Is this motherboard still safe to use? *PICS INCLUDED*

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Jigglelicious

Member
Apr 25, 2004
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Back in April I retired my old Athlon XP 1600+ and upgraded. It was working fine at that point, and I just shoved it into my closet with the rest of my spare parts. Its been sitting in there ever since.

Now I'd like to actually go and build a PC for a friend who's still on a 486 or something, and I planned to give him that motherboard/processor. But now that I pull it out of the closet, I notice the caps (is that the right word) are leaking a bit. Now, I do NOT know if they looked like this when I first stopped using it back in April, or if the leaking occurred when they were sitting in my closet. Either way, do you think it would be safe to operate it like this? It doesn't seem too bad, but i'd hate to order parts and put together a PC just to have it explode or melt or something.

Here are some pics I took:
Picture 1
Picture 2
 
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iamskew

Senior member
Aug 17, 2004
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Looks like toast to me...but you can always plug it in and see what happens...it won't hurt you....theoretically...
 
UsandThem

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
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Originally posted by: iamskew
Looks like toast to me...but you can always plug it in and see what happens...it won't hurt you....theoretically...
Click to expand...

Even if it would work at first, the leaking caps would cause it to have a violent death when it went.

 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
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replace the caps and it will be as good as new, that is what I would do (and have) without question.

I would not throw away a perfectly good board that just needed new caps, they are SO easy to change.
 
J

Jigglelicious

Member
Apr 25, 2004
109
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Originally posted by: EvilHomer
Your board is a bit rusty where did you store it in the garage...???
Click to expand...

The closet. However, the rust is actually from when it was in my case, not from being stored in the closet.

I suppose I can try to contact Epox if there is still a warranty on it. Otherwise i'll just try to find a used MB from the FS/T forum.

Just curious, but can these caps blow like this from non-use? Or only when being used? Its quite possible that I was using this motherboard with the caps leaking like that for years and I never knew cause its always worked great!
 
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MTSteel

Member
Jan 26, 2005
126
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Caps could have been like that for years :) My KT266a is still running on bulging caps, it has been this way for at least a year :)
 
J

Jigglelicious

Member
Apr 25, 2004
109
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Originally posted by: MTSteel
Caps could have been like that for years :) My KT266a is still running on bulging caps, it has been this way for at least a year :)
Click to expand...

So its quite possible that it still works? I guess i'll have to plug it in one day and see what happens.

Btw, what exactly do these caps do? And what is their actual name (i'm sure its more than just 'caps')
 
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ChineseDemocracyGNR

Senior member
Sep 11, 2004
920
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Using the motherboard with leaking capacitors could cause permant damage to it. Just replace them and you'll be fine.

Even if the board is out of warranty EPoX may replace them, because this is a very well known problem with their past boards. I know Soltek will send you a complete set of capacitors if your board has problems, no matter when the warranty period ended.
 
J

Jigglelicious

Member
Apr 25, 2004
109
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Don't they have to be soldered on though? It seems very difficult to do since there is no space between the motherboard and the bottom of the capacitor.
 
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EvilHomer

Senior member
Jul 11, 2002
329
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yeah, doesn't seem that easy unless you know what the hell you are doing and with my shaky hands ...forget it... ..:)
 
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PascalT

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2004
1,515
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i had a board just like that not too long ago. it took 2 hrs to boot up the computer. :)

and it froze, and eventually died.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
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Originally posted by: Jigglelicious
Don't they have to be soldered on though? It seems very difficult to do since there is no space between the motherboard and the bottom of the capacitor.
Click to expand...

they are done from the backside of the PCB, underneath.

yes they are soldered on, but are easy as pie to change with a good soldering iron.
 
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