Quote:
Originally Posted by dr.ido
If this is the model I'm thinking of the 3.4V rail is quite critical. Bad caps in these are not always obvious and they don't always bulge. The 3.4V rail comes from a DC-DC converter IC fed from 6V rail. I've found bad SMD caps and resistors around this IC before.
Clean any gunk from the thermal transfer blocks off the back of the board if you haven't already. I suspect this may be what caused the SMD resistors/caps to fail.
If the power supply is known good then that only leaves the main board. If a used main board is cheap enough it's probably the way to go. Bad SMD caps can cause all kinds of strange problems, but I've also replaced loads of high ESR reading caps and the fault remained.
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Earlier today I managed to snag a good used mainboard via the auction site for the stately best offer of $15.
I didn't see any thermal pads in this set, save for one that sits between the large heat sink on the power supply and the inner steel cover. As for SMD caps...I always wondered how to replace them? I see no way of getting them off the board properly.
And yes, I've never personally seen one that looked obviously bad from the outside. They must have good 'poker faces'!
