PC Struck by lightning?

[JordanNaylor]

I work for a computer insurance repair specialist and often get PC's in with power surges due to lightning strikes. The power supply, CPU, hard drives etc is fine, but the Ethernet ports are more often than not, melted to mush or have blown the corresponding chips on the motherboard. So, if you're in a heavy thunderstorm, id simply advise you to unplug any Ethernet from your network ports and go offline-gaming for a while. If you are wireless, you'll be fine. Phone lines are often less protected than mains power.

[euniqe]

I work for a computer insurance repair specialist and often get PC's in with power surges due to lightning strikes. The power supply, CPU, hard drives etc is fine, but the Ethernet ports are more often than not, melted to mush or have blown the corresponding chips on the motherboard. So, if you're in a heavy thunderstorm, id simply advise you to unplug any Ethernet from your network ports and go offline-gaming for a while. If you are wireless, you'll be fine. Phone lines are often less protected than mains power.

this is true I reckon, I remember in Italy during a lightning storm literally overhead (loudest sound I ever heard) an old-ish home-phone would ring for a split second then BAAANNNNG as the lightning struck. Meanwhile all the lights in the house stayed perfectly lit, nothing shorted out, turned off etc.

[kel619]

Lightning strikes hit PCs, its not that common but it happens (i`m telling you this from experience), sold my i7 920 and Gigabyte x58 board last year cus some guy`s pc was hit by lightning and needed parts ASAP, so lucky me ^^
I wouldn't let a 2000$ rig ON during a thunderstorm, id go on my slowwwwwww a** laptop.

[mcmad358]

Don't use your pc outside during a storm

[mcmad358]

Depends on your luck..

 

 

 

a ninja moves faster than lightning

I love you for this post

[Tacitus]

When I was living in Switzerland my laptop's ethernet port was broken during a thunder and lightning storm. I was living in the Alps, so I was high up in the mountains and I think lightning hit a telephone line - all of the house's power cut and the router broke. I also now use a USB wifi-dongle because I think my wireless card was damaged too.

 

The rest of the laptop is fine, however.

[Tacitus]

I work for a computer insurance repair specialist and often get PC's in with power surges due to lightning strikes. The power supply, CPU, hard drives etc is fine, but the Ethernet ports are more often than not, melted to mush or have blown the corresponding chips on the motherboard. So, if you're in a heavy thunderstorm, id simply advise you to unplug any Ethernet from your network ports and go offline-gaming for a while. If you are wireless, you'll be fine. Phone lines are often less protected than mains power.

 

I just read that (look at my post directly above). Would I be right in thinking then that the lightning that fucked my ethernet port also fucked my wifi? My wifi works, but it constantly disconnects/reconnects and I have to do the right click "troubleshoot problems" to get it working. Everything else seems to run as normal.

[Joshua Ondangan]

if you are worried grab a beer unplug your system from the wall and have a drink and get wasted by the time you wake up no more storm = yay pc time.

[westom]

Would I be right in thinking then that the lightning that fucked my ethernet port also fucked my wifi? .

 

Often the same IC that provides WiFi also provides Ethernet.  To say more requires additional facts.

 

Remember how a surge does damage.  It is electricity.  Both an incoming and an outgoing path must exist.  If a surge is incoming via ethernet, and has no outgoing path, then a surge is not incoming to that ethernet port.

 

More often, damage is incoming on AC mains.  And outgoing via a UBS, ethernet, or other path.  Often, the outgoing port is damaged; not the incoming port.  Did that path go into and out of an IC that is shared by Wifi and Ethernet?  Maybe.  And then you know where that surge current passed through. 

 

BTW, Ethernet and telephone connections are often a typical outgoing path when superior protection is installed on cable TV and telephone lines.  AC electric often does not have effective protection; is often an incoming surge path.