I have just had a very interesting morning and afternoon. I got home and went to my Home Theater and decided to play around with the old PS2. Except I couldn't.
When I tried to turn it on, nothing happened. I tried the main switch in the back of the unit, nothing happened. I tried plugging it in a different outlet, nothing happened. I tried using a different power cable, nothing happened. Does anyone see the recuring trend? 
So the next logical move is ask any of the family members if they did something. The answer "No.". The next step after that is call Sony Tech support. Waited for 4 minutes on hold then got a tech. She pretty much didn't help. She told me I could send it in and have it repaired for $120. I then asked her, "Isn't the going rate for a PS2 $200?" She replied with a yes and a chuckle. She obviously got my point.
After that, I spent the majority of the time searching the internet for remedies or self-repair manuals. After finding nothing, I decided to go for and open the box up. I really didn't have much to lose at this point.
As I opened the box up to the mess of wires and boards, I found nothing that looked damaged, burnt, or otherwise misplaced. I checked the fuses I saw to see if they were okay, everything was fine (as far as I could tell). I closed it back up and figured that I would once again try to turn it on.
What do you know? Nothing happened.
Now the warning: I left my PS2 on stand-bye for like a three months. And while I had it plugged into a surge protector, I have a feeling that something surged through it and burnt it out. I have had my PS2 since November of 2000. So if anyone has a PS2 that old, be careful with it, and turn it off when you don't use it for long periods of time.
Sorry for making this long, but I have to get this off my chest one way or another.
Next move: Buy an XBOX.
So the next logical move is ask any of the family members if they did something. The answer "No.". The next step after that is call Sony Tech support. Waited for 4 minutes on hold then got a tech. She pretty much didn't help. She told me I could send it in and have it repaired for $120. I then asked her, "Isn't the going rate for a PS2 $200?" She replied with a yes and a chuckle. She obviously got my point.
After that, I spent the majority of the time searching the internet for remedies or self-repair manuals. After finding nothing, I decided to go for and open the box up. I really didn't have much to lose at this point.
As I opened the box up to the mess of wires and boards, I found nothing that looked damaged, burnt, or otherwise misplaced. I checked the fuses I saw to see if they were okay, everything was fine (as far as I could tell). I closed it back up and figured that I would once again try to turn it on.
What do you know? Nothing happened.
Now the warning: I left my PS2 on stand-bye for like a three months. And while I had it plugged into a surge protector, I have a feeling that something surged through it and burnt it out. I have had my PS2 since November of 2000. So if anyone has a PS2 that old, be careful with it, and turn it off when you don't use it for long periods of time.
Sorry for making this long, but I have to get this off my chest one way or another.
Next move: Buy an XBOX.