Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

[incapacitance]

I've got a 5-year old Abit KT7-RAID board. I remember discovering this site around a year or so ago, and I checked my board and didn't notice any problems... or maybe I didn't look closely enough. I just checked it again, and a few of the caps show symptoms. One has the bulging top, and another has a bulging top, crud oozing from the bottom, and is tilting. My system is working fine, although it does suffer from the random BSOD/reboot every now and then (maybe 1-3 times a month). Of course it's tough to know what is causing that problem... it could be the caps, it could be something else. I'd like to keep using the board for another year or two, and I was going to put in some new hard drives and re-install Windows 2000, so I figure this is a good time to re-cap the board.

I do have a few questions:

1) Does Abit have a RMA program for the bad cap problem? Since my board is slightly over 5 years old, I'm pretty sure it is out of warranty. Anyone try to have Abit re-cap their board? How much did it cost and how long did it take?

2) Is it possible for this bad cap problem to end up causing damage to other components like PCI/AGP/ISA cards, RAM, floppy/CD/hard drives, or anything attached via USB/parallel/serial/ethernet cable? Just wondering if any of my other components might have been damaged. Also, the reason that I am replacing my hard drive is because I just discovered it has some bad sectors... wonder if the bad caps could have caused that?

3) I noticed in the FAQ that graphics cards and power supplies can also have bad caps. Anyone know if the Matrox Millennium G400 graphics card has ever suffered from the problem? How about an Antec SX830 case with 300W power supply -- any of those ever have the problem?

Thanks for the help!

[tylerlough]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

welcome to the club.
not sure about rma for abit or if they do re-cap
2) yes it is because bad caps in a power supply can fry your whole system, this is not that common but it can happen but most of the time your system will just run like crap with random reboots and lockups also the blue screen of death.
3) graphics cards rarly have bad caps but alot of power supplies can have bad caps
you can look inside your power supply to check for bad caps but be careful you can get a shock if you are not careful

[willawake]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

regarding abit under the http://www.abitsettlement.com/ you have until February 15, 2006 to claim for repairs (as long as you are in US). I dont know what quality of repairs they do though. you could even have the board professionally repaired by badcaps.net and then try to claim for the cost of the repairs via the settlement. (you would be the first to try that though).

if your board is still posting then your other components are not damaged. i doubt your hdd bad sectors are due to badcaps.

[dood]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

Assuming you have an Antec PSU in that Antec case, it is quite possible for it to have bad caps. My Antec SL300S PSU showed no outward symptoms of its impending failure, except that if I had my headphones on and listened real closely, I could hear any movement on the screen, through my soundcard. Kinda freaky!

So open that PSU up and look for badcaps! Unplug it first, obviously, and you'll have very little chance of getting shocked unless you go sticking your fingers in bits you shouldn't.

[incapacitance]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

Thanks for posting that settlement link. Has anyone filed a claim, and if so, how long did it take for them to fix your board? Also, I read in the FAQ that mobo manufacturers may only fix the caps showing symptoms, but since Abit is offering a 2 year warranty, I would think they would fix all of them?

I'll take a look at my power supply when I get a chance. Do the experts here also fix power supplies? I guess I could just buy a new one, but it wouldn't be guaranteed that it would have good caps.

[incapacitance]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

Hey guys!

I filed a claim with the abitsettlement.com site to reimburse me for Chris's repairs on my board, and today I received a check for the full cost of repairs and shipping!

Unfortunately the deadline for filing a claim is over now, but I thought I'd let you guys know that they actually reimbursed me for repairs done by a third party.

Thanks Chris!

[Haraldg]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

I just discovered this thread and the information about the settlement today, Nov. 17, 2006. :-(. The abit settlement site closed at the beginning of November. :-( :-(
I have a KT7-RAID board that I have been using for 4-5 years. I emailed Abit today asking what options I had in light of the settlement. Will see what they have to say.
Am actually prepared to recap it myself as electronics has been a hobby for years and working in the field some for a while.
Thanks for your thoughts and input. Will let you know what Abit has to say.
Harald

[willawake]

Re: Abit KT7-RAID board showing symptoms

if you have previous experience in electronics then it should be no probs to recap with the best caps that you can find.