Thanks for your tips. Here are my observations: - *desoldering pump* - After cleaning and oiling my pump I had still no luck with it. Maybe I have to practice more :) - *desoldering braid* - Adding some fresh solder before using this definitely improves the cleaning effect, but it leaves the solder inside the hole. I've tried three different types of solder wick without success. - *tap-tap method* - It seems usable for smaller boards but not for a computer motherboard so I have not tried it. - *Pushing out* - I had no thin solid wire here, so I added a little extra solder and heated the via while pushing in the new capacitor from the opposite side. Sometimes worked but this thing has two legs and I have only 1 soldering iron :) - *Blowing out* - I tried to blow with my mouth without any effect. Then I tried a dust blower, but I cannot aim it precisely into the hole. Then I found something in my drawer: ![alt text][1] It is a plastic bottle with metal needle head, 1 USD from [DX][2]. I inserted it to the hole from the opposite side then I heated the hole. After removing the soldering iron I quickly squeezed the bottle. It cleaned out the via! 8 of 10 times I was able to insert the new component to the hole without problem. For the remaining two holes I used a sewing needle to broaden the hole. Still not he best method, but it worked for me better than any others mentioned here. However I am considering to buy a vacuum desoldering tool to save a whole day next time :) [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/hLwfQ.jpg [2]: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5068