WHOCARESWGD

If you don't already know, one night I went to play some Ridge Racer 7 when the disc, along with other blu-ray tests, wouldn't read. The little spinning icon in the corner just stays on forever. The easiest solution was to open it up and clean the lens, which I've heard has worked for some. Unfortunately for me, it did not. I noticed that not only were the discs not reading but they weren't spinning, which naturally led me to believe that it may be a problem with the motor and not the laser. However, from what I've read, if the laser is bad the disc will not spin even if the motor is functional (the laser shines on the disc, which reflects back and tells the system a disc is present; if this does not occur, the motor will not spin).

So I'm pretty sure this is what I need to replace, but the only issue is how to go about it. I confirmed with repair guys on craigslist that the problem was indeed the laser but I realized there were a few different types of depending on the model of your PS3 (20, 40, 60, 80 GB, 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, etc...) so I had to be sure to get the right one:

The KEM-400AAA (bottom left) is the one I need, and it runs from $50-80 new if I decide to do it myself. I also priced the repair guys, and it will be about $100 for parts and labor.

Maybe this weekend I'll make a decision and get started. I miss playing games and I've heard Uncharted 2 is REALLY good.