Help....Computer Hit With A Lightning Power Surge

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rtazz17

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Feb 26, 2007
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Guys ,I think im screwed.We have a new rig ,the specifics really dont matter but last night a lightning bolt hit right outside our house and now the computer will not power on at all..No sign of power whatsoever.I started with the power supply,changed that and still ,no juice.........We spent 2500 on this computer 2 months ago and I really dont know what to try next.Is everything fried?I cant see any noticeable burning anywhere inside.What is your best guess?should I get a new motherboard?but then what if still no juice?Is there any way to troubleshoot this methodically?
 
Find another computer with the same CPU socket, RAM type, etc, and try your components one at a time on the known working PC.
 
Did you not get a surge protector? A year or so ago I had my Xbox get fried by a power surge that killed a big tree right outside my house. I did not have a surge protector on the xbox but I had one on my desktop. Were you in the room when it happened? When my Xbox got fried the distinct smell of burning filled my room, I was afraid it was my computer but it worked fine and I didn't find out about the Xbox until later that night when I went to power it on.

Just like stryker said, I'd try to find someone with similar components that would let me test my components had that happened. Have you tried clearing the CMOS? I suppose it's worth a shot. Also, you can probably check with your insurance company to see if they cover damages caused by lightning.
 
I'd say your screwed.

A hard lesson learnt...You were foolish not to do the following:

A. Have a Surge Protector
B. Turn off your PC when there is a lightning/thunder storm. They only last for about 30mins on average.
 
Keep in mind that electric can still travel into PC from internet connection too. Some of those surge protectors have protected phone jacks but I had a CyberPower surge protector that almost killed my PC on its own so I don't trust any of the fancy-schmantzy software aided protectors. If the storm is close I just pull the plugs and wires along with turning it off.

rtazz17 I think your memory and mobo would be most vulnerable to a charge. Guess you'll have to try those on another machine or try new in yours. I would think for 2500 you have a good cpu so hopefully that can be salvaged.
 
abcdelight said:
Keep in mind that electric can still travel into PC from internet connection too. Some of those surge protectors have protected phone jacks but I had a CyberPower surge protector that almost killed my PC on its own so I don't trust any of the fancy-schmantzy software aided protectors. If the storm is close I just pull the plugs and wires along with turning it off.

rtazz17 I think your memory and mobo would be most vulnerable to a charge. Guess you'll have to try those on another machine or try new in yours. I would think for 2500 you have a good cpu so hopefully that can be salvaged.
Click to expand...

You are very correct. In my 6 years as an onsite technician I have seen more computers zapped from lightning stikes over the internet connection than the power. Most people have surge protected power strips but few put surge protectors on the dsl line, phone line, cable etc.
 
I guess I should have stated I have a surge protector and not a cheap one...400 bucks...The lightning literally landed on the ground 4 feet from my house.I also have numerous other electronic equipment connected to the surge protector and the only damage was to the pc......
 
V99 said:
I'd say your screwed.

A hard lesson learnt...You were foolish not to do the following:

A. Have a Surge Protector
B. Turn off your PC when there is a lightning/thunder storm. They only last for about 30mins on average.
Click to expand...

I have a surge protector and pc was off...where did I state pc was on??????
 
is there a way to see if the mb is getting power ?or to make sure the power supply is putting out power?I tried a voltage meter but Im not a comp tech and really dont know where to test for power (on what lead and which wires)
 
If you have a $400 surge protector and a surge killed your computer, I'm sure the manufacturer of the surge protector will pay to replace your computer. Most good brands have a warrantee that will replace your components up to a certain value if their failure was a result of the surge protector not working properly.
 
synaps3 said:
If you have a $400 surge protector and a surge killed your computer, I'm sure the manufacturer of the surge protector will pay to replace your computer. Most good brands have a warrantee that will replace your components up to a certain value if their failure was a result of the surge protector not working properly.
Click to expand...
yes but I am considering the fact that the internet rj45 cable was running direct from the router to my pc that ,that was the route the electricity took.Also ,the router and my vonage adapter are not functioning correctly.I had to replace both of them also.And I dont know the rating exactly but,surge protectors are rated to a certain number of joules and I believe lighting landing directly next to your house is going to excede the rating...on any surge protector...But again,Im now thinking it came through the net connection.Now I need to figure out if its just the mb or everything connected to it........
 
update...........I called my homeowners policy...Its covered...Thank God..........saved.......I pay the deductable and they got the rest..........
 
Glad your covered. Maybe since your comp got buzzed and nothing else did it was your interent connection like I mentioned above. Even if I had a $400 protector (and I woudn't trust them anyway since) I would still unplug ALL the wires if the action was real close.
 
I have seen this happen too many times to firends and family.
I have a pair of Kingston Surge Protectors guarding my computer, but I think I'm going to make a good Surge/UPS purchase very soon.
 
I knew an IBM service engineer years ago and he told me the following about surge suppressors (paraphrased).

If you live in an urban environment you can use a conventional surge suppressor from your friendly neighbourhood computer/electronics shop.
  • urban electrical wiring is more likely to be underground and considerably less affected by lightning
  • many houses close together provide more sinks to prevent a strike from travelling a long distance to your house.

If you live in a rural environment, you should get a gas-discharge type surge suppressor.
  • Long runs of above-ground power lines means that you are more likely to get a strike run all the way to your house
  • Many sources of rural electrical equipment put more spikes on the line with fewer sinks to keep them from your house.

I looked at the price of conventional and gas-discharge suppressors. There's quite a difference!
 
wow... what kind of surge protector costs $400?

i have a ups that costs 1/4 of that
 
Too bad you didn't have a flux capacitor in the line, you could have gone back to 1985. :p

As far as figuring out what is bad/good on your pc, first thing I would do is extract the power supply, then get a cheap $10 buck power supply tester and check it out. My money is on a blown PSU fuse. Very unlikely that all the hardware in the box is lost.
 
abcdelight said:
Glad your covered. Maybe since your comp got buzzed and nothing else did it was your interent connection like I mentioned above. Even if I had a $400 protector (and I woudn't trust them anyway since) I would still unplug ALL the wires if the action was real close.
Click to expand...
yea,if you are home its a good idea....but whos home 24/7.........I also just replaced the motherboard after testing all the other accessories on it ...The mother board was the only thing that was fried,computer is back up and running..Buying a new motherboard was cheaper than paying deductable on homeowners policy....Lesson learned..Always consider backdoor routes of electricity...(internet)
 
Majin said:
I have seen this happen too many times to firends and family.
I have a pair of Kingston Surge Protectors guarding my computer, but I think I'm going to make a good Surge/UPS purchase very soon.
Click to expand...
I dont think its possible to protect 100%.If lightning lands 4 feet from your house as in my case ,a surge protector will be useless if the current takes the right route..Luckily it came in the internet line.I think if it came through the electrical lines I may have had much worse problems...But in general I think they will help,but not if you have certain circumstances...
 
Stellar said:
wow... what kind of surge protector costs $400?

i have a ups that costs 1/4 of that
Click to expand...
and Im sure mine will suppress quite a few more joules than yours..You get what you pay for...........check your joule rating and what they will cover money wise for you if it doesnt work...
 
yevaud said:
Too bad you didn't have a flux capacitor in the line, you could have gone back to 1985. :p

As far as figuring out what is bad/good on your pc, first thing I would do is extract the power supply, then get a cheap $10 buck power supply tester and check it out. My money is on a blown PSU fuse. Very unlikely that all the hardware in the box is lost.
Click to expand...
Yea ,I first replaced the psu but no luck..Turns out it was the motherboard...200 bucks and everything is working again......
 
rtazz17 said:
I dont think its possible to protect 100%.If lightning lands 4 feet from your house as in my case ,a surge protector will be useless if the current takes the right route.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right - you can't eliminate the risk; you can reduce it.
 
rtazz17 said:
and Im sure mine will suppress quite a few more joules than yours..You get what you pay for...........check your joule rating and what they will cover money wise for you if it doesnt work...
Click to expand...

so you basically purchased a $400 insurance policy for your computer from electrical surges? how does that work?

my renter's insurance is $120/yr for $15,000 :confused:

this is the UPS that I have..
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BK500 1020 joules, $100,000 equipment protection policy

the most expensive surge protector that APC offers is $39.99 on their website..
 
Stellar said:
so you basically purchased a $400 insurance policy for your computer from electrical surges? how does that work?

my renter's insurance is $120/yr for $15,000 :confused:

this is the UPS that I have..
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BK500 1020 joules, $100,000 equipment protection policy

the most expensive surge protector that APC offers is $39.99 on their website..
Click to expand...

I own a home,homeowners insurance 900 a year for 400,000 in coverage.Deductable is more than 400...Insurance is only going to cover reasonable expenses beyond deductable, and all pc equipments value decreases immediately...To only pay 40 bucks for a surge protector for a pc that costs 2500 is not smart..The components in a 40 dollar surge protector may be able to take a small hit ,and will wear over time.The only time you will be aware that your surge protector didnt work will be when your pc is dead...The components wear inside from surges and it takes less and less joules to surge past..Keep what you have,especially if your pc isnt worth much.But dont complain if your pc dies and the surge protector you have (the manufaturer)doesnt stand behind it or is no where to be found.And If memory serves me right ,back when I had renters insurance,(15 yrs ago).I dont believe you would be covered for lightning strikes..........
 
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7179974&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat72100050012&id=1110267219655
rtazz17 said:
I own a home,homeowners insurance 900 a year for 400,000 in coverage.Deductable is more than 400...Insurance is only going to cover reasonable expenses beyond deductable, and all pc equipments value decreases immediately...To only pay 40 bucks for a surge protector for a pc that costs 2500 is not smart..The components in a 40 dollar surge protector may be able to take a small hit ,and will wear over time.The only time you will be aware that your surge protector didnt work will be when your pc is dead...The components wear inside from surges and it takes less and less joules to surge past..Keep what you have,especially if your pc isnt worth much.But dont complain if your pc dies and the surge protector you have (the manufaturer)doesnt stand behind it or is no where to be found.And If memory serves me right ,back when I had renters insurance,(15 yrs ago).I dont believe you would be covered for lightning strikes..........
Click to expand...
heres mine,much higher joule rating,with many more outlets and internet connections.I also have a hd tv connected..
 
Grounding rod FTW..... other than that I would check the wiring in the house to make sure that there is no faulty wiring, and that the outlets are properly grounded, surge protectors can't work properly if your wiring is messed up.

And trying to claim a faulty surge protector is a royal pain, it usually invovles sending the surge to the manufacturer and they have their engineers tear it apart and make the determination of what caused it's failure, and as I stated above, surge protectors can't work properly if your wiring is messed up, and that is the most common reason why surge protectors fail.
 
tazzmissionx said:
Grounding rod FTW..... other than that I would check the wiring in the house to make sure that there is no faulty wiring, and that the outlets are properly grounded, surge protectors can't work properly if your wiring is messed up.
Click to expand...
it came in through the internet line ,which wasnt plugged into surge protector...
 
The majority of fried computers from lighting I see do not come from the Power Lines.

Rather it comes from Modem Lines, Cable Connections, etc...

THEnumber337 said:
Did you not get a surge protector? A year or so ago I had my Xbox get fried by a power surge that killed a big tree right outside my house. I did not have a surge protector on the xbox but I had one on my desktop. Were you in the room when it happened? When my Xbox got fried the distinct smell of burning filled my room, I was afraid it was my computer but it worked fine and I didn't find out about the Xbox until later that night when I went to power it on.

Just like stryker said, I'd try to find someone with similar components that would let me test my components had that happened. Have you tried clearing the CMOS? I suppose it's worth a shot. Also, you can probably check with your insurance company to see if they cover damages caused by lightning.
Click to expand...
 
TechLarry said:
The majority of fried computers from lighting I see do not come from the Power Lines.

Rather it comes from Modem Lines, Cable Connections, etc...
Click to expand...
yea,it makes sense but For some reason I just bypassed the rj45 line on the surge protector...Funny though,the comcast modem didnt fry,just the router and pc....(must have some good ass resistors in it...lol)
 
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