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HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

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    #1

    HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

    Hi!

    I have a 2007 era HP a6110n computer with an Asus M2N68-LA (Narra2) motherboard. This computer has had a dying HD for nearly a year. As the problem was only at startup, I let it go till the end. To that point, no other problems were noted at all though.

    I bought a Western Digital 500 gb HD and installed it. I then tried to reinstall Windows Vista using HP restore disks. In repeated efforts, I was unsuccessful with many 'blue screens of death'. I then tried using a Windows Anytime upgrade disk that I got from ebay. Except for an inability to install Windows service pack 1 (oddly SP 2 installed fine) Vista installed properly but the blue screens continued. I then bought a new copy of Windows 7 Professional (and yet another HD later too!). My end result with Windows 7 was a 0x00000124 hardware failure early on in the installation routine. I then reinstalled Vista but was back to the blue screen failures (but unlike '7', it did install again; odd). Alas, I then looked at the motherboard. Having been in ham radio and having run a business rebuilding audio equipment in the past, I noticed a total of 11 capacitors with bulges or leakage. Not good!

    Now for the real question: should I replace just the 11 noticeably bad caps or use the kit. I do have a pro soldering/desoldering station available but '6 layer' PC board is a scary thought. I am smart enough to get that! The other question is the cost. The cap kit shipped will be $31.95 whereas a complete mother board for this computer is available from Server Supply for $57 shipped (less CPU and another major removable chip). Of course, I get the same old crummy caps on that board that likely have some shelf aging too but the board is supposed to be new, that aside.

    I think that the caps are the problem but I don't know that, of course. They certainly are a problem, to be sure. What would you do?

    Thanks!

    Jon Hall
    Ruckersville, VA. 22968
    Last edited by radioz; 11-17-2011, 11:05 PM.
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

    Originally posted by radioz View Post
    What would you do?
    Obviously, everyone has different priorites and budgets, but the HP board uses a NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 chipset. This chipset may come detached from the motherboard due to heat, BGA, and RoHS.

    I have actually "repaired" a NVIDIA chipset by using a heatgun (luckily), but I'm told that reballing with 60/40 lead is the long term fix.

    So if you buy a "new" HP board, you may possibly face this problem in the future depending on how hot your PC runs. The HP dv laptops have documented NVIDIA chipset failures. Youtube has ton of videos if you search for reball or reflow nvidia.

    I would considering getting a more modern board (AM3) with a CPU upgrade. Perhaps your black friday will bring you some decent sales that fits the $55 to $75 budget where you get a new motherboard and potentially faster CPU.

    You can resell your old AM2 CPU/DDR2 on ebay/craigslist to help you offset the cost of a new board. DDR2 for some reason is more expensive than DDR3.
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      #3
      Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

      Hi!

      I am very familiar with electrolytic caps. I collect old radios plus I have the ham and radio broadcast/audio experience. I have replaced hundreds of them in the past. Oddly, I hadn't thought of that as a computer problem and you never see that issue on the computer forums. Of the eleven (noticeably) 'bad caps' on my board, seven are the 1,800uFd/6.3V ones next to the CPU. They are all distorted or have leaked from their tops. Three 820/6.3 ones are top bulging and, upon close inspection, one 1,000/16 has blown open at the bottom. The rest LOOK OK but, who knows. It would be good if the computer forums were more aware of this site, I think as nearly all of the solutions at those places are software driven.

      As to the AM3 board, other than ebay (slightly scary for this), what supplier(s) would you suggest? Will any brand of board (generally) be OK?

      Thanks for your reply!

      Jon

      Comment

        #4
        Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

        Originally posted by radioz View Post
        The rest LOOK OK but, who knows.
        Correct. Unless you have an ESR meter, those caps could be dry, but not bloated. Your replacement caps need to be low ESR otherwise you could probably go through all your junk boards to find suitable replacements with the thought of saving some money. However, most here would advise against reusing caps.

        BTW, what brand and series are the failed caps? Members here are always curious about these things.

        As to the AM3 board, other than ebay (slightly scary for this), what supplier(s) would you suggest? Will any brand of board (generally) be OK?
        I have less experience than many others here. I'm sure you will get a few people with suggestions.

        If you can confirm your budget numbers, that would help people make suggestions for you. Without a budget number, some people here will make recommendations way outside your parameters. Additionally, state your requirements if you have anything like gaming or RAID.

        PS. For me personally, all my computers at home are purchased used (when I can get a really good deal) or I pickup dead boards and try to fix them. So far I have fixed two 775 socket boards (one MSI and one ASUS). The MSI board had the NVIDIA BGA problem. On the other hand, I have 4 other motherboards are right dead and I don't know if I can repair those.
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          #5
          Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

          If you have good soldering equipment, I'm sure you can desolder the caps of these motherboards. I have a "sort by lowest price" ebay 40W soldering iron. The tip is half dead, but I can still desolder the caps off motherboards. One day, I may invest a proper solder station, but for my purposes and the few repairs that I attempt, it works okay.
          Last edited by retiredcaps; 11-18-2011, 01:37 AM.
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            #6
            Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

            Originally posted by radioz View Post
            I noticed a total of 11 capacitors with bulges or leakage.
            BTW, your power supply could also have bad caps. Check your power supply. I think Compaq/HP tends to use Bestec. Make sure it is not a Bestec ATX-250-12E (mobo killer). The Bestec ATX-250-12E has a problem with the 5V standby rail failing high (as much as 11V DC).
            Last edited by retiredcaps; 11-18-2011, 02:26 AM.
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              #7
              Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

              Hi Again!

              I disassembled the machine and notice at least two more 820/6.3 caps that are bulging and a 1,500/6.3 cap that has had some sort of unwholesome bottom discharge that is mostly visible as a chemically based dust trail that looks like a blowout.

              The caps seem to be branded as 'KZG' except for the 7 - 1,800/6.3 ones which are by Rubycon as are a couple (literally 2) very small caps. Solder joints and connections seem clean and undamaged by heat. The power supply is a Bestec ATX-250-12Z REV.: D3R. The caps inside look OK. Obviously, that can be deceptive. It looks to me that by the time that you replaced them, you might just want to buy a new PS but I may be wrong about the cost. I did find a simple ESR meter from our old business but my feeling as to the MB is that shotgun replacement may be called for. Should I also replace the CR2032 button cell battery while I am at this too?

              I am ordering the cap kit here but I am still interested in exploring the replacement of the board and CPU but that looks as if that may be somewhat costly. I can do it but am a little perplexed as to how to decide what to buy as to the board, processor, and anything else needed. The other question that I have is whether this old machine is worth rebuilding in that way or not (especially since it is HP and not fully generic?). As I have a new 1 TB drive (and a 500 GB one too!) plus a retail copy of Windows 7, this more complete upgrade may make sense. There is also the argument just starting over and setting this machine up with the 500 GB drive and its native Vista should the cap replacement work out. I wish that I knew a more. Is there any site (or book!) that would be recommended for this?

              Thanks!

              Jon

              Comment

                #8
                Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

                Originally posted by radioz View Post
                The caps seem to be branded as 'KZG' except for the 7 - 1,800/6.3 ones which are by Rubycon as are a couple (literally 2) very small caps.
                Is this computer a small form factor (SFF)? Those little cases cook capacitors. KZG caps fail under heat. Rubycon generally make good caps, but will also die in the little SFF cases.

                The power supply is a Bestec ATX-250-12Z REV.: D3R.
                The "Z" revision is okay. It is the "E" that you have to worried about.

                Should I also replace the CR2032 button cell battery while I am at this too?
                If it measures over 3.0 V DC on your multimeter, then it should be good. If it is below 3.0 V, then replace it.

                Is there any site (or book!) that would be recommended for this?
                I just finished reading Building the Perfect PC which I borrowed from my local library.

                http://www.amazon.com/Building-Perfe...1856358&sr=8-1

                It talks about building new computers and discourages repairs (which I disagree with).

                I also found this site useful

                http://computershopper.com/feature/75-pc-building-tips
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                  #9
                  Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

                  Its a full sized case. The HP model is a6110n. The fans are OK too. That said, there is a PS fan and a CPU fan. There is a place for a main computer fan but HP decided not to fill that (possibly cheaper for them and bad for me). The battery is OK at 3.41V.

                  The book is $23 at Amazon. I may buy it or ask for it for Christmas. I may be going too far with the repairs but you should do something before you just run to Best Buy or ebay.

                  Thanks!

                  Jon

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

                    Originally posted by radioz View Post
                    The book is $23 at Amazon.
                    If you can borrow from your library, that would be the best. I would hate to see you spend $23 and dislike the book. They also have an e-version of this book since it is published by O'Reilly.

                    Alternatively, if you get the 2nd edition (published in 2006), it is only $5 on ebay with free shipping.

                    edit: Just found a site where you can read a few chapters for free. That will give you an idea of the writing style and whether it is useful or not.

                    http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book.../9781449397548
                    Last edited by retiredcaps; 11-21-2011, 05:24 AM.
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                    We respectfully ask that you make some time and effort to read some of the guides available for basic troubleshooting. After you have read through them, then ask clarification questions or report your findings.

                    Please do not post inline and offsite as they slow down the loading of pages.

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                      #11
                      Re: HP (Asus) M2N68-LA Motherboard - Recap or Replace?

                      Thanks for the info! I will look at it.

                      Caps come on Wednesday. I'll post the results when I have some.

                      I'd wish you a happy Thanksgiving but I already missed that for you! I lived in Montreal (actually St. Laurent) in the mid-1960s when I was between 7-9 years old. I discovered rummage sales, ham radio, and a wonderful electronics store that would still be a wonderful store for me today even if it had modern stuff. They had a huge surplus room plus ham and audio gear, tubes, and parts. And, for two years, we had Thanksgiving in October (I'm pretty sure that I have that right)!

                      Best Wishes,

                      Jon

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