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Badcaps.net was
founded on the success of
PROJECT:VP6, an article I wrote on recapping the Abit VP6 motherboard.
In the months following the article's publishing, I had probably hundreds of emails
asking questions, sharing success stories, and tips to
improve things. I also received a lot of questions
from people with motherboards other than VP6's plagued
with bad capacitors. I decided to expand things a bit and create a central location for information, how-to's, replacement parts, and repair services all in one location. Since the launch of this site in April of 2003, the response and feedback from all of you has been remarkable!
The Badcaps.net Facility is located near Salem, Missouri. I purchased this in 2005 as the repair end of Badcaps.net needed to expand. The 10' x 10' room I was previously using just wasn't cutting it anymore. The structure is
3600sq ft, with an office, service lab, and warehouse
space. As 'big' as Badcaps.net may appear...bear in mind, it is and always has been a 1-man show. I have no employees, no secretary, no partners, no financial backers, and the best part, no boss to answer to....with the exception of you, my prospective customer! Anytime you are in contact with Badcaps.net, you are dealing directly with the owner, CEO, master tech, and janitor...I get all the fancy job titles. |
The Badcaps.net Facility, located near Salem, Missouri. |
Badcaps.net was established in late 2002 to counter the bad electrolytic capacitor issue that has been plaguing computer hardware since around the turn of the century. More than likely, if you're even reading this, you know what this site is about... Incase you don't, just keep reading... The bad capacitor issue really began to blossom into the mainstream as a 'real world' problem around 1999, and continues on to the present day. It now being 2010, I am STILL seeing later model boards with this problem. The tale behind why the capacitor problem exists in the first place is because of a large-scale industrial espionage foul-up. Some component manufacturers decided to steal an electrolyte formula from another competitor. Little be known to them, the stolen formula was incomplete and flawed. They didn't discover this until it was too late and they had manufactured and distributed literally MILLIONS of these flawed capacitors. However, it's been going on way too long to simply blame on an industrial espionage boo-boo in my humble opinion, as this problem is still extremely common, and hasn't slowed down. Personally, I think it all boils down to shoddy components that are manufactured by shoddy component makers.
Most all the information about this problem is scattered in bloated forums, newsgroups, and unreliable (here today, gone tomorrow) websites. That in itself is enough to make you throw your board in the trash! I've gathered a lot of information, along with my own knowledge and experience, and created a central location to post it. Hopefully this will bring your search to an end!
Badcaps.net's mission in life is not to make it's owner a millionaire (although, that would be nice). It's purpose is to help those on a tight budget be able to repair their computer in a reliable yet very inexpensive manner. So far, I have succeeded. Back when I started this, I was pretty much broke as the next guy. I was trying to maintain servers for web hosting that I did, and servers started dropping like flies or becoming unstable beyond use. I couldn't even fathom being able to afford to replace these machines at the time, so the light bulb went off in my head......I bet I can fix these instead, I certainly had nothing to lose by trying! Having a strong background in electronics, I knew it would be an easy feat for me, and after a couple dry runs on scrap boards to develop a technique, I had it down. I revived all the ailing servers, and a new chapter in my life had begun. Badcaps.net was actually started as a bet with a friend, who just thought it was impossible to repair a computer motherboard at component level. He was wrong.
After realizing that repair is very possible, the next challenge was how can I bring this information to the public in one place? Simple, I started this site, complete with a support forum, capacitor kits, and repair services. Almost 8 years and many thousands of recapped boards later, here we are, and I'm very proud to say that it's been a great journey! I've encountered customers from all corners of the globe and talked with some really interesting people over the years, and the one thing they all have in common is a failed computer with bad capacitors, with a search that landed them at www.badcaps.net!
As the capacitor problem grows, so does the fly-by-night populous of potential competitors/copycats. Always remember, this is my sole job!! I don't work a day job and then moonlight this out of my basement or garage at night like so many do these days. I have a fully equipped shop, large inventory, and the experience to make any copycat run home with their tails between their legs. I've been in the electronics and computer field
since 1991.....wow, where does the time go!! I've seen more than a few copycats come and go over the last few years, some gracefully, some not-so gracefully. I'm not trying to come across as 'cocky', really, I'm not...but with the building of any business, it was a rough road and up hill most the way! I'm proud of the achievements and milestones I've made! Badcaps.net has definitely made its mark on the entire computer industry. Badcaps.net has been featured on programs such as TechTV's show "Call for Help", and many many other reputable and popular internet sites! Badcaps.net is approaching its EIGHTH year, and was the pioneering site when it came to focusing solely on this problem and creating solutions for it. The idea was spawned and the groundwork laid in late 2002, and this site was launched in April of 2003. Never accept anything less than the BEST for your computer's component level repair service or the parts you need to fix it yourself, and the best is BADCAPS.NET!!
I want to thank all of YOU for your support and encouragement (even in the face of humility) all these years!
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Thank you for visiting Badcaps.net!! I appreciate every visitor and potential client. If there's anything that I can do to help you, please don't hesitate for a second to contact me with your questions.
The bad capacitor problem
in 2021 has sunsetted for the most part, it's not nearly as frequent
as it used to be. I still see/repair a lot of proprietary
hardware and older hardware that can't be so easily replaced.
However, in the ever-changing consumer market, it's not such an
issue anymore. I got a solid 15 year run out of it though, not
bad for a strange little niche in tech!
I still get emails from folk on
regular basis thanking me for all the info and effort that's gone into this site. It really means a lot to me, I thank all of you for your compliments!!
- Chris P, owner of Badcaps.net
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