation CD ROM every time. It reads data off of music CDs, but skips rather aggressively.

I took the PlayStation apart, and removed the laser module briefly to look at what was going on to no avail, however I noticed the laser module itself is very hard to move by hand though I assume it should be able to move up and down the track freely by nature of the fact it needs to read the whole CD.

I booted the Playstation up again with the cover switch held down, and could see the disc spinning quickly, but could not hear the laser moving.

How can I get the laser module to move up and down the track again? I’m nearly certain this is the issue.

I've tried flipping it upside down with no luck.

⟐ Answered 十二月 10, 2025 at 22:34 GMT-7

I recently bought and fixed a PS1 SCPH-1002 but it does not seem to want to read neither PS1 discs nor CDs.

Can this be caused by me replacing the spindle in the middle that holds the disc in place over the laser?

If so, is there a standard distance between the laser and the disc?

Thanks in advance for any input or information

⟐ Commented 九月 04, 2025 at 1:04 GMT-7

This console does not send a signal at all. Not even a blue/black screen. The TV does not seem to recognize that anything is plugged in. I don't think it's a cable or TV issue because I tested them with another PlayStation 1 (Model SCPH-7501) and it displays fine.

Looking at the AV port on SCPH-5501, I cannot see the gold pins because they seem to be further recessed on this model than on the other. It was also difficult to plug in the AV cable, it took a noticeable amount of force for it to be properly seated, and even then It still didn't work. Any tips?

Pictures of AV Port:

⟐ Commented 七月 26, 2025 at 2:10 GMT-7

I recently bought a PS1 at an auction, thats has power and starts up, but it goes to this screen and I cant seem to move off of it.

It wont load games but does play CD's ?

⟐ Commented 六月 06, 2025 at 6:46 GMT-7

Nothing is in the disc drive btw.

⟐ Commented 二月 10, 2025 at 4:03 GMT-7

The power supply was faulted when I was attempting to diagnose a possible power output failure and my meter probe slipped, shorting pins 7 and 8 on IC101 while power was still being applied to the board. I know, stupid amateur mistake, especially for a professional like myself to make. Anyway, after trying everything I could to fix it, I came to the conclusion that something needs replacing. I checked the output connectors, and the highest voltage I measured was between pins 5 and 4, 3, 2 at approximately 2.15 Volts. The LED does not power on. I have a replacement ready for IC101 (Part no. UC3842AN, which matches the KA3842B that occupies the board), but after measuring the continuity of C110 (Which links pin 8 of IC101 with J2, D109, C108, PC101, and pin 2 of itself), I discovered that C110 was a dead short. Could this be the issue, or is it the IC as well? If the capacitor is not supposed to be shorted, I'll need to replace it with an equivalent rated ceramic THT capacitor (since I don't have any surface mount ceramics). Ratings of the capacitor would be great. I also want to make sure I didn't miss any component links that might affect the power supply negatively if not corrected.

As for the controller interface, the controller suddenly wouldn't function. Since the power supply is inoperative, I'm unable to do live board testing and voltage measuring. Chasing the traces, I came across PS605, which if I'm not mistaken is an inductor. Using the continuity checker on my meter, I probed all of the other inductors and similar PSXXX components and read them as shorted, as expected since most inductors have little to no resistance. However, PS605 did not have a short, or even any measurable resistance. I'm confident that this is the issue, since close inspection of the connections, joints, and other components showed no faults. However, I want to make sure that there is nothing I may have overlooked, and I also need to know the ratings of this component for replacement.

Remember: The model is SCPH-5501 (FAT, not slim). I don't want answers for any other model (such as the SCPH-100, 10XX, Slim models, ect.) because that information would be useless to me. Thank you.

⟐ Answered 九月 02, 2023 at 2:45 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 二月 27, 2022 at 9:36 GMT-7

Thanks.

⟐ Answered 四月 05, 2018 at 23:43 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 一月 29, 2026 at 21:27 GMT-7

it looks like normal from the photo but its kind of dark off camera and when I restart the ps1 it changes into PAL into NTSC 4.43 is there anyway to make it brighter or fix this without tearing down the console

⟐ Answer accepted 十月 31, 2025 at 4:07 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 五月 25, 2025 at 4:35 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 五月 09, 2025 at 15:55 GMT-7

thank you

⟐ Answered 二月 17, 2025 at 7:19 GMT-7

I really loved my Ps and it would be really bad, if it is broken and i can't fix it

⟐ Answered 十月 06, 2024 at 13:33 GMT-7

Also problem is not caused by tv or video output cable

⟐ Answered 十月 06, 2024 at 13:27 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 十月 01, 2024 at 14:06 GMT-7

Ignore the purple hue in these photos, that’s the TV not the PlayStation.

⟐ Commented 七月 27, 2024 at 7:36 GMT-7

I would like to know if anybody knows how to solve the following issue with the Playstation 1.

My console is the Playstation 1 fat model SCPH-7501 and the issue with it is, when I turn it on a put different games to play the optical eye doesn't move from its place or read any game discs. What is the solution to this issue?

⟐ Answered 三月 26, 2024 at 10:42 GMT-7

When playing games, the games load up and play as they should, but the sound is not working 100% meaning that the sound will play, but there is constant buzzing.

I guess that playstation doesn't work 100% with my tv, but my question is what can I do about the problem?

I know that I can either 1) use a tube tv or 2) use a ps3, but I would really like to use original hardware. Emulators don't always produce good results.

Or is there anything that I can do?

⟐ Commented 十一月 27, 2023 at 9:14 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 六月 14, 2023 at 19:29 GMT-7