One of the most frustrating with experiences with the old style Playstation 2 is when you begin to get disc read errors on multiple discs. Usually, when it is just one disc, it is the disc itself. You can clean it with a wipe, pop it in and you are good to go. However, when it starts to occur with more than one disc, chances are the lens has misaligned itself which happens over time. If this is the case, you can generally fix it at home with a few steps. 

First, you want to gather the right tools. You will need your PS2, disconnect it from everything to sit on its own. You will also need a regular-sized and small-sized Phillips head screwdriver. Set aside a DVD and several PS2 games to test as well. If you have blue disc and silver disc PS2 games, you will want to test both types. Once you are ready to go, you will begin by taking the PS2 case apart.

Turn the PS2 onto its top and you will see plastic tabs hiding screws. You want to gently lift those tabs up, then remove the screws and set them aside. You will need to take out each and every screw. Take the bottom cover off the unit itself, flip it over and you will then need to take the top cover portion off. Be mindful of the ports on the front, you may have to push the casing back then take it off. Just take your time.

Once you have done this, you will see where the game itself is inserted. You will want to take the four screws out very carefully and set them to the side. Lift the lid off the chassis for the disc older and you will see a small white piece. This is what is causing the majority of your problems. If you have a can of compressed air lying around, you can use this to clean out the inside of your PS2. If this is the first time you have ever opened it up, you may find a lot of dirt, dust and hair inside. This, too, can affect game play and disc reading.

The first thing you want to do is mark where that white disc is aligned. Use a permanent marker to make a dot on the bottom of it as it sits to you. This will tell you its original position if you need to realign it during testing. As you begin to slowly turn the disc, it will rise and the lens, too, will rise during the process. If you raise it too much, you can always return it back to the original spot by continuing to turn the gear until it falls to the bottom.

You can try and find the right spot for the lens in one of two ways, you can either realign it from where the dot you made is or you can start at the bottom and turn it upwards, testing after every quarter turn. Basically, during the test, you want to hold the lens in place while you turn on the system and see if it loads the discs you set aside. Once you see that it loads each of the types, you know you have the lens in the right place. This may take some time to find the right configuration, but once you do, you are ready to play your Playstation 2 once again without those pesky disc read errors.