In message , T i m
writes
Hi Clint and thanks for the prompt reply.

Motherboard, caps swollen up and failed.

Hmm, funny that .. I did (briefly) look at that yesterday and thought
I noticed some of the caps were bulging on the top and *maybe* a trace
of orange 'stuff' in the grooves?
Then it's pretty certain. The SX260/270 are nightmares for this fault,
we were on first name terms with the Dell field engineers at one point
(all under warranty), we service these machines for a major high street
company who have several hundred, apart from failed hard disks the
*only* other fault I can remember seeing is the caps failing, I have
never had to replace a PSU or any other component.

Ok, I'll get the owners to do as you suggest, thanks *very* much for
that Clint.

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. If Dell don't wanna play, is it something I can do myself
(changing the caps, I'm an electronics engineer) ie is it just the
caps or would there be other issues because of the caps do you know
please?

AFAIK, it's just the caps but you will need to make sure the new ones
are of equivalent/better spec. Of course, the usual warnings about
multilayer boards and at your own risk etc... Make sure the machine has
*plenty* of airflow and is not put in a cupboard. We blocked the vents
on one in the workshop by accident and when we removed the blockage, the
fans blew air out that was almost painfully hot.
--
Clint Sharp