Computer wont turn on after lightning strike.

Geoffrey70 · 07-22-2009, 02:43 PM

A neighbors tree was struck by lightning Saturday and it got half of the neighborhoods phone lines. After the strike my computer was still running so I shut it down and unplugged it from the wall. Later when I tried to turn it on I’m getting nothing. What are possible things I should check? I’m guessing it may have damaged the motherboard, but it seems odd to me that it stayed running after it got hit. Thanks for your help.

GA-EP45-UD3R
E5200
G Skill DDR2 800
Seagate 250GB HD
Corsair 400w PS

Power was plugged into a surge suppressor, but phone lines were not.

**johnb35** · 07-22-2009, 05:58 PM

I would say the surge came in through the phone line and killed your computer that way. Most likely it could just be a bad motherboard, won't know until you start diagnosing with extra parts.

aviation_man · 07-24-2009, 05:12 AM

Start the process of elimination (Like Johnb35 said)
Pull out the PSU, put in a different one.. stuff like that.

Pleeeease! · 07-24-2009, 05:28 AM

There's a 90% chance that yup, your mobo is gone. Get in there and disconnect EVERYTHING. Only things hooked up should be the power chord to power supply, the power to the mobo, the video cable to the monitor, and your mouse and keyboard. Now you'll know if it's your mobo for sure (it's rare, but sometimes the cpu goes clunk also).

If it doesn't respond then time to replace mobo (probably easiest just to find a combo and get a new mobo with cpu in there). If it does respond then start adding your drives and other peripherals.

Best of luck!

Geoffrey70 · 07-24-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aviation_man

Start the process of elimination (Like Johnb35 said)
Pull out the PSU, put in a different one.. stuff like that.

I would love to do that, only problem is I dont have a spare computer to swap parts with. All the parts I'll be replacing will have to be ordered and I'd like to not replace any parts that dont need to be. Thanks though.

Jonyboy · 07-24-2009, 04:08 PM

I had lightening roll over this morning and my mac turned on from sleep (something that's happened before when i've turned on a hair dryer). So I thought I best turn it off and unplug it.

ScottALot · 07-25-2009, 03:11 AM

ON TOPIC: Get a surge protector just in case.

OFF TOPIC: There's LIGHTNING OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW!

07-22-2009, 02:43 PM	#1
Geoffrey70 Byte Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 14	Computer wont turn on after lightning strike. A neighbors tree was struck by lightning Saturday and it got half of the neighborhoods phone lines. After the strike my computer was still running so I shut it down and unplugged it from the wall. Later when I tried to turn it on I’m getting nothing. What are possible things I should check? I’m guessing it may have damaged the motherboard, but it seems odd to me that it stayed running after it got hit. Thanks for your help. GA-EP45-UD3R E5200 G Skill DDR2 800 Seagate 250GB HD Corsair 400w PS Power was plugged into a surge suppressor, but phone lines were not. __________________ Cooler Master HAF GA-EP45-UD3R Pentium E5200 4GB DDR2 800

07-22-2009, 05:58 PM	#2
johnb35 Malware and Spam Assassin Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Morris, Illinois Age: 42 Posts: 25,583	I would say the surge came in through the phone line and killed your computer that way. Most likely it could just be a bad motherboard, won't know until you start diagnosing with extra parts. __________________ MB - Gigabyte 970A-UD3 \|\| CPU - FX8350\|\| PSU - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W \|\| Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 \|\| GPU - Sapphire HD6870 1GB \|\| HDD's - 500GB SATA III WD Caviar Black, 64gb SATA III Crucial SSD, 120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD\|\| Monitor - ASUS VE278Q Black 27" 1920x1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight \|\| OS - Dual boot XP and 7 \|\| Case - Cooler Master HAF 912 \|\| Cpu cooler - CM Hyper 212 Plus

07-24-2009, 05:12 AM	#3
aviation_man Terabyte Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Somewhereland Posts: 2,452	Start the process of elimination (Like Johnb35 said) Pull out the PSU, put in a different one.. stuff like that. __________________ OSWindows 7 CPU>AMD Phenom x4 3.1GHz Black Edition 9950MOBO ASUS M3A78-EMRAM>CORSAIR DOMINATORX DDR2 1066MHz 4GBHDD>Western Digital 75GB> Maxtor 150GB--HDD2>Seagate 500GBGPU> ATI Radeon HD 3200 Winner of Photo Tournament: In The Moment, Kitchen Items, Christmas Stuff and Depth of Field FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND:F@H Team 44358

07-24-2009, 05:28 AM	#4
Pleeeease! Byte Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 36	I've unfortunately had this issue too many times. There's a 90% chance that yup, your mobo is gone. Get in there and disconnect EVERYTHING. Only things hooked up should be the power chord to power supply, the power to the mobo, the video cable to the monitor, and your mouse and keyboard. Now you'll know if it's your mobo for sure (it's rare, but sometimes the cpu goes clunk also). If it doesn't respond then time to replace mobo (probably easiest just to find a combo and get a new mobo with cpu in there). If it does respond then start adding your drives and other peripherals. Best of luck!

07-24-2009, 04:08 PM	#6
Jonyboy Kilobyte Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 315	I had lightening roll over this morning and my mac turned on from sleep (something that's happened before when i've turned on a hair dryer). So I thought I best turn it off and unplug it. __________________ http://piratepasta.com/ - my blog on memes and technology

07-25-2009, 03:11 AM	#7
ScottALot Terabyte Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Keesler AFB, MS Age: 19 Posts: 4,540	ON TOPIC: Get a surge protector just in case. OFF TOPIC: There's LIGHTNING OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW! __________________ HEATWARE Winner of June 2012's Unofficial CF Rig of the month!

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