Posted on 06/27/2011 9:23:14 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
I always make sure my computer is unplugged and unhooked during thunderstorms, but yesterday I thought all we were having was a slow, steady rain with an occasional rumble of thunder off in the distance. As if!
Suddenly the power went off accompanied by the sound of a string of firecrackers going off in the wall outlet my computer was plugged into. When the power came back on later my computer was dead. Tbe monitor, speakers, and modem still work (at least the modem still comes on), but the tower was dead as a doornail. Fortunately, there seems to have been no damage to anything else in the house, thank G-d!
While I just put my computer in the shop, the simple fact is I don't know when I'll be able to go online from home again (I'm at the public library). We're moving and things are going to be absolute chaos (I just hope I will have high speed access wherever we wind up). So I've got an awful lot on my plate right now.
Anyway, thanks to everyone at FR for their support and for being so nice. Hope to see you all again soon.
ALWAYS have your computer and peripherals plugged into a power strip with a circuit breaker in it. That way the fuse pops, not your computer.
If you do not do this you may as well just throw money out the window.
Good luck with the moving. When you get everything taken care of and back online, we’ll all be here with our dark humor, groaning about our Thug-in-Chief, pointing out the lastest stupidity from DU, laughing at Darwin Award aspirants, and calling your favorite GOP Presidential candidate a RINO. :-D
Thanks for letting us know.
I have an APC battery backup/multiple surge protector setup. Very thankful for it. Need to route the phone line through it.
May G_d give you His mercies in your move.
If you do not do this you may as well just throw money out the window.
My computer is plugged into a power strip. It saved everything except the tower, which blew out.
Battery backup-only way to go, esp. in lightning prone areas.
It happened at my house about 5 years ago and came in though the TV cable, hit the modem and then back into the wall circuit the modem was plugged into.
Fried a couple of Televisions, DVD players, freezer, clocks, and a few other things plugged into that circuit.
I invested in an APC battery backup for my home computer several years ago. My small town frequently has electric glitches. Sometimes they shut the entire electric units off; other times, they only seem to hit the computer.
My APC cost about $40 at Walmart. It gives me a few moments warning if the electricity goes out. That is time to be sure to save any open files. Also, it protects the system from power surges.
The unit also has extra outlets. I keep a low-wattage lamp plugged into one socket. That comes in handy at night, if the electricity goes out.
I have had 2 computers burn out over the years. The APC is worth the $$$.
That's good for protecting nonessential power-hungry peripherals, but doesn't protect your work/unsaved data.
For less than $100--half that for a simple home PC--you can buy a battery back up that not only clamps at least as well as, and usually better than a surge protector strip; but also gives you time to save and shut down if the power goes out.
Usually software & a cable is included to automatically initiate the shut down if you're away from the machine.
Plug the printer & scanner or whatever into a fused clamping plug strip; the computer, monitor, and any external modem or drives into the UPS.
Netbook.
Cheap. Very portable during the move. Long battery life.
Used laptop.
Cheap. Very portable during the move. Probably will have built in modem and Wifi to be used with POTS now or high speed modem when you get moved.
Then either it didn’t have a fuse in it or it was already blown. The battery backup idea is definitely the best idea.
We’re on dialup in the remote area where we are. Have had don’t know how many modems to blow from lightning strikes in the past few years. We’ve taken to upplugging everything when a storm brews up; especially the jack plugin at the back of the tower. So far so good on the few times we’ve missed unplugging lately. It’s a sort of pain; but what isn’t? :o) Twinkie
Despite what others may be telling you, circuit breakers and such are not positive protection against lightning strikes. At least not the relatively inexpensive ones you’re likely to see at Best Buy.
They’ll work most of the time, and are much better than nothing, but lightning sometimes does weird stuff and will blow straight through.
Look into battery backups (UPS systems) they often come with a guarantee for damage.
Being rural I would never be without one. They also eliminate all surges and regulate the voltage going to your computer.
Good luck with your move.
Hi, sorry about your trouble, and good luck on the moving.
Although we always had a protective power strip, we didn’t get full protection during thunder storms until we unplugged the phone line for the dial-up connection. Yes we are the last people in WI to have a dial-up. (sarc)
We had the tower get zapped twice before we started taking the extra measure of taking the wall end of the phone line out of the little plug.
Seems that the lightning had enough of an effect on the phone line that it would sneak right up into the tower and zap out that portion of it. We never lost use of the rest of the tower, just the connectivity part.
It was a moderately expensive lesson, but you won’t find our phone line connected to the tower during a lightning strike anymore.
Cheers!
Finally bought a ZeroSurge to protect my computer and some impossible to replace HiFi equipment (Sansui 1970's Quad Amp worth over $1000). The ZeroSurge withstood a copper stealing ground wire incident at a nearby rural substation that put over 2,000 volts on some of my home's outlets.
See ZeroSurge for some info. Also click on the "Surge Suppression Information" dropdown for detailed info on MOV failure rates and the like. No, I don't have any money in the company and their sales seem largely by word of mouth.
Regards
I had something similar happen to me I was using a regular power strip, without a surge protector (stupid). A lightning strike killed my modem, my answering machine, my upstairs TV, and a couple of other things. The modem was replaced, and the computer was OK, thank goodness. I now live in an area that rarely even gets thunderstorms, but my electronics are protected to the hilt.
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