Electrical Spike takes out PC! Something is dead, aready replaced the PSU!

GLO · 03-September-05, 08:11 AM

My brothers PC died after an electrical thunderstorm hit the power grid in his area. Numerous TV dead, plus countless Microwaves, VCRs and PCs are the casualty from this storm.

I have his PC now and the psu is dead, but the HDD, CDRW and DVD drive survived (not sure about the RAM). The cpu fan runs, but it will not post. I have removed the HDD, and am trying to get to the bios to see what does or doesnt work, but i cant get in.

Would the CPU fan still run if the mobo was dead?

What do you think is the problem and what is the most economical fix?

Thanks

Slaymate · 03-September-05, 09:41 AM

If the mobo is dead then you won't get anything normally. That's what dead means. I have seen many injured boards (a dead slot, internal audio out, etc...) but they didn't get struck by lighting. If the strike came thru the power outlet and fried the P/S, hopefully if it killed the mobo it just melted the traces at the power connector. In which case all the other parts are probably ok. You should be able to see the scorched areas of the board. Anything close is probably dead.

GLO · 03-September-05, 10:06 AM

Ok, i just tested the original psu and that is working fine.

So now i have to think, its an injured mobo, or a dead cpu?

If the CPU is dead, would the mobo survived the power spike? I cant see any scorched areas on the mobo.
And it wont post either (or at least as far as i can tell!)

Slaymate · 03-September-05, 10:14 AM

The spike had to reach the computer somehow. Usually it's either thru the powerline, phone line or cable.. If the p/s is good then it probaby hit the modem or Network adapter. Pull them out (an internal network could be fatal) and try it. If it's still dead then the mobo is fried. This doesn't mean the CPU is good but hopefully it is.

03-September-05, 08:11 AM		#1 (permalink)
GLO Apex Tech Fanatic	Electrical Spike takes out PC! Something is dead, aready replaced the PSU! My brothers PC died after an electrical thunderstorm hit the power grid in his area. Numerous TV dead, plus countless Microwaves, VCRs and PCs are the casualty from this storm. I have his PC now and the psu is dead, but the HDD, CDRW and DVD drive survived (not sure about the RAM). The cpu fan runs, but it will not post. I have removed the HDD, and am trying to get to the bios to see what does or doesnt work, but i cant get in. Would the CPU fan still run if the mobo was dead? What do you think is the problem and what is the most economical fix? Thanks

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03-September-05, 09:41 AM		#2 (permalink)
Slaymate PCApex Reviewer From Hell	If the mobo is dead then you won't get anything normally. That's what dead means. I have seen many injured boards (a dead slot, internal audio out, etc...) but they didn't get struck by lighting. If the strike came thru the power outlet and fried the P/S, hopefully if it killed the mobo it just melted the traces at the power connector. In which case all the other parts are probably ok. You should be able to see the scorched areas of the board. Anything close is probably dead.

03-September-05, 10:06 AM		#3 (permalink)
GLO Apex Tech Fanatic	Ok, i just tested the original psu and that is working fine. So now i have to think, its an injured mobo, or a dead cpu? If the CPU is dead, would the mobo survived the power spike? I cant see any scorched areas on the mobo. And it wont post either (or at least as far as i can tell!)

03-September-05, 10:14 AM		#4 (permalink)
Slaymate PCApex Reviewer From Hell	The spike had to reach the computer somehow. Usually it's either thru the powerline, phone line or cable.. If the p/s is good then it probaby hit the modem or Network adapter. Pull them out (an internal network could be fatal) and try it. If it's still dead then the mobo is fried. This doesn't mean the CPU is good but hopefully it is.