Dell GX270s with bad capacitors

[BigMG-p40]

As of 11/07 two of our GX270's failed. FM has replaced one, the other just died. The Stake Tech Spec. will be physically inspecting all other stake machines asap.
CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF/WHEN TITHING SETTLEMENT COMES UP AND THERE IS NO COMPUTER?
Dell was aware of the problem years ago. Their extended service agreement ended last year, 1/08, and nobody was appraised of their condition.
Work around is of course getting another computer, maybe the bishop's laptop, loading MLS on his computer and using the backup to bring you up.
NOTE: The the 740's that are coming out DO NOT HAVE FLOPPY DRIVES, OR IDE CONNECTIONS. The church ships the Dell with a 2g flashdrive. So if you aren't already (and you should be) start backing up with a flash.
As far as desktop goes: Why bother? Never really liked it anyway, and the critical data is always backed up.
I really like the XP pro. And the AMD. Good thinking...

[MrC-p40]

One other suggestion for what to do while you wait for the new computer to come in is to set up one of the other computers in the stake to run more than one ward on MLS. Sure things will be tight. People will need to learn to share but this will get you through any tough times while you wait.

[russellhltn]

NOTE: The the 740's that are coming out DO NOT HAVE FLOPPY DRIVES, OR IDE CONNECTIONS.

That is correct. I've been using a IDE to USB cable (think of it as an external enclosure without the enclosure.) That's how I've moved the MLS data, desktop, my documents, etc.

As for Desktop 5.5, it's not about liking it, it's about security. I just feel more comfortable starting out with it then using the generic Windows. Also, the backup it has is a Image backup. If someone wipes out the C drive, it can be restored. Without it, you're looking at a complete rebuild of the computer. That's more then you get with just the MLS backup.

[MrC-p40]

If you take the date and share it on another computer you will have security issues when you send and recieve data.
See post by Allan_Brown's Nov 07 post in a thread about security issues when seending and receiving where he said,

"There is a security mechanism for MLS transmissions that sometimes needs to be reset when MLS is moved from one computer to another, or when a system backup (not just an MLS data backup) is restored. There may be other triggers for require a need for a reset that I am not aware of.

The problem is easily remedied by a quick call to Clerk Suppport. They can reset the security on their end, and the ward will then immediately be able to transmit.

Unfortunately, of course there is no way to contact Clerk Support on the weekend, so there is no way to transmit until this is corrected on Monday."

I found this out the hard way. It's Saturday evening and we just moved the hard drive from the dead computer and placed it in the Stake computer replacing the CD Rom Drive. everything worked great. It was simple and easy to do. Until we tried to send /receive.
I eaven tried to have more than one unit on the one program on the stake computer and still came up with the same issue because it was a backup.

Thanks Allan for the help,

[Mikerowaved]

Unfortunately, of course there is no way to contact Clerk Support on the weekend, so there is no way to transmit until this is corrected on Monday.

That's a very good point. Thanks for reminding us that any changes of this magnitude must be up, running, and tested long before Sunday arrives.

[russellhltn]

Thanks for reminding us that any changes of this magnitude must be up, running, and tested long before Sunday arrives.

That's the preferred method. One possibility is simply to use the computer and not send/receive until later in the week. In most cases, that's better then the alternative of a dead computer on Sunday. It all depends on the situation at hand.

[russellhltn]

Someone else is experiencing a problem that might be the caps. So I'm posting a photo I took of a bad board. This line of caps is just in back of the CPU. Note the colors of the caps, note that the tops are NOT flat but slightly bulging. Also noticed what looks like something coming from the "cross hairs" of the cap.

I think the real defining symptom (at least for the GX 270), is that on reboot, either just before or just after POST, you'll see a message something like "The prior shutdown was due to a thermal event". Unless you have a dead fan, that should eliminate any doubt.

So far we're 8 for 9 in having these things die on us. Go ahead and call Dell to see what the price is (Make sure you have model, serial number and service number), but I think you're likely to find it significantly over the $150 repair limit. If so, then it's new machine time.

[mkmurray]

Someone else is experiencing a problem that might be the caps. So I'm posting a photo I took of a bad board...

RussellHltn,

Your photo link or attachment must have been inadvertently left out.

[russellhltn]

Fixed! Thanks.

[jdlessley]

Thanks for the picture. That makes it easier to identify them.