On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 8:41 AM, Toby Bluhm <tkb at alltechmedusa.com> wrote: >> We have four (4) Dell Dimension boxes and their support here is >> *SUPER*, but they use proprietary cases, motherboards and power >> supplies. Their quote of USD$237 for a new motherboard is probably not >> something I am going to follow up on. The box is running most of the >> time, which is puzzling, because it is an intermittent problem. > > Just a shot in the dark . . . look at the electrolytic can >caps on the > mainboard. If any of them are "puffy" - the top is domed, >not flat - > that could be your problem and an easy fix. I've run into >this issue on > several different devices. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague > http://badcaps.net Toby: Interesting you should mention that and thank you for the URLs. This morning, I made my expedition to the shopping center in North Cali, where there are many tiny stores that sell computers and parts. The one I settled on (After going into 8 or 10 stores I knew the 2nd one was the best of them) has a man who fixes mainboards all day. If he can fix the mainboard, the maximum charge is about USD$37. That's USD$200 less than Dell Latin America quoted me for a new mainboard, delivered to our house.... Also, he can check out the power supply for me. Also got prices on a new tower, mainboard (for Socket 775), Celeron CPU and RAM in the same place; along with the price for a new DVD burner for my daughters box. I plan to take my box there, on the 5th of January, to get him to look at the mainboard and diagnose it. Thanks! Lanny