There is a very long discussion at [1] on component damage due to capacitor ESR increase. Essentially the switch-mode PSU of a particular PVR has a multisection transformer, each section being rectified and filtered for one of the voltages required. The PSU feedback is derived from the 5V supply; the drive adjusts to stabilise the 5 V line. A problem that arises in practice is that the first electrolytic filter capacitor on the 5 V line goes high-ESR. This reduces the voltage; feedback causes the drive to increase to maintain 5 V. As the capacitor ages the effect worsens. If the other capacitors are OK, all voltages except 5V increase, until eventually even the 5 V line cannot be maintained. Low voltages cause malfunction but usually not harm; but the excessive voltages on the other lines in this instance is enough to do quite a lot of damage to surface-mount semiconductors and disc drives. This is not a particularly exceptional case. This suggests that aluminium electrolytic capacitors shouldn't be used where they affect PSU feedback.
