I recently set up an old Lenovo m900 as a Debian server, and everything was running smoothly until I discovered a small capacitor on my desk. It must've fallen off while I was installing a new drive. Now I'm unsure about what steps I should take next. Can I just ignore it, or do I need to replace it?
4 Answers
Have you checked if your PC is still functioning? If it's running fine, you might not need to worry about it too much.
You could try putting it back if you're comfortable with soldering. If it's a small capacitor, the computer might still function fine without it since many are just there for filtering purposes.
Some capacitors are just for extra stability, so it's possible your system is perfectly fine without it.
It really depends on the type of capacitor. If it's a surface mount or electrolytic cap, you might be okay without it; they’re often there for stability. If you're concerned, you could always replace it or solder it back on if you want to be safe.
I think it's similar to a small one I found online. Not too big, about 3mm long, with a brown center and silver ends.