Question:
Our house was hit by lightning and now my Dell desktop computer won’t come on. I can’t understand how it was damaged because I always unplug it from the wall before leaving for work in the mornings. The monitor and printer seem to be ok (I tried them on another computer) but my cable modem and router are fried to a crisp and so is the surge protector they were plugged into.
My question is can the computer be fixed? And if it can, will it be expensive? I can easily replace the router and cable modem, but the PC cost over $1000 just a little over a year ago. –Kim Whieleg
Answer:
Kim, since the PC itself was unplugged from the wall but the modem and router were both fried, it’s highly likely that the lightning surge traveled from the modem to the router and then through the Ethernet cable to the PC. Actually, you would have had a better chance at a relatively cheap repair had it come in to the PC through the power supply instead of the Ethernet port. Had the surge hit the computer’s power supply, there’s a good chance that only the power supply itself would have been fried, and replacing it would have fixed the computer. I’ve seen that happen many times over the years.
In your case the surge came in through the Ethernet port which means the motherboard took a direct hit, likely damaging it along with many of the critical components attached to it. It won’t hurt to spend a few bucks and have it checked out by a PC technician just to be sure, but I’m almost certain that you’ll be told that the repairs won’t be worth the expense. Sorry to say, it’s probably time for a new computer.
Here are a few things to consider for the future:
Lightning is an extremely powerful electrical force which can jump across switch contacts and take out a device even when it’s turned off. The only way to truly protect your computer equipment from an impending lightning strike is to unplug EVERYTHING that comes into the house from the outside. This includes all power cables, cable Internet wires, satellite wires (if you have a satellite Internet connection), and telephone wires (if you happen to have DSL). The only exception is a fiber optic connection since those are completely immune to power surges.
If you can afford it, I recommend that you purchase two high quality UPS devices. Don’t get the cheap ones that offer limited protection. Instead, buy a couple that offer true power line conditioning and surge protection. Plug your desktop box and printer into one UPS then connect the monitor, cable modem and router into the other one. That way you’ll still be pretty well protected from loss even if you forget to unplug something. Just remember that you will still need to unplug the cable, satellite or telephone wire before leaving home if there is even a slight chance of a thunderstorm visiting your neighborhood.
As you found out in this case, everything that is connected together via cables is subject to being damaged from lightning even if the surge only enters one device from the outside.
About the author: Rick Rouse is the owner of RLROUSE.COM. He is also an A+ Certified computer technician with over 30 years of experience in the computer industry. Do you have a computer question that you’d like to have answered? Send it in and we’ll answer it right here (and via email as well).
Credits: Photo courtesy of Mek Kormik.