Capacitor issues

[Necrohindiac]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question that has puzzled me recently. A friend of mine was assembling a new computer setup and accidentally knocked a couple capacitors off the motherboard. Subsequently his dog ate them before we could react and now he's left in a tough spot. He continued putting the computer together and even booted it up, but at what cost? Will this thing go into meltdown because of the missing capacitor units? His system specs are as follows: Asus An-52, x2 5200+, 2gbs crucial 667mhz, some other crap. What is the point of capacitors anyways?

As much as i loved this story ... it really doesn't belong in CPU forum ...
GH is the place ... and perhaps they will get a kick out of it also.
-CPU Moderator apoppin

Edit:
Thanks for sending this thread to General Hardware. Everyone here's getting a real charge out of it.
Now I have to figure out where I can send it to.
AnandTech Moderator - RebateMonger

 

[JAG87]

capacitors are used for power storage, power correction, frequency filtering, and frequency tuning.

personally, I would be more worried about the dog.

welcome to Anandtech Necrohindiac.

 

[Gneisenau]

Originally posted by: Necrohindiac
... Subsequently his dog ate them before we could react and now he's left in a tough spot. ....

I'll say he's in a tough spot, depending on the type of caps those were, they can be pretty toxic to the dog. He might want to visit a vet soon.

As for the rest of your question. The short answer is, they didn't put them there for no reason. I can't tell you wheather or not they will cause damage based on the information you gave. It's very possible they may cause damage down the road, or reduce stability. I would highly recommend he replace the board.

 

[BenchZowner]

Find somebody with the same motherboard and ask him to tell you the markings on the missing capacitors.
Go to an electrician and let him solder some new for you guys.
Better be safe than sorry

 

[Necrohindiac]

Well I appreciate your concern for the dog, but he's a lost cause. Lately he's been on a metal eating kick, and my friend the owner seems to revel in that. Weird. And as far as the capacitor issues go, I think he's going to just hang tight and see what happens. The system is not without it's quirks though. I believe the oddest thing is when surfing the web his My Computer window will open up and shuffle through various directories on it's own. I think this is a consequence of heavy handed installation and the dog's gluttony.

 

[dearmisterleggett]

Necrohindiac,

Have you considered soldering on some new capacitors to the motherboard? Go to Radio Shack, they are relatively cheap. You might also want to consider spaying/neutering the dog, as that tends to alleviate their appetite for electronics.

 

[covert24]

i think he should invest in some firewall or something of the like because that my computer deal might be because of a hacker just roaming around. And from what i remember aren't capacitors under some type of pressure? If that bursts inside the dog it could release some really harmful chemicals that could eat through his stomach...

 

[Gneisenau]

Originally posted by: Necrohindiac
... Lately he's been on a metal eating kick, and my friend the owner seems to revel in that. ....

Must be a lack of iron in his diet....

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Gneisenau

Originally posted by: Necrohindiac
... Lately he's been on a metal eating kick, and my friend the owner seems to revel in that. ....

Must be a lack of iron in his diet....

LOL
That or he was low on electrolytes

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: dearmisterleggett
Necrohindiac,

Have you considered soldering on some new capacitors to the motherboard? Go to Radio Shack, they are relatively cheap. You might also want to consider spaying/neutering the dog, as that tends to alleviate their appetite for electronics.

You're half right, but DO NOT go to Radio Shack for capacitors, unless they have caps that are spec'd to have low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) and to be suited for high temperature environments. Last time I was in a Radio Shack, they didn't carry caps of this quality.

A couple of places you can find them are Digi-key and Mouser Electronics.

Note the capacitance in uF (microfarads) and the rated working voltage. If the original caps were surface mounted, order the same values with radial leads (both wires coming out of the same end).

Be sure to note which side of each cap on the board is positive and which is negative. If you install it backwards, it could explode like a party favor when you power up. :shocked:

To install them:

1.. Cut the leads of the new caps to about 1/2".

2. Bend a little "L" shape at the ends.

3. Melt a little solder on each bent end and on each solder pad on the board.

4. Place the leads on the appropriate pads (remembering which is plus/minus), and melt the solder on each wire to the correct pad.

Good luck.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: dearmisterleggett
Necrohindiac,

Have you considered soldering on some new capacitors to the motherboard? Go to Radio Shack, they are relatively cheap. You might also want to consider spaying/neutering the dog, as that tends to alleviate their appetite for electronics.

You're half right, but DO NOT go to Radio Shack for capacitors, unless they have caps that are spec'd to have low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) and to be suited for high temperature environments. Last time I was in a Radio Shack, they didn't carry caps of this quality.

A couple of places you can find them are Digi-key and Mouser Electronics.

Note the capacitance in uF (microfarads) and the rated working voltage. If the original caps were surface mounted, order the same values with radial leads (both wires coming out of the same end).

Be sure to note which side of each cap on the board is positive and which is negative. If you install it backwards, it could explode like a party favor when you power up. :shocked:

To install them:

1.. Cut the leads of the new caps to about 1/2".

2. Bend a little "L" shape at the ends.

3. Melt a little solder on each bent end and on each solder pad on the board.

4. Place the leads on the appropriate pads (remembering which is plus/minus), and melt the solder on each wire to the correct pad.

Good luck.

If you read the post, you may see that the dog ate the caps! So, he does not know the capacitance, voltage, or type of the capacitors.

 

[JAG87]

Originally posted by: Navid

the dog ate the caps!

its just too funny im sorry. i know i shouldn't be laughing but... LMAO.

:laugh:

 

[BonzaiDuck]

You said it, Jag87.

The story itself seems . . . ah . . . funny. But the subsequent discussion . . . . hilarious.

I don't know whether . . . . to feel more sorry for the dog . . . . or the motherboard-owner.

But it's a new twist on dog-poisoning while the geographic source is probably the same. Except that this time, it's not about manufacturer quality-control "there," but rather . . . . doggie-discipline . . . "here."

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: JAG87

Originally posted by: Navid

the dog ate the caps!

its just too funny im sorry. i know i shouldn't be laughing but... LMAO.

:laugh:

Let's hope the dog (partly electronics now) doesn't roll every time he flips channels on the remote!

 

[Necrohindiac]

Update,

So the capacitors have been recovered. I guess the dog threw them up a couple hours after the incident, must have had too much curry. Lesson learned, never buy an untrained mongrel in the states, god damn American swine. Anyways, after cleaning the recovered pieces off and letting them dry out, do you guys think it would be safe to solder these things back on?

 

[JAG87]

Originally posted by: Necrohindiac
Update,

So the capacitors have been recovered. I guess the dog threw them up a couple hours after the incident, must have had too much curry. Lesson learned, never buy an untrained mongrel in the states, god damn American swine. Anyways, after cleaning the recovered pieces off and letting them dry out, do you guys think it would be safe to solder these things back on?

lmao, the acid from the stomach might have corroded them. read their pF value and buy new ones.

im sorry dude, i just cant stop laughing at this.

 

[Blain]

Capacitors are cheap... buy some new ones.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Go to http://www.badcaps.net/ You will have to register to view attachments. Please give the referral to Galvanized.
Look for your board in the Asus Forum. I would be suprised if there were no good pics of a recapped AN-52. See the caps you need.
PM or email Topcat...oh oh, you are in India and Tc only ships to the lower 48. OK. Contact Big Pope over at Badcaps, he just might send you some free SamXon caps from his location in Hong Kong. If not free they will be inexpensive.
Big Pope is a good guy and the SamXon caps he sells are better than average. He may know what you need with just a pic of the board. Post over at badcaps with pics of the board and dog. They need a laugh too.

At badcaps you will find tutorials on recapping. Have fun, because it is easy.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

The tutorials and help you will receive over at Badcaps will be better but here is a recent offering on board recapping from Tom's Hardware. Good pictars http://www.tomshardware.com/20...xing_your_motherboard/

 

[apoppin]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question that has puzzled me recently. A friend of mine was assembling a new computer setup and accidentally knocked a couple capacitors off the motherboard. Subsequently his dog ate them before we could react and now he's left in a tough spot. He continued putting the computer together and even booted it up, but at what cost? Will this thing go into meltdown because of the missing capacitor units? His system specs are as follows: Asus An-52, x2 5200+, 2gbs crucial 667mhz, some other crap. What is the point of capacitors anyways?

As much as i loved this story ... it really doesn't belong in CPU forum ...
GH is the place ... and perhaps they will get a kick out of it also.
-CPU Moderator apoppin

Edit:
Thanks for sending this thread to General Hardware. Everyone here's getting a real charge out of it.
Now I have to figure out where I can send it to.
AnandTech Moderator - RebateMonger

Thank-you

it is one of the best HW-related stories i have heard in the well-over 7 years i have been here .. i couldn't just let it languish in CPU forum
-perhaps OT would also like it