Why does the PS1 work better upside down?

[msimplay]

Okay so I've searched all over the internet for an answer to this question.

Why does turning the console upside down work when it starts failing to read discs?
I thought it was the laser at first but now I have an X-station in there and still having the same issue it works better when upside down.

Sometimes when i turn the console on it freezes for no reason with a black screen and after a few power cycles it works

Could be it be overheating? A bad Capacitor?

Whatever it is what is the fix for it? If anyone knows

[Anapan]

Tho I never needed to tried it, I always thought it was due to laser diode fatigue, and turning it over brought the laser a bit closer to the disc (it's suspended by small ridgid wires) thereby changing the laser's focus a bit without adjusting any potentiometers.
My other thought was that by using burnt discs, the thickness might be slightly different due to the writable surface being slightly offset from a pressed disc and that might cause the burnt discs to read better with that miniscule weight shift on the laser assembly.

If this is not the case, the theories I read or assumed were wrong.
This is interesting.
The only thing I can think of that might impact your situation is that at some point, heat caused a miniscule crack in some solder joint, and because the weight of the motherboard shifts when upturned, it's causing that microfracture to reconnect. Tracking down those type of microfractures is pretty intensive. Dave jones did a full repair tutorial on a very old microcomputer from the 80s and outlined the entire process recently. He was successful.
https://youtu.be/uUXxY6gA-7g

[Ziggy]

I thought it was the laser at first but now I have an X-station in there and still having the same issue it works better when upside down.

What model PS1 do you have the X-station in? I ask because I got an X-station but haven't yet installed it. I have a 1001 with a dead drive and a 7501 that currently works fine so I figure the 1001 is the better choice. I'd rather not put the X-Station in the 7501 since the drive is working, but I also don't want it in a model that has issues.

[msimplay]

I thought it was the laser at first but now I have an X-station in there and still having the same issue it works better when upside down.

What model PS1 do you have the X-station in? I ask because I got an X-station but haven't yet installed it. I have a 1001 with a dead drive and a 7501 that currently works fine so I figure the 1001 is the better choice. I'd rather not put the X-Station in the 7501 since the drive is working, but I also don't want it in a model that has issues.

The one I currently have is a 5500 pal model I had replaced the laser on it and I still had to keep turning it upside down.
I have bought a 1002 model and will transfer everything to that console later.

I have a 7501 but I think the X-station is said not to work with it. PU20 is is the one that it doesn't work on

[Ziggy]

Hmm, I also have a 5501 but I had issues with it in the past. I was able to load FF7 disc 1 just fine, but it couldn't load disc 2 at all. I contacted Squaresoft support (this was around 2005-2007) and they actually recommended to turn the PS1 upside down lol. I tried that, but it still couldn't load the disc.

Keep me posted on your results after installing the X-station in the 1002.

[crux]

I can't posit this as absolute truth, but it could be the rails. If the rails of the drive mechanism are damaged and causing the laser to be eschew, flipping it upside down would put it on the top (and less stressed) rails.

Dreamcast, incidentally, has the exact same problem and solution. With Shenmue in particular I've had to flip my Dreamcast to play it.