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The original Playstation had a similar switch on the lid mechanism. I think it was a safety feature to prevent the discs from spinning up, without the enclosure

by jimminy 12y ago

The original Playstation had a similar switch on the lid mechanism. I think it was a safety feature to prevent the discs from spinning up, without the enclosure. When I was about 8-9, I found the mechanism, and ended up dismantling the system. I then wedged a little Wolverine action-figure's foot into the space to keep his foot down on the switch and ran the system without the cover, because it looked pretty badass to have the discs spin out in the open. [In retrospect: All of this was probably a horribly unsafe thing to do, considering what would happen if the disc cracked or broke while spinning.]

vilhelm_s 12y ago
I think it's also to protect your eyes from the CD-reading laser if you were to power it up with no disk in it.
- jimminy 12y ago
  Good point, I actually spent some time staring at that when I was younger. Also found out I needed glasses when I was 10, and my prescription hasn't changed since.
infamousblah 12y ago
This could also be used to run out-of-region discs on the US market version of the Playstation. It refused to start with a out-of-region disc, but you could start with a US disc and then swap in the out-of-region disc while running, provided it never detected the lid opening.
- robin_reala 12y ago
  I had a little spring for mine that clipped over the prong in the lid at one end, and pressed the switch down at the other. You could still open/close the lid, but the Playstation wouldn’t recognise it.
T-hawk 12y ago
You were fine. The Playstation 1's CD drive spins at only 2x regular audio speed which is no more than 16 Hz rotational speed. It's nothing like the 48x fighter jet turbines of desktop computers. It's only 2x as much as a handheld Discman that has no safety interlocks at all. All consoles from the PS2 onwards have an enclosed (tray or slot) drive mechanism because they do spin the disc fast enough for safety to be an issue, but the early disc media systems up to the Dreamcast didn't need to worry about it.
- 0942v8653 12y ago
  The PS2 Slim's disc mechanism is the same as the PS1's (except that it spins faster).

by jimminy 12y ago

vilhelm_s 12y ago

I think it's also to protect your eyes from the CD-reading laser if you were to power it up with no disk in it.

jimminy 12y ago
Good point, I actually spent some time staring at that when I was younger. Also found out I needed glasses when I was 10, and my prescription hasn't changed since.

infamousblah 12y ago

This could also be used to run out-of-region discs on the US market version of the Playstation. It refused to start with a out-of-region disc, but you could start with a US disc and then swap in the out-of-region disc while running, provided it never detected the lid opening.

robin_reala 12y ago
I had a little spring for mine that clipped over the prong in the lid at one end, and pressed the switch down at the other. You could still open/close the lid, but the Playstation wouldn’t recognise it.

T-hawk 12y ago

You were fine. The Playstation 1's CD drive spins at only 2x regular audio speed which is no more than 16 Hz rotational speed. It's nothing like the 48x fighter jet turbines of desktop computers. It's only 2x as much as a handheld Discman that has no safety interlocks at all. All consoles from the PS2 onwards have an enclosed (tray or slot) drive mechanism because they do spin the disc fast enough for safety to be an issue, but the early disc media systems up to the Dreamcast didn't need to worry about it.

0942v8653 12y ago
The PS2 Slim's disc mechanism is the same as the PS1's (except that it spins faster).