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14:33, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Posted by Wildcard
Wildcard
member, 1020 posts
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 15:22
  • msg #1

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Hey RPOL, I've tried searching through tech help sites and Sony's playstation website but cannot find a solution that does not come with a costly repair bill. My brother just bought a refurbished PS2 and while it plays PS2 games like it was new it will only go up to the playstation logo screen and then it just freezes up. That is when it doesn't just stop on a black screen before that. Despite the age of his old PS2 that one did not have this problem. Is there a way to fix this CD Drive or disk reader or whatever is the problem without taking it to a shop to get repairs done? I mentioned it above, but I can't find a solution on official Sony sites or tech forum yet and was wondering if any gamers here new a solution without so many tools or getting repairmen and the bill from that involved. Thank you in advance.
Jarodemo
member, 929 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 16:38
  • msg #2

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

In reply to Wildcard (msg # 1):

My PS2 never played PS1 games, I don’t think it was designed too...

Community - feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not exactly a ‘go to’ tech guy!
Jewwk of Shuu
member, 33 posts
"I cast: Pro: Sandwich"
GM: "But WHY?!"
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 16:44
  • msg #3

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

In reply to Jarodemo (msg # 2):

That was my thoughts as well; I don't believe they incorporated backward compatibility until later versions.

If it was modded to do so, then that's a whole other can of worms.
nauthiz
subscriber, 714 posts
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 17:02
  • msg #4

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Make sure the PS1 games you're trying to play are compatible with the PS2 model you have.  While there was backwards compatibility, it wasn't universal.  Google should yield a list of what's compatible with what.

If you're still having issues with compatible PS1 games, but PS2 games play just fine, you're probably better off trying to get your hands on a different PS2 unit.  The backwards compatibility was done through a combination of physical hardware (Sony put PS1 chips/processors in the PS2) and software emulation.  That means troubleshooting the exact issue probably won't be easy without the right tools and knowledge base.
aguy777
member, 342 posts
Join Date:
Thu, 28 Nov, 2013
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 20:58
  • msg #5

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

If it's getting to the PlayStation logo screen, then that means it's recognizing the disc; otherwise it would just go to the standard PS2 boot menu that it goes to when no disc is inserted. It sounds to me like there is an issue with the PS1 chip inside, but I'm not terribly familiar with the PS2's hardware.
praguepride
member, 1792 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Mon 12 Apr 2021
at 21:30
  • msg #6

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

IIRC to become backwards compatible the PS2 actually added a few PS1 components inside. If you got a refurb there is a chance that while they fixed it for PS2, they didn't bother checking or repairing the PS1 components.

That being said, not every PS1 game was compatible with PS2 so first check the game title to see if that is supposed to work. Then check a different PS1 game, preferably one with a clean disc. If that still doesn't work it is likely what I said, bad hardware that was never fixed as part of the refurb and you're SOL unless you go back to a repair shop.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:32, Mon 12 Apr 2021.
tmagann
member, 703 posts
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 00:04
  • msg #7

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

If it was refurbished, it should have some sort of warranty on it,. Just take t back and tell them they didn't do it right.

My PS2 plays PS1, for whatever that's worth, so at least some were built to do so.
Jordan Task
member, 5034 posts
All glory to the
Hypnotoad!
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 00:30
  • msg #8

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

In reply to Jewwk of Shuu (msg # 3):

PlayStation never had backward compatibility. Instead they have PlayStation Now for the ps4.
Wildcard
member, 1021 posts
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 00:54
  • msg #9

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. This is an original, (Fat) PS2 model and it says it came with PS1 backwards compatibility and the games I've tried with it, (Syphon Filter 2 & Yugioh Forbidden Memories) are not on any of those lists. It sounds like something is broken inside. Syphon Filter gets me to the ps1 screen and freezes up but the disk isn't damaged and it worked on a barely working ps2 and there are no scratches on the disk's bottom, so something should be working I'll have to tell my bro to send it back with the warrenty and get it fixed again I think.
spectre
member, 899 posts
Myriad paths fell
away from that moment....
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 00:58
  • msg #10

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Playstation absolutely had backward compatibility in PS2s. In fact, I believe they popularized the term among the younguns of the time, including myself. That was also why it was so devastating when they backtracked on that with the PS3 and 4. Yes, there is PSNow...now, but back then there wasn't much of a PS online framework. PS5 brought that back, at least for some of the games that are on PS4 and 5.

I think they stripped it out in the slim versions of the PS2 console.
praguepride
member, 1793 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 03:58
  • msg #11

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Interesting read:

https://freelansations.medium....uilt-it-ec39cf5a0353

So I was partially right. They did workaround PS1 emulation by just installing a PS1 sound chip into the PS2 but the graphics were done with an actual emulation software by engineer/developer Tetsuya Iida.

quote:
The PS2 ultimately wasn’t 100 percent backwards compatible with the PS1 back catalog, but it nevertheless supported nearly all of it. When I look back on it now, that assignment is probably the most important one I’ve ever had in my career.


Anyway if you can't play Syphon Filter, take it back and get it fixed.
Jarodemo
member, 930 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 08:36
  • msg #12

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

You could of course go full retro an buy a PS1 console. I have seen them 2nd hand in the UK for about £40...
praguepride
member, 1795 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 15:01
  • msg #13

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

You could also get emulater boxes. I've seen SNES ones that look like a small SNES and come loaded with like 1,000 games.

A popular one I know of is RetroPie, an emulator loaded onto a Raspberry Pi that can support about 250 PS1 games.
aguy777
member, 343 posts
Join Date:
Thu, 28 Nov, 2013
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 17:09
  • msg #14

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

spectre:
I think they stripped it out in the slim versions of the PS2 console.

Nope. I have a slim PS2 that runs PS1 games (got it from the store in 2005; still works).
praguepride
member, 1796 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 18:23
  • msg #15

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

There is nothing to strip out, just a sound chip.
MrKinister
member, 126 posts
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 19:49
  • msg #16

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

aguy777:
Nope. I have a slim PS2 that runs PS1 games (got it from the store in 2005; still works).

Same with me. I got the "slim" PS2 precisely because it plays PS1 games. I still my old PS1 in good condition, but the PS2 does a better job.
spectre
member, 904 posts
Myriad paths fell
away from that moment....
Sun 18 Apr 2021
at 03:15
  • msg #17

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Excellent! I was only suggesting that since he was having issues as a possibility. I didn't have any idea. Good deal! Obviously, Praguepride corrected me after my post, he says it's the exact same technology, just a sounds chip difference. Not sure why some would have it and not others then.

If it helps you can look up ROMS though and actually get an emulator even for your smartphone to play PS1 games.
bigdaddyG
member, 59 posts
Tue 4 May 2021
at 15:14
  • [deleted]
  • msg #18

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

This message was deleted by the user at 22:04, Tue 04 May 2021.
nauthiz
subscriber, 717 posts
Tue 4 May 2021
at 15:37
  • msg #19

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

That's the biggest lie I think I've ever heard, that a disc will "damage" a system.

The PS3 was actually backwards compatible when it launched, but like the PS2 the backwards compatibility was a mixture of software and hardware, but they eventually removed it in later model iterations because subtracting the hardware meant cost savings and production streamlining.
bigdaddyG
member, 60 posts
Tue 4 May 2021
at 16:03
  • [deleted]
  • msg #20

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

This message was deleted by the user at 22:05, Tue 04 May 2021.
praguepride
member, 1805 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Tue 4 May 2021
at 18:11
  • msg #21

Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

No offense but retail tech support is one of the biggest perpetuators of just so many myths and lies. In general its not their fault, they're just repeating what they were told but in high school I was friends with a couple "Geek Squad" types and I knew others that worked in Gamestop and they always sounded like such experts when they told me things that I internalized it.

It wasn't until a decade later with the spread of the internet and my own curiosity fact checking them 10 years later that I discovered almost every "interesting thing" I learned from them was a lie. I too had heard that PS dropped the backwards compatibility because it would damage the discs. That was a lie. I was told there is no way to swap the battery on apple products. That was a lie. I was told that they got backwards compatible by shoving a miniature PS1 into the PS2. That was a a lie.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head.
aguy777
member, 346 posts
Join Date:
Thu, 28 Nov, 2013
Tue 4 May 2021
at 18:34
  • msg #22

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

praguepride:
That was a lie. I was told that they got backwards compatible by shoving a miniature PS1 into the PS2. That was a a lie.

That was one of my favorite ones. I remember hearing that about the PS2 backwards compatibility in the PS3, too.
bigdaddyG
member, 61 posts
Tue 4 May 2021
at 21:49
  • [deleted]
  • msg #23

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

This message was deleted by the user at 22:06, Tue 04 May 2021.
bigdaddyG
member, 62 posts
Wed 5 May 2021
at 14:00
  • msg #24

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

Hey Wildcard, just saw you said it's the bulk ps2. That's probably the problem. After a while my own got to where couldn't play some ps2 games or only a part. Once I got a slim the same games played. I know I played ps1 games but can't recall on which one. The trouble with the bulk one it seemed it had issues.Went through a few of them.
V_V
member, 946 posts
Resting. I hope to find
peace and vigor return.
Thu 20 May 2021
at 07:32
  • msg #25

Re: Tech Help: Playstation 2 Cannot Play PS1 Games, any fix?

If it's gen 1 American, it has backwards PSX play. ALL of those units did. I still own one bought on day 1. It plays FFVII with faster loads, and MGS with polygon smoothing.

If it's gen 1, and you want a step 0 fix. Try putting the system on its side. No joke. The side that has more base on it's side
down←[        ]
      [    ]

if it plays, you have a laser reader issue. Just understand this bodge is far less expensive than getting it fixed; unless you want to crack open the unit and make sure the laser reader track is smooth; which if done wrong will brick the unit. I have not experienmced this personally, and from I've heard, it really only affects certain games; or certain discs. Not sure it would be PSX vs Ps2 thing, just a per disc problem.

Other fixes.

  1. Cleaning the disk. Scratches aren't as much of an issue and debris or build up. I've used anything from alcohol water solution, to glass cleaner. While I don't recommed the latter, good disk cleaner, or electronics cleaner does wonders.
  2. going to disk explorer and just locating the disk and activating it by hitting X sometimes jump starts it. This is due to the motor of that spins the drive not calibrating to the CD tech of PSX but works for DVDs. Remember DVDs main way of "uptech" is compression. So the system spins at different intervals, necessarily differently for DVDs, It's worse for games, that require data referencing regardless of format. By clicking on the disk explorer you can sometimes get the system to recognize it needs to change its disk speed.
  3. Finally, try going into the settings, I think it's called configuration. Try turning off the disk speed enhancer, or polygon smoother. Ps2 had both to incentivize over gamecube; a big sell was that is played PSx games, and some with even better load times or graphical enchancement.




Problems you can't fix without hardware checks are...

  1.   Regional locks. Sometimes regional locks can be an issue. Consult with the lister/store.
  2. Anti-piracy gone awry. Some refurbished systems don't have the right proprietary recognition, and so will lock out otherwise legitimate games. Though it is possible, the PSX games trying to be played are bootleg. I'll assume the former is more likely. Sony, like Nintendo, had an arms race of bootleg games. I remember seeing "new" PSX games for $2.50 at a Fresno CA Hmong festival. Inquiring, I found you could use a hack that plugged into the modem, that would override the proprietary recgonition. Long story short, Sony countered, and of course, the pirates followed suit, and upped the ante. Such is the gaming community.
  3. Later editions, like the PS2 slim, or something like that (Like I said I have a gen 1, that still works, so I don't know the name) may not have backward compatibility. One way to be sure, is check the above software fixes step 3. If you lack these options, your system can't play PSX games. stated above to be false.



If the problem has one super easy fix, it's flipping the system on it's side; make sure the thicker lip of the drive is down. Then try cleaning. If neither of those work, you're going to need to take a bit longer to troubleshoot. You can also do a hardware check. I serviced two systems, once when the drive motor got stuck, and did the same for my friend's kid sister (who is obviously a very grown adult now). If desperation to play PSX games becomes too much, try opening the first under panel. You can reassemble that easily, as there's a second panel to remove before you get the board. By removing the first under panel you might see if all hardware is good. Obvious signs...are obvious. Rmail me if you want, and I'll try to share some pictures of my system for reference. Mine has been through many services, but it still runs. Controllers died long before the unit itself.

Last suggestion...warranty. Based on where it was bought, you might be able to talk to the lister/store. Even if they won't replace it, they may have insight. Good luck! There are some gems on PSX, so I hope something works out.
This message was last edited by the user at 07:45, Thu 20 May 2021.
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