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Question

Difficulty: MediumMotherboard, RAM, CPU, and Power Issues

During a visual inspection of an office workstation that experiences intermittent spontaneous reboots and system instability under heavy processing loads, a technician notices several cylindrical components near the CPU socket with distended, bulging tops and slight rust-colored leakage. Which of the following components is most likely causing these symptoms and needs to be replaced?

  1. MotherboardAnswer
  2. B
    Power supply unit
  3. C
    CPU heat sink
  4. D
    System RAM module

Answer

The motherboard is the faulty component that requires replacement due to distended/leaking capacitors.
Distended (swollen) tops and rust-colored leakage on cylindrical electrolytic capacitors are classic physical signs of motherboard capacitor failure. When capacitors degrade, they fail to supply stable voltage to the CPU, resulting in random reboots and crashes under load.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the physical symptoms observed during inspection
Identified cylindrical components near the CPU socket showing distended (bulging) caps and residue leakage.
Electrolytic capacitors on motherboards filter DC voltage supplied to the CPU. Overheating or age causes electrolyte breakdown, gas expansion (bulging), and vent leakage.
2
Correlate physical damage with operational symptoms
Leaking capacitors cause voltage ripple and power instability under load, leading to spontaneous reboots.
Degraded capacitance fails to maintain clean voltage rails when processor current draw increases during heavy tasks.
3
Determine the necessary corrective action
Replace the motherboard (or perform component-level board repair).
CompTIA standards specify replacing the motherboard when board-level capacitor failure occurs.

Key Concept

Motherboard Physical Failure Symptoms (Distended Capacitors)
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Topics

Motherboard, RAM, CPU, and Power Issues

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