Lightning struck my comp, what to do?

[Ocek]

Just as the topic says; insanly bad luck! But what do I do now? When i plug the comp back in and press start you can actually hear the comp buzzing but it wont start or blink or anything. Luckily this i my old comp that I rarely use so there is no insurance or anything and i'd say it's really worthless by todays standards but is there someway I can 'save' my HDD or get it back working by fixing a new part or something?

(2.0ghz, 1gig RAM 128MB grapics, Win XP)

Thanks!

 

[Jonathan_King]

You can try pulling out the hard drive and sticking it in a different machine.

Hopefully all the lightning fried was your power supply. There's a good chance your mobo is fried too though.

Cross your fingers, and hope the hard drive is fine.

 

[Mellon Head]

You might be able to save the HDD's. Unless it was a direct strike, a large surge will normally take out the PSU first. Not to say it doesn't damage the drives, but you may be able to take them to another machine and recover the data that is on them.

If you have another PSU around the house, try hooking that up to the machine. It might work, or it might not if your motherboard is fried as well.

If the drives are still usable, you may not want to use them for an OS or critical data anymore. They may not be reliable. If you don't have a surge protector, it might be time to pick one up.

 

[Adrian]

Just as the topic says; insanly bad luck! But what do I do now? When i plug the comp back in and press start you can actually hear the comp
Thanks!

Unlucky there. Depending on if you had surge protection there are several possibilities to chase down. But if its the HDD you are trying to get data from your best bet is to install it in a working PC. Depending on the age of the HDD will determine the connection.

 

[westom]

When i plug the comp back in and press start you can actually hear the comp buzzing but it wont start or blink or anything.

If no facts exist, then others will recommend swapping parts until something works. That creates confusion, can create further problems, and spends money replacing perfectly good parts.

Or you can disconnect and swap nothing. Take a few measurements with a multimeter (one minute), post those numbers, and then have answers that say what you actually have.

First learn (using numbers and the meter) what is or is not defective. Then consider disconnecting a wire or replacing a part. Without those numbers, the few who seriously know this stuff cannot post a reply.

A multimeter can be borrowed from a friend. Or bought in most any store that also sells hammers - typically for about the same prices as a hammer. These meters are so ubiquitous as to be sold even in Kmart. A best price is usually Wal-Mart - about $18.

Simply set the meter to 20 VDC. Follow wires from the supply to a nylon connector on the motherboard. Push the probe into the connector to touch the purple wire. That should measure about 5 volts. Record that number to three digits.

Measure the green wire both before and when the power switch is pressed. That upper and dropping voltage recorded. Do same for the gray wire. That increasing voltage recorded both before and when the power switch is pressed. That rising voltage will typically be one second delayed.

And finally, record the voltage on any one red, orange, and yellow wire as and after the power switch is pressed.

These numbers will report definitively a long list of components throughout the machine. If posted, you will also learn simple concepts of a computer power on. No numbers means a reply can only be wild speculation. Get a 3.5 digit multimeter.

 

[CarlTR6]

I can tell you from experience that even when you replace the parts that show up defective now, others can and will fail down the road - depending on the intensity of the strike. You need to check every component. Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[fishnbanjo]

One thing I'd try and that would be totally disconnect everything from the PC except, CRT, video card, keyboard and mouse and try to boot it from there. As has been said generally the PSU and Mobo get fried but if the PC was shut down and on a good power strip then it might not be totally lost.

If you get nothing doing this and your drives are IDE and you don't have IDE interface in another PC you can always try an external IDE drive enclosure with USB interface and see if the data is accessible.

 

[Ocek]

Wow, i really appreciate you guyes fast replies! As I said before my comp isn't really worth spending any money on it since it is used less then 1 day a week. Anyway i'll try taking out the HDD and hooking it up to another comp. Any risk of getting a jolt or spark while doing this? Furthermore the parts are not worth anything comparing to todays standards, guess i'll just throw it away. To bad on a great comp that never faild me in over 7 years! (Yes, it was insane when i bought it back then!)

 

[Win7User512]

I was incredibly lucky once. Lightning hit when I had my laptop plugged in. Thankfully the only component that was fried was the ethernet port. A PCM card gave me back an ethernet connection.

I wish you the best.

 

[karlsnooks]

Wow, i really appreciate you guyes fast replies! As I said before my comp isn't really worth spending any money on it since it is used less then 1 day a week. Anyway i'll try taking out the HDD and hooking it up to another comp. Any risk of getting a jolt or spark while doing this? Furthermore the parts are not worth anything comparing to todays standards, guess i'll just throw it away. To bad on a great comp that never faild me in over 7 years! (Yes, it was insane when i bought it back then!)

Now I know that it is closing the barn door after the cows got out but---in the future, the only safe protection, without spending a small fortune, is to disconnect your computer when a lightning storm is brewing.

Some of the people have evidently not lived thru and lived in an area of severe lightning storms.

Some, but still not complete, protection can be obtained by asking your local licensed electrician for his recommendations. Good lightning protection is not cheap and even amongst the experts you will find different recommendations. I forget all of the names of true quality equipment in this area but Siemens is one of them.

Then after doing that, you need a good UPS--mainly to buffer you between that surge coming down the power line. Still power cords can pickup an unbelievably strong surge pulse. Without going into a long dissertation, if you have an older licensed electrician around, ask him for his advice and experiences.

Personally, I would salvage the data from the drive in the old computer and then use the relic for a doorstop or boat anchor.

 

[kodi]

It depends on you what you want to do, but I love messing around with computers and would find this as a chance to work on something that if it all goes pearshape you have lost nothing but you may gain some knowledge .
I would go out and buy a CHEAP GENERIC power supply and put it in, if it works thats terrific you have your computer back.
If it doesn't you have only lost a few dollars (you can save the power supply as a spare test one.

 

[westom]

Any risk of getting a jolt or spark while doing this?

One minute with that meter would teach that answer. What is always required to have an informed answer? The 'why'. Very little changes in a computer over ten years. Mostly it only becomes faster. What you learn from this old computer applies to your every new computer and to computers even five years from now. Much of what was in the original IBM PC is still in your computers – simply upgraded.

To answer your question without learning why: disconnect the power cord from a wall receptacle if you swap or disconnect anything. Nothing in there will harm you. But not disconnecting AC may mean more hardware damage.

Learning technology would also expose that UPS recommendation as completely bogus. An example of what so many know only because they believe what they were ordered to believe. Never learned the underlying technology - the reasons 'why'. A typical UPS is no buffer. It connects a computer directly to AC mains when not in battery backup mode. It does not even claim effective protection in its numeric specs. Examples of why so many only know popular myths due to not learning facts - especially the numbers. Where is the number for that UPS that claims hardware protection? Will never be provided because that recommendation is based in hearsay. Wild speculation popular because so many never learn the underlying facts – the reasons why.

You can learn far more with a meter than if buying anything else - even a cheap power supply. The number one reason for fixing something was never to save money. #1 reason - to learn.

 

[Mellon Head]

Learning technology would also expose that UPS recommendation as completely bogus. An example of what so many know only because they believe what they were ordered to believe. Never learned the underlying technology - the reasons 'why'. A typical UPS is no buffer. It connects a computer directly to AC mains when not in battery backup mode. It does not even claim effective protection in its numeric specs.

Well, I have to disagree with you there. A UPS is one of the best AC surge/ripple filters there is, in most cases. "Why?" you ask? Without getting into a long discussion on electrical theory and circuitry, it's because with most of the good ones, the AC is basically "strapped" across the battery. Normally, the incoming AC is converted (rectified) into DC, where it charges the battery. That voltage is then converted back to AC to run the computer and anything else plugged into it. Manufacturers do this to reduce the complexity of the UPS. Why have two filter systems, and two separate voltage paths? Using the already existing circuitry gives the added bonus of surge and ripple protection. Batteries are great levelers of ripple and surge current. Hardly "bogus", if you ask me.

And, btw, nothing relatively affordable can protect you from a close lightning strike. Particularly if it hits nearby power lines, or the AC wiring in the house. Even with a really good UPS or surge protector, you can probably kiss your electronic items goodbye. These things are not designed to protect against lightning. They are made to protect against occasional surges and spikes on the power grid.

You can learn far more with a meter than if buying anything else - even a cheap power supply. The number one reason for fixing something was never to save money. #1 reason - to learn.

Handing someone who has no practical electrical knowledge a meter is like handing the keys to a car to someone who has never driven one. No offense meant to the OP here, but he has already expressed concerns about getting a shock from his machine if he opens it. That suggests to me that he doesn't know a lot about electricity, and is nervous about it. There's nothing wrong with that, at all. I wish more people were more cautious with electricity. What is the OP really going to get from measuring his dead PSU? What if the lightning shorted something in the PSU, and put AC on the 12V rail? Someone untrained, or inexperienced could find themselves with a nasty shock, and your instructions earlier in the thread are incorrect. You forgot to tell him to ground the meter, rendering any measurements that are taken completely worthless.

Better advice has already been given by others, and myself. Try a different PSU, and if it still doesn't work, oh well. Maybe the data on the drives can be saved. If the OP wants to probe around inside his PC, then sure, but if he isn't comfortable, then asking a knowledgeable friend for some guidance and help would be better than the advice you've given him.

 

[karlsnooks]

MellonHead,

I'm with you.

I also have a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.
I have worked for a company that made a primitive UPS, but still it did perform a filtering function although that was not the reason for building the product.

 

[Mellon Head]

MellonHead,

I'm with you.

I also have a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.
I have worked for a company that made a primitive UPS, but still it did perform a filtering function although that was not the reason for building the product.

Oh, good. I thought I was ranting to the wind.

The company I work for provides UPS systems (second source) to end customers as part of systems. Some of the technology being used in the newer ones is really quite innovative, and it's reasonably affordable, as well.

 

[Tepid]

First and foremost,, I agree about the whole multimeter bit with an inexperienced user. Just don't do it, if you don't feel comfortable.

The PSU is most likely bad as has been stated.

With the PC unplugged, You will want to pull components and check them for char marks. Trust me, electricity can do very strange things. I had a bad Video card that worked for about a year after a lightening strike that blew out my PSU, but then the system started Blue Screening,, when I checked the Video card, it had been hit also. I also lost my NIC on my laptop in that hit among other things.

It is a very good chance that the Hard Drives and data are fine. But again, electricity does strange things.

Replace PSU, and test, check other components with PC unplugged. You will be fine. You can do it,, just take your time and be observant of how things are put together. You may have to replace more or less than you think. Do not be surprised however, if you start having other issues down the road.

 

[karlsnooks]

Mellon Head,
They can be worth their weight in gold if you're in an area (or a building) with electrical spikes/surges.

Do you mind me asking for your recommendation when one is only faced with protecting a personal computer system?

 

[swarfega]

Id seriously consider taking this to a repair shop where they have the tools to see whats still working and repair or replace components as needed.

 

[fishnbanjo]

Nothing is good enough protection when a direct hit from lightning is concerned save having the electrical device disconnected from the power source. Some places simply have the right conditions to attract lightning more than others.

When we installed the 24/7/365 Security Zone Systems for special areas at our facility understanding where, historically, lightning had struck in the past we had to do some site evaluations to setup the triangulating antenna system required to ensure no security zone was left uncovered.

We identified all the bldg's which would be of benefit to the triangulation and blanket of coverage and one bldg in particular got struck 2-3 times during the summer months each year. We had to use this bldg for a series of the antennae due to its location and the fact it was the tallest bldg.

We used a sacrificial series of masts which were quite a bit longer than our antenna array and grounded, the system worked quite well and gave us a buffer of protection.

We also used UPS systems to protect our computer based systems but as I already stated nothing is as well protected from a direct hit unless it is physically disconnected from the power source taking the hit. With that in mind our circuits were protected with MOV banks. An MOV is a Metal Oxide Varistor, see schematic.

Essentially an MOV needs very little excitation to employ and this removes the devices downstream from the working electrical circuit. MOV's are available for home circuit use and a reasonably good one costs around $20. I use MOV's where anything electronic is that I wish to give some buffer of protection to understanding nothing is as safe as not being connected but the MOV is a close second. Some very good surge protectors have an MOV built in as do high end UPS's.

 

[Lomai]

Thanks all for this interesting thread.
To the OP - your call and hope things work out

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown