Question Lightning strike and the computer won't start

jbander

Junior Member
Sep 13, 2021
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It was raining and the power went out in the house and right after that the computer will no longer start, whats the odds of it being the power supply , I could change tha myselft. Thanks
 

pcgeek11

Lifer
Jun 12, 2005
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It was raining and the power went out in the house and right after that the computer will no longer start, whats the odds of it being the power supply , I could change tha myselft. Thanks


The odds are as good it is a power supply as it is anything else... maybe even better.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
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Happened to a neighbor lady that I just spoke to yesterday. She had some older OEM PC, maybe a Dell, maybe an HP or something, it was so long ago that I don't remember. We had a thunder+lightenining storm, and after that, her PC wouldn't turn on. I replace the PSU with a good ole' Rosewill 400W ATX PSU (thankfully, PSU on that PC was a standard type), and it was working again. (*She paid me for the PSU and fixing it.)

So, yeah, odds are fairly good that the PSU took the brunt of the damage. However, be aware that, as with all things lightning-related and electronic, there may be more and unforeseen damage that shows up later on. That said, if you replace the PSU, and it POSTs and boots Windows again, you're probably good to go.
 
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mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
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Before replacing it, I'd at least unplug from the wall outlet for a minute then plug back in and try it. Some PSU in an out of bounds condition won't start again until AC power is removed (or flip the on/off switch on the back if it has one, making sure it is the on/off switch not the recessed 110/220V switch IF one is present).
 
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