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Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

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    #1

    Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

    Have had this computer and mobo since August '99. It's been very stable until recently has had some problems, not major but seemed to be getting worse. Since the hard drive and Windows 98SE installation were original I decided to put a new hard drive in it and reinstall 98SE.

    Got the hard drive installed, plus a new DVD writer. But when I went to install Windows the floppy drive was dead. I had unplugged the data cable to make room to work inside the computer. Tried all the usual tricks, reversing data cable, different power cable, etc. Then tried other floppy drives and other data cables. Nothing worked. Got Windows installed by booting from CD. System is stable now, no problems except dead floppy drive. Has to be the controller on the board.

    Then, after all that, I noticed two small capacitors up by the memory slots are bulging. I was advised on another board (before Google led me to badcaps) that I should get another mobo. Well a new one might have bad capacitors too, and I'd need a new processor, memory, etc. Too much money.

    My question is: Is this board worth repairing? Or does a dead floppy controller rule that out? I can live without a floppy drive.

    AMD Athlon 1400
    512 meg PC133
    Enlight case/350W PSU
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

    since 1999 is quite a long time, I would recommend replacing if you need a floppy drive.
    The great capacitor showdown!

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      #3
      Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

      Originally posted by martymae
      Then, after all that, I noticed two small capacitors up by the memory slots are bulging. I was advised on another board (before Google led me to badcaps) that I should get another mobo. Well a new one might have bad capacitors too, and I'd need a new processor, memory, etc. Too much money.

      My question is: Is this board worth repairing? Or does a dead floppy controller rule that out? I can live without a floppy drive.
      My opinion: as long as it does what you bought it to do, it's not obsolete. It may not be as fast as something new, but if it works for you, great. The points that you make about the cost of new CPU, memory, etc. are perfect reasons to justify recapping the board. It is also entirely possible that your problems with the floppy drive controller are related to badcaps as well. What caps are on the motherboard (manufacturer, series, capacitance and voltage rating)? You can recap the board yourself (there is plenty of guidance on this forum to help you through the process, as well as the forum members) or Topcat or kc8adu of our forum could do it for you.
      Last edited by willawake; 01-09-2006, 02:32 AM.

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        #4
        Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

        I'd recap it and see if it fixes the floppy controller. Never know what odd things bad caps can do. Even if it doesn't fix it... who needs floppy anyway? If you really need one, get a USB floppy drive. You might even be able to boot from it
        Ludicrous gibs!

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

          Huh, but is this motherboard USB ready? One thing for sure, a 1998 or 1999 BIOS would probably not let you boot from USB.

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

            Ya, motherboards have had USB since the PII days... I wasn't sure about the USB booting, which is why I said *might*

            I did just notice that it runs regular old SDRAM, but has a max of 1.5gb (in 4 slots... that's odd), so I suppose it could still be quite a decent motherboard. This would not be out of my range of repairing... and we all know from previous discussions that I don't repair every board that crosses my desk. Hell, I've only done one, total!

            BTW- there is a 2002 BIOS update available...
            Ludicrous gibs!

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

              By the way, the manual states that the board supports 266mhz FSB, but only up to 1.2ghz. Hopefully the aforementioned BIOS update would increase that to be able to run faster procs...
              Ludicrous gibs!

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

                Here is a link to the most recent BIOS update (2729 dated 07/29/2002):
                http://www.epox.com/USA/article.asp?ID=1484
                They also have some updated drivers available.

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Epox 8kTA3 - worth repairing?

                  Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions.

                  I have no idea what caps are on the motherboard, or how to find out without removing the board and looking. I would not attempt capacitor replacement myself, I've never done any soldering and wouldn't trust my fine motor skills or eyesight.

                  The computer does meet all my needs and more. I don't do any real work on it except my income tax every year. I use it to get online and e-mail friends and family, order parts for my computers, and the computers I maintain for relatives, and search for information. BTW, I was mistaken, the computer was built in August 2001, not August 1999. Still pretty old for a computer.

                  I going to look into having the board repaired. Thanks again everyone.

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