Another alternative is just replacing the capacitors, which are rather cheap, but it requires someone who knows what they are doing with a iron :)

Stephen Bogdanski           
Information Technology Center
College of Veterinary Medicine
Michigan State University


>>> Stephan F Andre <[log in to unmask]> 11/23/2009 11:45 AM >>>
Quoting "Aldrich, Dak" <[log in to unmask]>:

> Help!
>
> After 6 weeks, Dell STILL hasn't gotten me information on when, or 
> if, I can expect 3 SX280 motherboards.  I've called them 4 times, 3 
> of them leaving messages that were not returned.
>
> I have 3 of them with bulging capacitors, and are not working at all. 
>  They are perfectly good machines and I would rather get new 
> motherboards for $170 each, as opposed to purchasing new computers.
>
> Does anyone out there, by any chance, have any extra motherboards for 
> the SX280 stockpiled that I might be able to purchase from them?
>
> Thanks for any assistance anyone might be able to give, since Dell is 
> insistent on ignoring me.  (Yes, I'm getting bitter!)
>
> -dak Aldrich
> -network admin

I haven't looked, but have you browesed ebay for them?  I know of several
people who sell nos (new old stock) items there; dell and thinkpad boards
are among them, often for very little.

The problem you have crashed into is that there were never many good
system boards of that species, and now Dell (or someone else) has to
create those replacements and not make much on them, since they are
out of stock.

Have you looked at our surplus outlet?  You might find them there.

Another option would be to change the caps out.  I've done that once
and was unhappy with the motherboard in general such that I'd rather
never do that again--it took about an hour per cap so that was a losing
proposition.  You might find a local computer store that would do it;
having the right desoldering stuff makes the job faster.

Look at the boards around the caps.  If you see stains, the board isn't
worth fixing as the liquid inside frequently leaves a residue that may
cause future problems.

--STeve Andre'

> -college of music, msu
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> -http://comit.music.msu.edu
> -517.432.5045
>
>