Will unplugging an original Xbox slow or stop capacitor leaking or death ☠️?

I'm sure those tech savvy will find this a dumb question. However for someone like myself who has no experience, knowledge or ability with battery chemicals or how exactly every part of electronics work it's nessesary. Basic electronic function is not something taught in school. Although perhaps and I think it should be.

Regardless, the capacitor of the original Xbox is an issue I've came across on YouTube and various game information areas of the internet over the past 6 months or so. I'd call it a suicide capacitor. But as far as I know it wasn't done on purpose like the PlayStation 3 and 4. Which apparently doesn't make it a "suicide". Just a capacitor that is likely to fail and ruin everything. As stated my knowledge of internal electronic components for basically anything and how they work is limited. As I'm sure it is for the average person/gamer.

Now here's the question. With no knowledge of how these things work. Or how the chemicals in a capacitor work. Or even if it's just a coiled wire. Although if I remember correctly capacitors are filled with a chemical similar to how batteries work to hold a charge. Now the question in my own long winded way is can you unplug an original Xbox from the wall outlet and it stop or slow the eventual capacitor leaking or popping and ruining the motherboard? Will the lack of a continuing charge from being plugged in slow down the deterioration of the capacitor? Or does it not matter because the chemicals will eat their way through the capacitor casing no matter what, whether there's an incoming charge or not? In other words, is it better to leave your original Xbox plugged in, or not? As far as slowing or stopping the deterioration of the capacitor? I haven't played my original Xbox in over a year. It is un-modded. And looking at the disk tray has a narrow slit which if I'm not mistaken is a Thompson disk drive. I doubt that matters but you never know. As far as I know the only internal components ever changed between original Xbox versions was the disk drives and not capacitors. I keep it mostly for Unreal Championship, Oddworld Stranger's Wrath and several OG Xbox games that are not backwards compatible on Xbox 360.

As with everyone right now times are rough. I do not have the ability to dump into getting my Xbox immediately fixed right now. Despite living in the Miami Valley area of Ohio and I do not know anyone or anywhere to fix the capacitor problem anytime soon. And no skill personally to fix it or remove the capacitor. Let alone the tools to even do it. Not even the screwdrivers with the heads necessary to even remove the casing to even cut the thing out. I payed $70-80 or so at a local used game shop for it. Yes I know I could've gotten it cheaper. But I wasn't going to spend hours of my life searching eBay or trust eBay or go to a hundred garage sales. And as a former employee of Goodwill I can tell you we do not sell electronics we can't test. They go immediately into the electronics outbox for electronics recycling. So finding a $10 or $20 Xbox at a Goodwill is not a possibility here. And I'm not showing up to every garage sale. I trusted this store so I'm willing to pay the extra price for FAR less hassle. And GameStop's used game systems can't be trusted and is severely random on quality. Long post for a simple question but there it is. Will unplugging my original Xbox help slow the capacitor failure until I'm able to get it fixed or find somewhere or someone to fix the issue? I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I've had an issue with the pound HDMI cable working correctly even changing the settings to the instructions. But I can't tell if it's my model of Xbox. Or if it's due to the capacitor leaking and ruining area's of the board and messing with the output.

I know I'm not the only person with no electronics knowledge with this issue. And it's apparently an immediate problem. If I can save my Xbox I'll do everything I can. But finding someone to replace or fix the capacitor is not a possibility right now or for the foreseeable future. May even take me a year or more. If I can put my Xbox in "stasis" until then or slow the capacitor ruining the motherboard until I can get to it I will. For all I know it's already died and ruined my Xbox. I have no way of knowing I have no way to open it up to see for myself. And turning it on doesn't tell me much and since the pound cable isn't working correctly I have no way of knowing anything just hooking it up to my TV with that to tell if anything is wrong. If anyone could help I'd greatly appreciate it and ty.

submitted by /u/DaddyCML9980
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