Fixing Netgear GS108 Network Switches

I woke up this morning and much to my dismay the internet appeared to be down on my desktop. Strangely the wireless still worked so I went into the network closet and noticed one of the network switches seemed unhappy. All of the port status LEDs were blinking in unison. Googling for the problem yielded this comment on a blog post which pointed blamed two of the capacitors. Sure enough, this was the problem.

Apparently Netgear had under estimated the voltage these should handle so a 6.3V 1000µF piece wasn't enough. Down to Halted I went and grabbed some 10V 1000µF capacitors. I grabbed my trusty desoldering wick, soldering iron, and solder and replaced the busted caps with the new ones I had purchased.

With that all together I plugged everything back in and to my delight it started working again! Now hours later (I wish Halted were closer) I can start my day.

Technologies: Basic Electronics, a soldering iron