About Lynn Brown Expertise I'm a professional video game repair tech based in Oklahoma City. My focus is currently on Sony Playstation Portable PSP repair. I'll be happy to help with any PSP or original (black) Xbox console repair questions. I can't help with how to play a specific game or how to fix a modified (not store bought) console.
Experience General video game console repair.
Education/Credentials Self-taught through 1000's of hours of research and hands-on experience.
Expert: Lynn Brown Date: 6/29/2007 Subject: PSP Game Cartridge
Question My question is about a PSP game cartridge rather than actual PSP itself. Is there anyone that can repair the the game encasing? The game disk within is not damaged in any way, but the clear plastic top has been pushed in and I can't get it to re-seat on the lip. So, with the plastic pushed in, the disk won't spin. I just find it hard to spend another $40 for a new game when it seems that the game casing should be repairable.
Answer Hi,
I don't know of anyone that specializes in fixing these things but with a little patience I'm sure you can get it sorted out yourself. If you happen to have an unused demo disc handy you can just swap cases or you can fix the existing case. Use a box knife blade or something similar to carefully pry the front and back casing apart far enough to get the disc out. If you're using a demo case all you need to do is swap discs and apply a few tiny dabs of glue to hold the case together again. Absolutely do not use superglue or anything like it though as the vapors will ruin the disc forever. Personally I use plain old Elmer's and a couple of clamps to hold the casing in place until it dries. Other than using superglue the only thing that can go wrong here is glue seepage inside the case so use just enough to form a bond and put it towards the outside edges away from the disc. You'll also want to make sure the front and back halves are properly aligned otherwise it'll tend to jam in the UMD drive later on. The easiest way to fix the existing case is to take it at least partially apart and press the broken side down onto a piece of wide packing tape once you have the circle back in place. It may take a few tries but you need to get the clear circle exactly flush with the white outer rim and the tape perfectly flat so it won't catch in the drive. Trim carefully around the edges and glue the whole thing back together as per above. The taped side won't be as sturdy as it was before but it's just about impossible to do all this with glue and it's definitely better than coughing up another $40 :-) Thanks, Lynn
