Source: http://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2017/05/10/old-computer-problems-1/
Anybody who collects or uses old computers knows there are a variety of problems you can come across. Heck, even modern computers have some of these issues. Over the years, I think the most common problems I have run across are power supply related. Bad hard drives are pretty common too but those are the easiest to figure out. Bad memory can be a problem but personally, I don't think I have ever run across a problem that was caused by bad memory though there always seems to be a lot of emphasis on that possibility. Then there are the harder problems to figure out...
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One fairly common problem on computers of a certain vintage is bad capacitors. If you open up your computer and you see bulging or leaking capacitors on the motherboard then you know you have a problem. The above picture shows a Pentium 4 motherboard with capacitors that are slightly bulging at the top and leaking slightly. Many times there will only be that slight bulge but this is usually a sign that they are no longer functioning properly and if your computer is behaving badly that is probably why. Usually this only happens on older computers but if your motherboard maker used cheap or faulty capacitors it can start happening in a relatively short amount of time. With the right soldering skills you can replace these capacitors but for most it means it is time for a new motherboard.
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Capacitors are a major issue with vintage Macintosh computers. The Mac Classics, SE, and other early all in one style computers show checker board patterns on the screen when the capacitors are bad. They also take the 1/2 AA batteries, and these begin the corrode after several years.
Whenever I get a vintage Mac, I just change the capacitors right away. It will need done soon anyways.
I didn't think about the solder being an issue with core 2 duo laptops. I pick up scrap laptops from time to time to fix and use for various things, but some of them end up not working. Guess this could explain why for a few of them.
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Yeah, I've had tons of different vintage macs (pre Power PC) over the years and every one eventually failed, most likely due to bad capacitors.
The core 2 duo laptops you have to watch out for the most are ones with nvidia chips. They ran hot but it was the temperature cycling that really caused the problem. I know Dell's had this problem but I'm not sure what other brands were affected.
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