EXHIBIT 31.1


           CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a) OR RULE 15d-14(a)
                     OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
      AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002


I, Dean L. Cash, certify that:

1.     I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K/A of ATEL Capital
       Equipment Fund VII, L.P.;

2.     Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement
       of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
       statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
       statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered
       by this report;

4.     The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
       establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
       defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
       control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
       13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

    a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
       disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
       to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including
       its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
       entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
       prepared;

    b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such
       internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our
       supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
       of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
       external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
       principles;

    c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
       procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
       effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
       of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

    d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control
       over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
       recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the
       case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
       likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over
       financial reporting; and

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on
    our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
    the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board
    of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
         operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

     b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.


Date:   August 17, 2009

/s/ Dean L. Cash
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Dean L. Cash
President and Chief Executive Officer of
ATEL Financial Services, LLC (General Partner)