[rdiks]

I have the same problem with a Netvista 6643 and I realize that it is a rather old model (2001). After a quick look on the motherboard I noticed the same problem, leaking caps .

Just send a mail to IBM service NL and hope to receive some good news.

Thanks for your stories, else I was still trying and trying...
Bye from The Netherlands,
Richard

[bigred-9]

Being a former IBM tech support agent (3 years) I can tell you that we were told to never admit there being any issues regarding any of our machines.

I just picked up 2 Netvista 6270 A20's that seem to have a 3 year warranty which I'm sure has expired. Neither one of them power on and I will be checking the caps tomorrow and will call for replacements as soon as it is verified that is the problem.

I do not require a tech to come onsite as I can do this in my sleep, will certainly be insteresting to hear how the tech support for big blue is after being out of there for over a year now (moved on to Toshiba tech support).

I'll keep you guys posted.

[rex cal hoon]

Yes, I read your first entry, didn't get a chance to go any further than that but i skimmed over a few and the guy which said the thing about the capacitors was right, they are faulty. I have the exact same machine as yours, same problem. After i updated my bios it started doing that same thing. Anyway searched and searched to find the problem everywhere on the web, found out a few hints here and there about this issue with the capacitors. Its not very well known issue but a big problem, i found out there's like 20,000 of these capacitor in ibms computers around the world. I phoned directly to IBM and confronted them about this problem i was having with my computer. They went through the steps to try and help to no avail. I then mentioned this issue about the capacitors, thats when i had found out the facts about this. My computer was out of warranty also but they had no problem taking it and fixing these things without a charge to me, other than shipping. If i were u i'd be phoning them up and getting them to fix it for u. If u haven't done so already.

Hope it helped

[clo]

Massacheri,

I was having the same problem getting into the BIOS. I pulled the battery and unplugged the computer for about 10 minutes. After that, I put the battery back in and booted up. I hit F1 and it let me into the BIOS. Unfortunately, I have the capacitor issue everyone else is having, so getting into the BIOS did not really help (I did feel better though).

Chris

[jessie~Lynn]

I too have a IBM NetVist and suffering from the exact same symptoms of constant rebooting. The problem was driving me nuts and no type of troubleshooting would work.

Finally I caved in and brought it to a repair shop and the guy told me the capacitors were swollen and a new Motherboard was needed. After calling IBM I found out a new motherboard was $385. I was then debating weather or not it was worth spending the almost $400 for a new motherboard or just buy a new computer…

After debating for a long Time I decided to buy the part but before I did, wanted to do a little bit more research on the internet about the motherboard and if the capacitor thing was a common problem.

Well lucky enough I found this Thread!! After reading that people with the same problem got their computers fixed for free I immediately called IBM. After explaining the situation I’m now getting a new motherboard for free. This is great considering my computer is about 3 years old and warranty ran out ages ago. IBM got really great customer service!!! If I haven’t stumbled on this thread I’d now be $400 bucks in the hole.

Thanx Guys!

[bigred-9]

Here is an update, only 1 of my machines had the bulging capacitors but when I spoke with the local IBM servicer (that the tech support provided me) he said that it didn't matter that the other motherboard was not bulging, as long as it was not working and the machine was one of the ones on the bulging cap list.

So he ordered me 2 new boards and both machines are working aces.

Bigred-9

[jerasmus]

This site has been most helpful. Thank you to all of you who shared your experience with IBM NetVistas and leaking capacitors. I too experienced this problem with a NetVista A40. It happened a couple of months after the PC went out of warranty. It started out with Windows locking up and constantly rebooting and progressed to not being able to reinstall windows. I contacted IBM tech support and described the leaking capacitors problem and they said no problem we will send you a replacement motherboard at no cost to you.

[The sweeney]

I have 3 out of 8 Netvista 6569rgb with a problem not coming out of sleep mode which they insist on doing even though the power management has not been enabled in BIOS or Windows 2k. I have to power off then on to get the things to work. Is it possible this is the same capacitor problem? Anyone else had this?

[quixotic]

It is also very common for a BSOD to cause this as the default is for the system to reboot on error.

the key


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl]
"AutoReboot"=dword:00000000


Will prevent this, see if it will boot into safe mode and change the setting in the gui under system properties/advances/startup and recovery/settings/automaticly reboot , or if not use an offline registry editor such as the ERD Commander http://www.winternals.com/products/r...02.asp?pid=erd
from winternals.com. It may give an indication of a particular driver or software causing a BSOD and therefor a reboot.

[JEBBEJ]

Although you are probably correct, if the issue is on a Netvista built circa 2001-2002, the cause is most likely the mobo capacitors.

JEBBEJ

[lousai]

Guy:

I need some advise on the sequence of on/off swiych, reset, HDD led at the Power LED Light, as i am changing casing now, have no idea which one to connect to..


Many Thanks

[BannerGuy]

Just to reitterate what many people have said in this (JEBBEJ most recently) this is a fairly common issue with this circa of PC. E1U/TAU models have also run into this issue. I help to service over 950 PC's and in the process of rolling these older 800Mhz+ models out of service I would bet that 1 in 10 of them have had this issue at some point. Not all CAPs leak, but if they are not FLAT across the top of the CAP then you can pretty much call them bad. Someone else mentioned that the motherboards are out of warranty (true...) so if you have this issue, more than likey you wont get much help.

[JEBBEJ]

Originally Posted by lousai

Guy:

I need some advise on the sequence of on/off swiych, reset, HDD led at the Power LED Light, as i am changing casing now, have no idea which one to connect to..


Many Thanks

Lousia,

Hopefully, you haven't disconnected the LEDs from your old case. If you haven't , the easiest way would be to duplicate in the new case they way you have them in the old. But if you've already moved passed this point , or want a more detailed answer , read on...

First off, lets discuss the LEDs (the wires and their connectors). Your new case (assuming it is a NEW case and not a used or hand-me-down) should have an instruction manual that lists the LEDs and how to connect them properly.

Although cases do not always have the same LEDs or will have more or less than another, the major ones will be the same.

If the LEDs from the case are not labeled, you can trace them back to the cases front panel to determine their source (description of each is listed below).

As for your mobo... If you don't have a case manual or your case is used, the cases LEDs themselves should be marked as to what they are for (Speaker, PowerSW, etc). If they are, use them to reference them to the same LEDs from your old (IBM?) case, and/or the pins on your mobo.

Note the wire orientation...Dark colored wires usually attach to the positive leads, and white wires usually attach to the negative leads (excerpt from my ASUS manual). If you have them crossed, you won't blow your mobo up, the LED just will not light. In this case just switch the connector orientation, and it should work.

As for LED connector labels... Normal LEDs are as follows:

SPEAKER = connects to the case speaker (you need this to hear the BIOS startup beeps in case you have booting issues).

POWER SW (or ATX POWER SW) = connects to the cases power (ON) switch.

RESET SW = connects to the cases RESET switch.

POWER LED = connects to the green case light.

H.D.D. LED = H.D.D. means the (main) hard drive. Connects to the red case light. Blinks when the drive is accessed.

These are the main LEDs, and the ones that should be connected. Realistically, unless the mobo has any default features that would necessitate having more than the power up LED connected, that is the only one you really need to have connected (POWER SW).

Depending on how fancy of a case you have will determine whether you have any others. If you do have additional LEDs, it's not important that they be connected unless you will be using those (advanced) features. Such advanced feature LEDs may be:

MSG LED = if connected, usually blinks when pc is in standby mode.

KEYBOARD LOCK = Allows for locking the keyboard via the systems BIOS.

SMI LEAD = Stand for "System Management Interrupt Lead". Used in some Pre-configured PCs for tampering protection.

Hope this info helps...JEBBEJ

[the_b_man]

I've got a lab full of old IBM NetVista P3/800's that are dying off one at a time to this very problem.

Considering the age of the computers, would the motherboards still be covered under IBM's warranty? How do I contact IBM to find out?

tia.

[bigred-9]

Look up the number for IBM tech support general number is 1-800-IBM-4YOU, and in regards to the replacement boards last I heard there was not an expriy date, but better call big blue for verification. OH yeah and when you call they will act all dumb about this problem, tell them you have seen online about this warranty extension.