PSP laser clicks when reading UMD, but works when taked apart

[myfriendskiba]

Alright, here is my weird problem.

 

My PSP 1000, when trying to read a UMD, the laser doesn't light up and moves to the left, clicking as it hits the side, I noticed a lot of people have this problem.

I took it apart, removing the screen and metal frame, and decided to try it again, to my surprise the laser lit up, moved to focus, so I hooked up the LCD back up and put in the UMD, as long as I kept the screen a good distance from the motherboard the game loaded. but as soon as the slightest amount of pressure was applied to the board, the laser started clicking again.

 

Somehow the pressure of the frame and screen stops the laser from working right, anybody have any suggestions, everything clearly works separately, what could be wrong?

[Tr3vor]

does it stop it from reading the discs?

 

mine has that problem, for some times, when i insert a umd, it clicks untill i start the game and then it stops. maybe its normal. otherwise idk

[myfriendskiba]

does it stop it from reading the discs?

 

mine has that problem, for some times, when i insert a umd, it clicks untill i start the game and then it stops. maybe its normal. otherwise idk

 

Yeah, the clicking stops the PSP from reading anything, when the screen and metal support frame are removed however it works fine. But when pressure is applied with my finger or pencil to the motherboard the laser goes back to clicking and not reading. My guess would be that the motherboard is to blame?

[Longhorn Engineer]

does it stop it from reading the discs?

 

mine has that problem, for some times, when i insert a umd, it clicks untill i start the game and then it stops. maybe its normal. otherwise idk

 

Yeah, the clicking stops the PSP from reading anything, when the screen and metal support frame are removed however it works fine. But when pressure is applied with my finger or pencil to the motherboard the laser goes back to clicking and not reading. My guess would be that the motherboard is to blame?

 

Could be a broken trace or leg of an chip that when pressure is applied becomes disconnected. Just throwing it out there.

[shadow460]

Has the unit been dropped? Sounds like for some reason the calibration is off, this could be caused by a bent frame or something gone bad in the UMD drive. Usually they won't read when exposed to light--the PSP has to be closed up to keep light interference out.

[channelmaniac]

Sounds like you may have a surface mount component that needs to be reflowed.

[myfriendskiba]

Sounds like you may have a surface mount component that needs to be reflowed.

 

Excuse the techno-ignorance, but what does that mean? Also in regards to the reading when exposed to light, it reads fine as long as the screen and frame are removed, I have not noticed light to be an issue.

[Longhorn Engineer]

Sounds like you may have a surface mount component that needs to be reflowed.

 

Excuse the techno-ignorance, but what does that mean? Also in regards to the reading when exposed to light, it reads fine as long as the screen and frame are removed, I have not noticed light to be an issue.

 

means basically what I said. "reflow" is just the SMD term for resoldering. Granted you can't really resolder small SMD stuff...more like baking it!

[shadow460]

Sounds like you may have a surface mount component that needs to be reflowed.

 

Excuse the techno-ignorance, but what does that mean? Also in regards to the reading when exposed to light, it reads fine as long as the screen and frame are removed, I have not noticed light to be an issue.

 

Perhaps the light interference is somehow adding to the UMD, not taking away from it. What I'm getting at is that there's generally a difference in the way a 1000 behaves when the laser head is illuminated form another source. It's just that in your case, you don't have the expected result. If the laser has moved closer to the disc, it might be picking up multiple tracks when it's dark. When it's light, though, perhaps the interference wipes out the extra tracks leaving only the intended track to be read.

 

My honest recommendation is to hack the unit. From there you can run a program, DC8, that'll tell you which motherboard you have and you can also load your games from the memory stick. Someone with a hacked PSP can rip your games to a computer and you can transfer them to and from the memory stick as needed. The unit would be compatible with PSN Store downloads as well just as if it were a large version of the Go.

 

If the firmware has been hacked or updated at all, your serial number information could have been damaged. DC8 can completely format and partition the flash, which could help, but I don't think it can recover serial numbers. Time Machine can run firmware directly from the memory stick, restoring the use of the UMD drive even if it has no serial number in the firmware.