My friend asks me to visit her one weekend to help with some household tasks, including diagnosing and repairing a tower computer that will not boot. When I arrive, I try turning on her computer and it indeed appears grim. It cannot successfully pass POST and nothing is displayed on the screen, an amber light flashes on the front, and it gives a loud diagnostic beep code. My friend is not very technically educated but she has taken the initiative to read the troubleshooting manual and says that the beep code and flashing indicate that the issue is with the power supply or motherboard. I agree and remove the casing and immediately spot the problem; many of the capacitors on the motherboard are obviously swollen and domed up on the top.
Me: “Bad news: your computer is damaged beyond repair. See all these capacitors? They are all puffed up. Either oxygen somehow leaked inside of them or, more likely, the computer was subjected to a power surge. I recommend getting a surge protector and keeping your computer plugged into it instead of plugging it directly into the wall.”
Friend: “Can you fix it?”
The computer is a lower-range computer for basic needs and it still uses IDE cables during the time when SETA has become the new standard and IDE is on its way out.
Me: “I could order a new motherboard and put it in, but it would cost more than the computer is worth. You’re better off getting a new one.”
Friend: “Aww, but I like this computer; it’s really good. Isn’t there anything you could do? I think it might be the power supply; the manual says that a bad power supply could be the problem.”
Me: “It could, but it isn’t. See these capacitors around the processor and RAM? They are blown.”
I take her hand and rub her fingers over the domed capacitors.
Me: “Feel that? Compare that to these ones that are still good.”
I move her hand over some good capacitors.
Me: “It is definitely the motherboard.”
Friend: “Can you try replacing the power supply and see if it still works?”
I try to convince her that whether or not something happens to also be wrong with the power supply is irrelevant because the computer will not function without those capacitors on the motherboard, but she insists on seeing if her computer will work with a new power supply. I relent and drive out to pick up a power supply. I return and plug it in without installing it because I know it will be pointless. As predicted, the computer behaves no differently, so I box the power supply up to return later.
Friend: “Can you fix the motherboard?”
Me: “Theoretically, it would be possible to solder replacement capacitors into the board, but it would be a lot of difficult work, and I’d be highly likely to accidentally damage other components and create shorts because those solder points are really tiny.”
Friend: “How much do those capacitors cost?”
Me: “[Friend], I’m not going to do that. This is a disposable computer; it is meant to be kept for a few years to do basic things and then thrown out when a major component inevitably fails. You got your money’s worth out of this machine and it is time to get a new one.”
Friend: “But I really like this one!”
Me: “I know, but it really was not a great computer and there’s nothing that can be done to repair it. I have a PATA enclosure I can use to recover data from your hard drive; is there anything in it you want to save?”
She confirms and I promise to bring my enclosure with me when I stop over tomorrow to help with other things. I go to the living room to rest while her mother prepares us dinner, and I see my friend holding the manual for her computer and softly reading out loud from the troubleshooting section.
Me: “[Friend]! Stop troubleshooting! Your computer is dead! It’s over! You lost!”
Friend: *Laughing* “Shut up.”
I did recover her data the next day, and she had accepted that there was nothing practical that could be done to restore her computer, but even after she had a new one, it took her months before she finally recycled its corpse. She now keeps her computer insulated with a surge protector.
