On Thursday, December 4, 2014 5:04:50 AM UTC-8, Ken wrote:
wrote:
snip
How old is the mobo ? We have some older (5+ year) servers at work
that don't run if the caps are bad. Replacing bad caps almost always
brings them back up. Computers are very fussy about the power
supplies. 'Good enough' rarely is.

G²


The computer is probably not older than 4-5 years. It has Windows 7
installed and of course is a touch screen unit. The thing that makes
trouble shooting difficult today is many (including this one) are "All
in one" units and they are not as accessible as they once were. Put
that together with the manufacturers not wanting to give out information
about the components, and you are often forced into buying a new unit.

For what it is worth, I checked the caps on the MB with my ESR meter.
Searching the web, I found others with the same type of problem on the
same model of computer. That does not mean there is a common problem,
but it does mean I am not alone.

The thing to remember about ESR meters is that they can be fooled by parallel ceramic bypass caps so it can read good when it is in fact bad. If it reads bad it likely is. Bulging is a good indicator and ruptures have likely sprayed acid around the board.

I started using solid polymer caps instead of 'lytics on mobos at work and they're doing well. My 4 newer machines at home are all polymers and no 'lytics. I expect no problems before obsolescence.

IF you decide to change caps, go for the highest ripple current / lowest ESR and stay away from cheap junk.

G²