> Note: Electrolytic capacitors dry out, frequently rendering power supplies and other electronics unusable in a decade or three but they're easily replaced w/ soldiering.
When they don't take half of the circuitry with them when they go, of course. The capacitors in my last PSU failed so spectacularly that security personnel came to investigate, thinking there were gunshots.
Caps blow by thermal runaway when they get too old (far out of spec) or are run out of spec.
Was repair attempted it or was it just thrown away? Things can look cooked, but they're often easily repairable. Far too often, most consumers are completely clueless, choosing instead to fix it by going to the store and filling the landfill needlessly because they don't care about wasting resources.
When they don't take half of the circuitry with them when they go, of course. The capacitors in my last PSU failed so spectacularly that security personnel came to investigate, thinking there were gunshots.