segunda-feira, 12 de maio de 2008

My PS2 works!!!

Ok, let me put this in context so you can understand what the fuck is going on... Ever since I got my PS2 mod-chipped, which was just a few months after buying it (around 2004 or something), Sony probably put a curse on me, because the damn thing never worked properly again (that, or the guy who did the job seriously fucked up). At first it stopped booting the games right away, usually needing 3 or 4 tries, if not a lot more, before finally properly reading the fucking disc. Eventually it lost the capability to play PS1 games (which, at the time, I thought it was just the PS1 processor inside the PS2 that died), and it started to occasionally freeze. Not in the middle of a game, but right on start-up, the fucking piece of shit would freeze on the console's main menu.


Still, the major problem was not reading the games. This started to escalate to the point of me having to spend 5 to 10 minutes for the console from hell to boot a fucking game (can you picture it? craving to play a game and having to sit next to that pile of shit, putting the dvd in and out, hoping that it would finally play the next time you turn it on? for fuck's sake...), which was the reason why, some months ago, I completely forgot about the system, decided to ignore it until I was able to afford a new, functional, console.


The reason why I never attempted to fix it was because I have limited knowledge of electronics, and according to pretty much everyone on the web, my problem was a dying laser, which could only be solved with a new, expensive, one. Yesterday, however, I decided to give it a go. After opening it up (which was more difficult than opening up a Dreamcast or a Saturn, but still way easier then opening an Xbox 360...), I was impressed by the sheer amount of dust accumulated throughout roughly 4 years of intensive use. Even more scary, there were spider-webs on the mainboard and, even worse, a fucking living spider! Gasp! (I'm arachnophobic, you know...)


After dealing with the arachnid from hell, I proceeded to examine the dvd drive, more exactly the laser, which seemed to be the cause of all my troubles. Just cleaning it didn't solve anything, so I thought about calibrating it (it worked with my Dreamcast). The problem was, I had no idea how to do that! In the older models there this big-ass white cog that you just had to turn in order to adjust the laser, but in my PS2 there was no such thing! After countless hours on the web I finally discovered than in my model there was not one, but two little cogs, hidden below a shit-load of plastic, barely visible and hard to reach. Fuck!

(that's the fucking cog that, if present, would've made my job a lot easier...)

Still, my patience was running strong that day, so I then proceeded to initiate a routine where I would do just a minor adjust, try it out, turn it off and repeat ad nauseam, until I find the sweet spot where it loads the games just fine. Was I successful? Well, if not, I wouldn't have the patience to write this post, would I? It still occasionally freezes and it doesn't boot PS1 backups, but it boots PS1 originals, PS2 games in CD and PS2 games in DVD. Fuck yeah! Looks like spending a whole after-noon around the damn thing paid off! :D

11 comentários:

Junlee disse...

Ugh! I can imagine finding a spider in my PS2 would have been just as scary! I too am deathly afraid of spiders! Damn things!

But congrats on getting it working again!

The Sports Satirist disse...

Good for you buddy.

I wanted to ask you something about GTA 4 that isn't sex related for once. Do you have any idea what the frak Jacob is saying? I have the subtitles turned on, but I still can't understand anything.

NebachadnezzaR disse...

Oh, junlee, someone who understands me! :) To make things worse, the damn thing was the same colour as the mainboard, so I only noticed it when it moved, by the time my fingers were mere centimetres (about an inch) away from it. But it wasn't over, I then had to proceed to eliminate the damn thing without damaging the console. Fuck!

Funnyman, you seriously think I know? :)
If it's even hard for an American like you to understand, imagine what it's like for me! I only know 3 things: he speaks of himself as "I and I", he speaks of niko as his "bredah", and he keeps talking about some bloodclot, which is some kind of swear in Jamaica, I think.

By the way, I can translate the Portuguese swearing in the game for you, if you want. Ever been called a "filho da puta" or "fucking cagalhão" by someone on the street? xD

The Sports Satirist disse...

Although I am an American citizen, I don't really consider the language that Jacob is speaking to be English. I can comprehend other characters in the game like Brucie. When he says "I'm pushing it to the max," it means that he is simultaneously using steroids and exercising. Jacob is the one person that gives me problems.

Are all games in your country in Portuguese? I have always wondered what Niko and Jacob sound like with a Portuguese accent.

NebachadnezzaR disse...

Indeed, Jacob speaks a very particular, Jamaican, version of the English language.

No, no, you misunderstood me. I was talking about the Portuguese swearing in all the versions of the game. You know, most pedestrians when "bumped" talk shit at you, most of the times in English, but sometimes in Spanish or, for the first time in a GTA, Portuguese (it probably has something to do with the inclusion of a Portuguese neighbourhood, it's somewhere in North Alderney I think).

But our version of the game is the same as yours, with the original character's voices. In fact, unlike other countries (mainly Spain, France and Germany), we usually never translate games here (the same goes for movies and tv shows, for example), except for a couple of titles, usually for Sony consoles, but occasionally for Xbox too (Halo 3).

Still, I can pretty much imagine what Niko would sound like :) For the last years we've received a lot of Eastern-European emigrants here, so I'm used to listen to them speaking Portuguese with their particular accent (now that I think of it, I haven't spoken with an Ukrainian friend of mine for quite some time, got to give him a call...).

Junlee disse...

Even the smallest spiders make me squeal like a girl! The only time that I get brave enough to take on a spider is when they invade my personal space. Like for example, one of decent size was in my truck the other day! All fear left me and I stomped that hoe ass spider!

I can't have one of those in my vehicle!!!

lol

The Sports Satirist disse...

Interesting. I never knew that.

Simbyotic disse...

Lawl I didnt know you dont like spiders (guess what am I going to do at Ptgamers lunch xD).
I guess the high amount of curses (or bad words, my english isnt still very good) was because of the poor spider.
You should be shamed you did a spyderside...
Go play the freaking amounts of good games for ps2 :)

NebachadnezzaR disse...

Lol, don't you even dare to bring a spider to the PTGamers meeting! >:(

But yes, I'm enjoying my PS2 again, trying to finally beat Okami :)

gnome disse...

Wow! A spider? Still, you're impressively persistent my friend. Congrats!

fatherkrishna disse...

"I only know 3 things: he speaks of himself as "I and I", he speaks of niko as his "bredah", and he keeps talking about some bloodclot, which is some kind of swear in Jamaica, I think."

LOL!I understand him fine! I live in a largely Afro-Caribbean community and even my own (totally white) kids drop that shit into their every day language!

"Blut-claat!" does indeed mean blood clot and refers to a lady having her 'monthly time' and is a pretty derogatory term for someone.

Just stay there and get used to it... My barber used to talk to me for hours and I just used to smile and nod, his accent was so thick... most people in my community speak standard English until they get with their homies then they slip into patois..

I suggest you listn to lots of dub reggae Funnyman!