______Storm got this one... What parts are likey gone?______

[Blain]

A friend has two PCs that got zapped by a storm. One was running the other was shut down during the storm. Neither run now, but have different symptoms.

Rig in question...
775 P4 on G965 MB, onboard everything and 300W eMachine PS.
The CPU fan cranks up like a snow blower and never slows down.
Rig only stays powered up for about 10-15 seconds before shutting down.

* I've tried a different PS, but get different results.
With a known good PS the fan still races but pulses (like a car running out of gas).
The machine also keeps running, just doesn't boot or anything.
* I pulled the HD and can access the whole thing in a running PC.

I'm thinking the PS, MB and possibly even the CPU are gone
The fan sounds like it's getting a screwy thermal signal from the MB, CPU or maybe both.

* Without saying "just build a C2D system... Does my assessment sound reasonable?

 

[ther00kie16]

Is this the one that was on? You are right in that it's most likely some combination of those 3.
You can short the power supply and take measurements with a multimeter to see if it's working.
My guess is MB is definitely fried so check to see if any caps or other parts expired and try the CPU in another board if possible.
It's very likely that a the MB would've taken the CPU with it but it's safer to try the CPU in a different MB than to risk a working CPU in a potentially dead MB because a dead CPU won't kill a MB while a dead MB will kill a CPU.

 

[Blain]

This PC was running during the storm.
I opened the PS, didn't see or smell anything burnt.
Same with the MB, all caps look good and nothing seems burnt.

The problem is that the only spare parts I have to do a swap-check is the PS.
Replacing one thing at a time would eat up cash in labor.

I figure his HD, optical and maybe memory are all safe bets to transfer over.
I'm going to advise him to upgrade his 3GHz CedarMill to an E2180, 945G MB (because it's Intel based & cheap) as well as a rebated 430W earthwatts.
That should cover the bases for possible dead parts, give him a nice performance boost and be fairly cheap.

 

[Cutthroat]

If the surge came along the power lines, I would suspect at least the PSU, and probably the MB too would be fried. If it came through the network cables, MB would for sure be fried. I would replace the motherboards and go from there replacing parts until you get rid of all the bad parts. I would guess you should be seeing some fairly obvious burn marks.

Also suggest to your friend either a UPS or at least a good surge protector with a lightning warranty.

 

[Blain]

His internet is wireless, so I'm guessing all his problem came through the power lines.

I've told him he should install a surge set...
Delta LA-302R surge arrestor and Delta CA-302R surge capacitor.


BTW, Would his eMachine Vista install still be valid with a MB swap?

 

[Cutthroat]

Originally posted by: Blain

BTW, Would his eMachine Vista install still be valid with a MB swap?

According to the EULA the OEM would need to replace the motherboard with the same or comparible model and re-activate it themselves. Practically, you could do it, claim to be the OEM and re-activate.

If you use the exact same hardware it won't even want to be activated.

 

[Blain]

"Exact same hardware" meaning same MB model or same chipset?

 

[Cutthroat]

AFAIK, chipset only. I'm not 100% sure though.

BTW, I was googling looking for lightning damage because there's another topic on the "computer help" forum too about lightning damage. I thought this article sums it up nicely.

Lightning damage is scary, he should be glad he didn't take a direct hit

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Blain
"Exact same hardware" meaning same MB model or same chipset?

It's werked for me in XP as long as it's the same chipset - vendor did not matter. May have to reinstall specific drivers (ethernet, firewire, etc) since they may vary by vendor with the same mobo chipsets ...

Not sure with WinV.