The PlayStation that just needed a cotton swab
Sold as "doesn't recognize discs", this SCPH-9001 booted every game I put in it. A slightly slow audio CD, one pass over the lens and a soapy bath later, it's back in service.
PlayStation stories
3 PlayStation consoles have been through the bench so far.
The seller tested one disc. It was the disc.
This SCPH-9001 came from Québec City in a two-console bundle sold for parts, because neither console would read the seller's disc. Mine, it read all of them. What was left was dust, a rattle, and somebody else's handiwork inside.
Somebody chipped this PSone with hot glue
The first console I brought back. A PSone covered in spark plug stickers, sold as a non-reader, with a picture full of noise. The drive was fine. The real problem was a modchip a previous owner had stuck to the board with hot glue instead of solder.