Recap an SE/30 before it dies

If you own an SE/30 that still works, it is on borrowed time. The logic board and power supply are full of old capacitors. A capacitor is a small can that stores power. The ones Apple used in this era leak a sticky fluid as they age. That fluid eats the metal traces on the board and can kill the machine for good. Recapping means replacing those old caps before they leak. It is not optional on an SE/30. It is when, not if. SAFETY FIRST. The power supply and the display carry mains voltage, the same deadly voltage as a wall socket. The big screen can hold a dangerous charge even when unplugged. Do not open the power supply or poke near the tube unless you know how to discharge it safely. If that sentence worries you, that is the correct feeling. Send the power supply and any tube work to someone who does it often. The logic board is the safe part to do yourself, but it takes real soldering skill. The caps are surface-mount, meaning tiny parts glued flat to the board, not the easy through-hole kind. If you have never soldered small parts, practise on a scrap board first, or send it out. Plenty of trusted people recap Macs for a fair price. If a board has already leaked, people wash it. Yes, wash. Old cap fluid is gunk, and a careful clean with the right solution lifts it off so the new caps have clean metal to sit on. Search for an SE/30 recap kit so you get the right cap values, and search for how people clean a leaked Mac board before you scrub anything. One more note: replace caps with the same values, not guesses. Wrong values can misbehave in ways that are hard to trace. See the full spec sheet for this Mac in the library.