"Blinking lights of death" ? Netgear Switch GS108

[Robert L Cochran]

Has the device firmware been pharmed or simply partly flashed and then a 
power failure struck?

If you would like to donate the unit to me, I'll try to find the time to 
take a look at it in the next few months. I'm still very much an 
amateur, and I'd like to try analyzing why the unit is not working and 
see if I can fix it. This assumes physical damage to the circuit board 
of some sort.

This would be with the understanding that both the unit and the power 
supply brick are a donation to me, and are not items sent to me for 
commercial repair. I'm not that good yet! There should be no expectation 
of getting the unit back. I might brick it. I might make a big smelly 
puddle of molten circuit board. I could easily be its utter ruination!

Also, the amateur examination/amateur diagnosis/amateur repair effort 
would be done on my own time and at a time I choose. Right now, I do 
have some very sick people in my family, and it might be a couple months 
before I can work on the unit.

Now lets suppose that through some miracle, I actually manage to fix the 
device. In that case, I'll ship it back to you at my expense, and at no 
other charge to you. I'll consider myself richer for the fun of trying 
to fix it and succeeding. Again, have no expectation of this happening. 
I can't estimate how sufficient my lowly skills are. Then again, 
Netgear's construction techniques probably need improving!

I'm willing to pay for shipping and handling.

If all the above is acceptable, contact me off list and we can discuss 
it more.

Bob


On 04/29/2009 09:18 PM, Seann Clark wrote:
> Aldo Foot wrote:
>> I have this Netgear Switch GS108 that has apparently failed. Before I
>> buy a new one I'd
>> like to know whether this is known issue with this type of unit or
>> Netgear hardware in
>> general.  This unit I have is an 8-port switch.
>> I perused some reading here and there and they point out to faulty
>> capacitors in the
>> unit. The fault causes what they call "Blinking lights of death", that
>> is, all lights blink on
>> and off repeatedly. Unplugging the unit and plugging it back in unit
>> does nothing.
>>
>> Any network hardware experts know about this?
>>
>> TIA,
>> ~af
>>
> The only way to be sure it is capacitor plague is to gut the unit and 
> look at the PC board. If you look at the capacitors in it, and one or 
> two are slightly bulged, or have black stuff that looks to be leaking 
> from the bottoms, the device is dead, and should be replaced, unless 
> you are the hacky type and change out the cap's or harvest the good 
> parts off the corpse of the old switch.
>
>
> ~Seann