[mythtv-users] EPIA mobo won't boot

[Mike Perkins]

Shawn Rutledge wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 8:44 AM, Mike Perkins
> <mikep at randomtraveller.org.uk> wrote:
>> Now the box won't boot properly. It lasts about 10 seconds from button-push
>> and then quits. My initial investigations show a possible earth loop, 3mV
>> from end of S-video cable to minimyth chassis, but I don't think that's
>> enough to cause problems. I swapped the power supply, same result. I've done
>> the usual close inspection of the motherboard, no blown caps, no obvious
>> brown areas, etc. I can get the thing to boot, if I keep powering it up and
>> letting it keep trying. Eventually it lasts long enough to network boot and
>> it's usually ok after that.
> 
> You said no blown caps, but I had the 600MHz fanless dual-LAN version
> which stopped working and I think it was due to bad caps.   It started
> crashing for no reason and I had to keep rebooting.  Then for a while,
> I could boot DOS but not Linux (not that it was useful :-).  Later it
> quit completely.  Finally I noticed most of the caps had rounded ends
> - not blown, but expanded somewhat.  More time passed, and I started
> using a WRT54G with OpenWRT for my router.  Recently I replaced the
> caps on the Epia, and it still doesn't work, although the CPU gets
> warm when power is applied - that's the only sign of life.
> 
I'm fairly sure the hardware is ok - to the optically-assisted eye, that is. In 
a previous existence I used to make and inspect higher quality PC boards than 
this, so I do know what to look for. Most things haven't changed since I did 
that - although I'm still wondering how you get surface-mount components to 
stick on the back of a board without the ones on the front falling off, but I 
digress. I feel any problem I have is internal to one of the components. If I 
can get it warm enough, it stays up. I have thought of using a hair-dryer, but 
the WAF wouldn't be too good if I did that.

-- 

Mike Perkins