My PS5 disc drive has had problems before, including failing to detect when a disc was removed and continuing the ejection process. It could still read discs until recently, but now it scans extremely slowly—around 1 MB every two or three minutes—and makes a loud buzzing or crackling sound, almost like a tiny electrical arc. Nothing I insert can download or install properly. I opened the drive to check whether anything was visibly damaged, but I don't have much experience repairing it. Is there anything safe I can try, or does the drive need to be replaced?
1 Answer
That combination of extremely slow reading, loud mechanical or electrical noise, and the earlier ejection problems strongly suggests the optical drive is failing. Cleaning it may help only if the lens is dirty, but it probably won’t fix a damaged laser, motor, sensor, or drive mechanism. Avoid running it while the casing is open, since the moving parts and laser assembly can be damaged further. If reseating the cables and checking for an obvious obstruction doesn’t help, professional repair or replacing the drive is the safest route.
I only removed the screws and opened it to look for anything obvious, similar to how I would clean it. I didn’t intentionally damage any parts, but I’ll stop testing it while it’s open.