The UMD drive

The UMD drive

The Universal Media Disc drive reads Sony's proprietary mini-discs on every PSP except the Go. It is a moving optical mechanism, so it is also one of the noisier and more failure-prone parts of the console.

Common symptoms

• Discs spin up but are not recognised, often from a dirty or weak laser.
• Loud grinding or rattling from worn drive gears.
• The lid switch fails to register that a disc is loaded.

1. Inspect and clean
   Open the lid, check the laser lens for dust, and clean it gently with a dry swab.
2. Test the lid switch
   Confirm the small switch under the door triggers when the lid closes.
3. Replace if needed
   Swap the whole drive assembly if the laser or motor has failed; it unbolts as one unit.
4. Reassemble and verify
   Refit the drive and confirm a known-good disc loads and reads cleanly.

Removing the drive entirely

Because games can run from a Memory Stick, many owners remove the UMD drive to save weight and battery, or because it has failed. note With the drive gone the PSP relies entirely on storage-based content, so set that up first.