Dude, I had that problem too. I took my PS2 apart and cleaned the laser, the spindle (the white thing that sits on top of the center of the CD) and all of the fans and everything with q-tips and rubbing alcohol, and it's been working like a champ since. I have a V1 PS2 that I bought the DAY they came out, and it's still going strong. There's also documentation on adjusting the laser, but cleaning everything worked fine for me. I say you should try fixing it before giving up on it.