The PS2 lens is a complex item. Care must be taken in cleaning it. Break out the alcohol and lay out some fresh Q-Tip's to use. Generally only 1 is needed for the alcohol and 2 usually are used to dry it off and buff off any remains visible.

Open the alcohol and dip the Q-Tip. Tap the Q-Tip in the bottle a few times to shake off the excess fluid. Take the Q-Tip and gently rub the lens. Using excessive pressure can damage the setup and wont solve the issue. The thing to watch for is buildup around the edge, sometimes there's a fuzzy greasy buildup around the outside which should be cleaned off and might require a bit more pressure to pull it off with the Q-Tip. After the lens is clean take a dry Q-Tip and lightly buff out the lens making sure no remains are on the lens. Make sure that all fiber remains are off of the lens so that it has clean finish. For DRE users this is all there is to it. Optionally the top can be cleaned off as well using the same alcohol on a paper towel. Take the top of the drive over to a surface away from the DVD unit and wet the towel preferably with it folded once or twice so the alcohol doesn't just soak through. After that clean off the dust buildup inside then let it dry out. Optionally you can use canned air on the drive top. If the rear fan appears to be dirty then hold the center with a finger to keep it from spinning then use the canned air on that as well to blow out the dust and bring some more output to the fan so you don't overheat. DRE users can then repeat the steps in reverse order and seal up their PS2 for comfortable gaming once again.

Next up is the step for those that went with the cleaning method for a while but get no luck anymore. The drive laser on the PS2 has always gone under revisions due to it wearing out after heavy use. The KHS-400 series is one of many that are used. The replacement cost varies depending on where you look. Some sites sell replacements for insane prices while others are quite reasonable. In the case of this article and an article soon to come article for the XBOX I used parts from Tech Consoles. There are other places of course but buyers should be sure to double check to see if products from seemingly shaddy sites are original parts and not boxed refurbished lenses. If you're unsure double check with the comment thread to see if others have had any experience with the companies before you buy.

Replacement at this point is a simple task. The drive is already stripped down and the only things that need to be done now are taking the unit off of the rail then unplugging it. If the spindle is up gently push down on it to jump the tray out. If it gives resistance then you'll most likely have to skip up a page or two until landing on the Tray Alignment Guide. In the meantime we're going to run through replacement with the KHS-400A.