Post card

[Berne]

Hi,
Id like to read a brief on first test runs to make when testng hardware of any motherboard i.e. mainboard only ...not addons to the board? A postcard seems necessary...would this give a ' faulty capacitor ' message? If not, what utiltiy can be run during boot which will report on faulty hardware on ones motherboard?

All good advice welcome,

Berne:\

 

[tcsenter]

There is no diagnostic IQ integrated to determine faulty capacitors nor pretty much any other SMT component on motherboard by POST card. This is done by testing with a multimeter, scope, bus analyzer, process of elimination, and informed inference. If it were a $100,000 circuit board in a $10M radar system or $50M satellite, maybe you'd get that kind of capability via some proprietary diagnostic/testing interface. But not a $50 PC or CE motherboard.

 

[Berne]

Hi,
Great, thats that out of the way. Thank you.

Berne:hmm:

 

[Zap]

A postcard seems necessary...would this give a ' faulty capacitor ' message? If not, what utiltiy can be run during boot which will report on faulty hardware on ones motherboard?

No and none. POST just tests for basic stuff like is RAM or video present. A POST card just reports the POST results, usually in real time. It can be useful to troubleshoot definate and repeatable problems (such as no picture or constant beeping) but it is absolutely unable to diagnose intermittent or "flakey" problems, which faulty capacitors usually cause (if the motherboard isn't completely dead from it).

I think tcsenter's somewhat flippant reply was just a response to your, ahem, stringent demands on a non-existing solution.

 

[Berne]

Hi,
Yes its a late reply please excuse, well two caps stopped my pc for a while, but replaced both and fingers crossed initial results are good.

After I posted this original I browsed the matter some more, and if anyone is interested, a capacitor tester is available that does not cost the Earth from the Russian ( www.badcaps.net ) ask for him around the forums there, the device will test ESR accurately, and its a tester which can be used on caps even before they are removed from any board.

All the best,

Berne