DAMAGED COMPUTER HELP

[Stanley71]

I have a Dell computer that was damaged via electrical surge, lightning, and there was surge protection. Not all electronics were damaged apparently only the computer and TV the modem survived for some reason. The computer will not start, no lights no noise from within. The power source for the PC was 450 watts. I have a 125 watt power supply that I swapped out for the 450 watt and still nothing happens. Not sure if the lower wattage has anything to do with it not trying to start. I checked the hard drive in my portable device and that still works.

My question is do you think the motherboard is fried? If so do you think the other components are also fried, CPU, MEMORY, ETC. The CPU is a i7-6700k. Is it worth buying another motherboard on the off chance the CPU is still good. This would probably be less than the cost of bringing it somewhere for repair.
I don't know much about the inner workings of a computer but willing to give it a go if not to pricy.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[mat200]

I have a Dell computer that was damaged via electrical surge, lightning, and there was surge protection. Not all electronics were damaged apparently only the computer and TV the modem survived for some reason. The computer will not start, no lights no noise from within. The power source for the PC was 450 watts. I have a 125 watt power supply that I swapped out for the 450 watt and still nothing happens. Not sure if the lower wattage has anything to do with it not trying to start. I checked the hard drive in my portable device and that still works.

My question is do you think the motherboard is fried? If so do you think the other components are also fried, CPU, MEMORY, ETC. The CPU is a i7-6700k. Is it worth buying another motherboard on the off chance the CPU is still good. This would probably be less than the cost of bringing it somewhere for repair.
I don't know much about the inner workings of a computer but willing to give it a go if not to pricy.

Any advice would be appreciated.

HI Stanley,

Hard to tell - typically the power supply is very likely to die.

Also 125 Watt power supply is too low.. try another 450 watt one

Yes MB could also have taken the hit...

surges are never fun...

 

[fenderman]

Did you have surge protection on the network connection?
What were you using for surge protection?
If your computer is under warranty, have them come out and look at it..even if they wont cover it, they will likely diagnose it...good chance they will fix it too...

 

[Stanley71]

Thanks for the quick response. The surge protector was an older tp- Linx, not cheap. I have replaced all my surge protectors with Belkins, with 8 foot cords. I read the cords should be a least 8 feet long. To be fair it was quite a strike, over $10,000 in damage to other items through my house.

Me being a bit to honest, some say stupid, I contacted Dell but mentioned Lightening in the conversation and that's all they heard and said sorry not covered. Still working on that but I'm getting tired of the whole ordeal and would rather move on. Another lesson learned.

 

[fenderman]

Thanks for the quick response. The surge protector was an older tp- Linx, not cheap. I have replaced all my surge protectors with Belkins, with 8 foot cords. I read the cords should be a least 8 feet long. To be fair it was quite a strike, over $10,000 in damage to other items through my house.

Me being a bit to honest, some say stupid, I contacted Dell but mentioned Lightening in the conversation and that's all they heard and said sorry not covered. Still working on that but I'm getting tired of the whole ordeal and would rather move on. Another lesson learned.

how old is the system? if less than 90-120 days it may be covered by your credit cards accidental damage protection..

 

[weigle2]

That's a real downer. Please don't take this the wrong way, but surge protectors are a waste of time if you expect them to protect electronics from a lightning strike. It's just too much to ask. Only way to really guard (and even this has no guarantee) is a whole house surge protection system on the main line coming in to the house. Not cheap, but for my neighbor, it worked well. Systems like this go directly to ground to dissipate the lightning strike. Even with a whole house system, a direct strike to the house will fry most everything, depending on where it hits.

For the computer, get a new power supply after you open the computer up, and look at both sides of the main board. Especially where the ethernet cable and power supply cables attach to the main board. Motherboards generally are pretty easy to remove/replace.

 

[fenderman]

That's a real downer. Please don't take this the wrong way, but surge protectors are a waste of time if you expect them to protect electronics from a lightning strike. It's just too much to ask. Only way to really guard (and even this has no guarantee) is a whole house surge protection system on the main line coming in to the house. Not cheap, but for my neighbor, it worked well. Systems like this go directly to ground to dissipate the lightning strike. Even with a whole house system, a direct strike to the house will fry most everything, depending on where it hits.

For the computer, get a new power supply after you open the computer up, and look at both sides of the main board. Especially where the ethernet cable and power supply cables attach to the main board. Motherboards generally are pretty easy to remove/replace.

surge protectors are not a waste of time...they wont work for the hardest hits but they certainly do protect electronics from the lesser strikes..Only an idiot would plug something directly into the wall...the a better/newer protector (yes they degrade over time) may have helped.

 

[TonyR]

About 5 years ago I put a client's Acer PC on a new Belkin surge protector with a $20k surge protection guarantee on it. I made sure the outlet was grounded. Six months later she got hit, the motherboard in the Acer fried. I replaced the m/b, Acer running OK, gave her a printed invoice with my company info on it and what I found, did, etc. She filed a claim with Belkin and 2 months later received a check, reimbursing her for my field call, m/b replacement, shop labor, etc. the whole 9 yards.