[tlug] "But What's the Precise Technical Reason?"

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

As I've been told in a computer user group, it's a well-known issue that 
many computers built from around the year 1999 are now having their 
capacitors ballooning, blowing up and/or leaking.  I've always used the 
word "shocking" as a sarcastic joke, but this time I really am... 
shocked... to discover that the sudden death of one of my computers (a 
Dell Dimension-C - a model that was only sold in Japan) was due to such 
a mundane problem!  I had thought that capacitors lasted far longer than 
just a few years.

When I did an autopsy on the Dimension-C, I found nearly all the 
capacitors (other than the really tiny ones) with ballooned tops and a 
couple of them had leaked goo across the circuit board!  And then 
yesterday, I was given a custom-built computer that is working fine, but 
when I took a close look at the main circuit board, I discovered that 
all of its large capacitors (something like 14 of them) have ballooned 
tops.  So how long does that computer have to live?  There are very few 
specific model names listed, but so far we have Dell Dimension-C, 
Optiplex-GX270, and Optiplex-GX280.  I also had an Optiplex-GX-150 
suddenly die on me, but the visible capacitors seem to be okay 
(something in the power supply then?).

Anyway, let's look into this via the net a bit, with links and some 
quotes from a few different sites:


http://www.badcaps.net/
"...... the bad capacitor problem has been plaguing computer 
motherboards since about 1999 to the present day.  It now being 2006, I 
am STILL seeing later model P4 and Athlon boards with this problem.
    Over the years, there have been massive quantities of name-brand, 
high quality motherboards failing prematurely due to these faulty 
electrolytic capacitors used in their manufacturing process.  This has 
doomed many popular and expensive brands of motherboards, including: 
Abit, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Supermicro, DFI, Dell, Hewlett Packard, IBM, 
and many more!"

Those first six names - Abit, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Supermicro, DFI - are 
they all manufacturers of component mother boards made for custom 
computers?  That might explain the reluctance of some people in user 
groups to name specific companies they're having trouble with.  In the 
case of the custom box I was given, I haven't yet discovered who made 
the mother board.  Probably it's written somewhere not visible until 
removed from the box.


http://news.com.com/PCs+plagued+by+bad+capacitors/2100-1041_3-5942647.html
Published: November 10, 2005
    "Last week, Dell announced it was going to take a $300 million 
financial charge on its earnings to cover costs associated with the 
replacement of motherboards with faulty capacitors in some of its 
Optiplex workstations. The Dell system boards in question were 
manufactured from April 2003 to March 2004, according to several 
contract computer repair firms that are starting to replace the systems.
    PCs from Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer and other PCs using 
Intel motherboards have all faced similar issues, according to the 
companies, contractors and several online bulletin boards."

Dell, HP, Apple "and other PCs using Intel motherboards", and Athlon 
(got one sitting beside me as I write this).  The manufacturers are 
doing a good job of hiding information on this.  It's not a "mystery of 
the universe" type of thing.  The capacitors came from somewhere and 
there is some scientific cause for their early demise!  But from reading 
the stuff on the Internet, you'd think we were talking about distant 
galaxies or something that could only be surmised with a loose theory 
and not pinned down to good science and investigative journalism... 
"some", "many", "and others"....


    "At issue are faulty capacitors on motherboards that store power 
and regulate voltage. Defective capacitors found in the Dell Optiplex 
workstations, some Apple iMac G5s, HP xw-series workstations made in 
2004 and PCs with the Intel D865GBF motherboard have been found to 
bulge, pop, leak and crust over, causing video failure and periodic 
system shutdowns.
    Photos showing Dell's Optiplex GX270 and Optiplex GX280 with 
defective capacitors have been widely reported on Web sites such as 
Badcaps.net, PowerEdgeForums.com. Pictures of other faulty capacitors 
have been spotted on Apple's own discussion boards, MacOSG.com, and 
G5Support.com.
    Only HP would identify the maker of its faulty capacitors: 
Nichicon, of Kyoto, Japan.
    Nichicon, which has been in the business of making capacitors for 
50 years, has a strong track record, and the majority of Nichicon's 
products have no problems at all, HP representatives and enthusiast 
sites said."

And of course Nichicon is not supplying any information about WHY this 
is happening.  I - for one - would like to know.


    "The bad capacitors are found in some motherboards, video cards and 
power supplies for PCs, monitors, video tape players and televisions."

I had thought only in motherboards!  In monitors and power supplies as 
well?  This is becoming a bigger issue all the time it seems.


    "Experts say that if capacitors are not made right, they start to 
deteriorate after three or four years, rather than lasting the expected 
seven years."

Seven years?!?  I look over beside my computer and see my 1981 Sony TV - 
full of capacitors - that has never been serviced and is still working 
fine after 25 years on the job.  Seven years?  Okay, how about some 
detail here!  Maybe it's something along the lines of: "High performance 
capacitors with ultra thin insulating layers and in constant use are 
only expected to last around seven years and large batches of 
substandard capacitors are failing after only two or three years of 
use."  So, were the "experts" quoted in the article in fact experts, or 
just lawyers and/or PR types engaged in damage control with the media?  
I suspect the later!


    "'Faulty capacitors were attached to Intel D865GBF motherboards, 
which are sold to computer manufacturers and in some electronic retail 
stores.'  Intel has acknowledged previous problems within the capacitor 
manufacturing industry and has an advisory posted on its site talking 
about electrolytic capacitor leaks on some 875-based and 865-based 
desktop motherboard products."

Okay, "previous problems within the capacitor manufacturing industry" - 
but what problems exactly and with precisely which manufacturers?  Why 
no details?


   "In August, Apple issued a limited recall of some of its 
first-generation iMac G5 models sold between approximately September 
2004 and June 2005 featuring 17- and 20-inch displays with 1.6GHz and 
1.8GHz G5 processors. The official cause was blamed on an unnamed 
'specific component failure.'"

Fear of product liability lawsuits seems to rule the day.  A friend of 
mine had his iMac die on him....


http://news.com.com/Bulging+capacitors+haunt+Dell/2100-1003_3-5924742.html?tag=st.ref.goo
Published: October 31, 2005
    "Blackburn said Dell receives its capacitors from a variety of 
vendors and declined to specify which supplier was responsible."

Why?  Why does the manufacturer get anonymity  The parts didn't come 
from the outer galaxy, they came from a factory right here on earth.  
Why not own up to the problem and shed more light on what's going on?  
Damage to the company's reputation?  Oh, right - mustn't harm the 
companies responsible, never mind the users, they can just buy new 
computers.


    "A picture posted by a Dell Forum member shows two black- and 
gold-colored bulging capacitors with "1500 hF 6.3 v" printed on the sides."

Sloppy!  The capacitors are black, with gold lettering saying "1500 uF 
6.3V +105C" on one side, and large polarity markings on the other.  (I 
know, because I have the dead motherboard from my dead Dell Dimension-C 
sitting right by me now - I just had a good look.)


    "As for a possible industry-wide problem caused by the faulty 
capacitors, calls to various PC manufacturers were not immediately 
returned."

What people don't know can hurt them but not the manufacturer, so 
they're hiding everything.  About the only information that seems to 
have come out is via user groups.


    "A person familiar with the problem said Dell's capacitor issue is 
unlikely to be related to any specific Intel processor used in Optiplex 
systems, but did note that similar bulging issues from some Taiwanese 
suppliers have been observed."

Better than nothing... does anyone else out there have additional 
information?  It's not going to come from the manufacturers responsible, 
so it has to come from us.

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon