eHam
eHam Forums => Mods And Repairs => Topic started by: WA2ISE on March 04, 2023, 02:41:59 PM
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Last night I shut down my PC, as windy rainy weather was predicted (I didn't want to get tongue lashed by Windows for an improper shut down, if the power goes out). I usually have the PC on 24/7.
And the last month or two I see some interference in the VGA video. Okay, must have a ground loop issue, but I kept punting on resolving it. Well, when I tried to power up today, the PC would turn on for a half second and go dead. Unplugged various loads (hard drives and such) but no joy. I did have another power supply I salvaged out of another Dell PC, hooked it up in place of the machine's power supply, and now the computer works!
Did a proper power supply swap out, and then I opened up the old power supply, and yes, an electrolytic cap bulged, gone bad. And a little later I noticed that the video VGA interference is no longer present.
I'll get to changing out that bad cap (probably should change out the other ones like it), but for now I'll run on the swapped power supply.
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I was able find a Form Fit and Function after market for a 15 year old Dell on Ebay that did the trick for mine. Highly recommended.
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Electrolytic caps in older equipment often show a high ESR. I have a Peak ESR meter which is perhaps a bit expensive for occasional use, it showed out of ESR specification caps in my faulty KAM Plus modem and also in a 13.8V switch mode PSU. I changed the caps anyway, but it’s nice to see measurements.
https://www.peakelec.co.uk/ (https://www.peakelec.co.uk/)
Regarding Dell computers, I had the SSD fail in one… we all “assume” solid state devices are very reliable, the SSD was struggling to write, taking ages. Fortunately I do regular backups and had a spare SSD recovered from a laptop that went to the scrap yard. It only took 30 mins to be back running again. The Dell Optiplex cases are so easy to open for service.
Incidentally, a friend also had an SSD failure with one that was only 3 years old. Make sure you have backups.
73 Dave
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Regarding Dell computers, I had the SSD fail in one… we all “assume” solid state devices are very reliable
While they don't have moving parts, they can only flip bits so many times until they're can't. I've had mechanical hard drives running for 10+ years in my server at work.
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Incidentally, a friend also had an SSD failure with one that was only 3 years old. Make sure you have backups.
Had a 1TB Sandisk SSD fail earlier this year (was in the system I'm typing this on). Drive was 8mo old.
Have 3 180GB Intel SSDs that have been in service well over a decade. Nary a hiccup.