RSOD about 50% of the time (originals and backups) - v7 Duo2 clone

**sstackho** · 02-14-2005,02:09 PM

Hi there,

I've had my v7 modded with a Duo2 clone for about a month now, and I find I get the RSOD on booting about half the time, whether I am using an original or a backup.

Is this normal for what may be a low quality chip?

I'm not overly concerned, because it seems to boot on the 2nd try whenever the first one fails, but I want to know if this is indicative of another problem.

**mikearama** · 02-14-2005,02:23 PM

Yep, typical clone output... 50% boot rate. Sorry about your luck.

**shepd** · 02-14-2005,06:58 PM

From my experience typical clone output is about 99% boot rate.

I had plenty of DUO2 clones working 100% of the time. Only time a problem comes about is if the laser is weak. Then, due to the extra time the laser spends trying to find the groove on the disc the chip doesn't authenticate. Since these chips won't boot from the browser, they have to authenticate right away, they can't spend lots of time waiting for the console to read the disc through a bad laser.

Clean the laser, adjust it properly if need be (height, and, if still bad, perhaps tweak the pot on the laser a *LITTLE* [clockwise]) and you're golden. Don't just clean the top of the laser with isopropyl alcohol, also use a little compressed air to blow at the laser. Be careful it doesn't get damaged when you do this. Sometimes dust gathers inside the lens and this will be dislodged when you clean it.

From what you're saying, that after hitting reset it works, it is for certain the laser. Since the tray doesn't need to come back in, the console can spend more time trying to find the goove on the disc. I have had the same problem plenty of times on dusty consoles myself.

Most "original" chips (not DUO2, AFAIK) will support booting from the browser, which means consoles with poor lasers will get the game booted still. Of course, once you're in the game, it's only a matter of time until it craps out. Better to know while you can still save the laser, IMHO.

**wmb88** · 02-14-2005,07:29 PM

Most of the clone duo 2 chips are fine with v1-v7. only very small portion of the chips have problem in v7 with bad boot rate. If you use those clones in v9/v10, then more chips will give you problem with the boot rate. Sometimes change alternative Ground or 5v will solve the problem but not all the time. In my view, it's just not worth to install duo2 clones in v9/v10 because you can get the original ones for around 10 bucks.

**sstackho** · 02-14-2005,08:13 PM

Originally Posted by shepd

Most "original" chips (not DUO2, AFAIK) will support booting from the browser, which means consoles with poor lasers will get the game booted still. Of course, once you're in the game, it's only a matter of time until it craps out. Better to know while you can still save the laser, IMHO.

Thanks for the detailed answer, shepd - it's a great help. Your answer sounds spot on - my installer said my machine was quite dusty.

Can you elaborate on your last sentence? Should I make the adjustments you describe NOW to extend the life of my laser? Is this an adjustment you would recommend for someone who is inexperienced with PS2 hardware?

By the way, the install of my chip was a bit weird. I encountered problems shortly after the chip was installed. One day the machine would repeatedly not boot at all (just a black screen when turning on the PS2), and when it finally did boot, I was getting read errors when playing GTA:SA (original) and freezing on another game. (I had never had a problem previously with my unmodded system.) Since that day, I haven't run into this problem again and it's worked a charm, with the exception of the boot success rate.

Thanks in advance.

**shepd** · 02-14-2005,08:19 PM

If your laser is out of adjustment or is dusty, it must work harder to read your media. This reduces the life of the laser.

Clean it up and adjust the height (the white cog wheel at the rear of the drive) to get the fastest boot speed possible and you might get more time out of the laser.

I would not adjust the potentiometers on the underside of the laser unless it's a last resort. You should not be at that point yet.

One other thing I would suggest is to buy the best DVD-Rs you can. Better quality media means more reflectivity, which means less stress on the laser.

The adjustment is pretty easy for a beginner, but if you have never opened up any electronics before, bring it back to your installer and ask him to do it. He shouldn't charge much.

**loy** · 02-14-2005,11:12 PM

yeah since it's a clone u get some more problems. But first i'd check and clean the laser

**sstackho** · 02-15-2005,01:21 PM

Can anyone suggest why I am experiencing RSODs on bootup of originals immediately after getting the chip installed, whereas I never had this problem before the modchip?

I only ever experienced some RSODs when trying to boot with my X-Port disc, which isn't SCEA-approved.

**wmb88** · 02-15-2005,06:09 PM

Cleaning laser will never solve RSOD problem. RSOD is only chip related issue. Poor boot rate is the main reason for RSOD.

**modicullus** · 02-16-2005,09:06 AM

sorry wmb88,... but the RSOD can be related to laser issues. I've had a few machines that were giving me RSOD and after monkeying around with them for awhile, I either cleaned or tweaked the lasers and they worked fine after that. Although it's not too say that a poor modchip installation won't give you the RSOD either...

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