Re: Should I buy a new motherboard if lightning hit my computer?
- From: "w_tom" <w_tom1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 11 Oct 2005 12:09:31 -0700
To determine what is damaged, first determine the path that lightning
used to find earth ground through your machine. Obviously one
component in that path was the integrated NIC. Problem is that
lightning first finds a complete circuit from cloud to earth. Only
some items in that path are damaged. Determine - the incoming and
outgoing path through any component that has failed now OR that has
been overstressed (fails days or a month later).
NIC cards are cheap. Install one. Rest of system will problably
work just fine. A surge current path typically does not pass through
power supply, RAM, hard drives, etc. However this can vary with each
installation.
Now to avoid all future damage. Direct lightning strikes without
damage are routine where a human has first learned basic concepts well
proven in the 1930s. If lightning entered via cable, then cable was
not properly earthed where it enters the building. However the
typically destructive transient to peripherals (ie modems) is incoming
on AC mains. Adjacent (plug-in) protectors can even make this damage
easier to occur.
Well proven technique is to earth the transient before it can enter a
building. Then internal protection already inside computers will not
be overwhelmed. For AC electric, that means earthing must be installed
using a 'whole house' protector - that is sold even in Home Depot
(Intermatic) and Lowes (Cutler-Hammer and GE). For cable, earthing is a
hardwire 'less than 10 feet' to that essential single point earth
ground.
Defined is how to predict what may and may not have been damaged as
well as how to routinely avoid damage from future direct strikes. The
NIC would be damaged because lightning found a destructive path to
earth into and out of that peripheral. I would also worry about the
cable modem since that is a direct outgoing path to earth ground -
assuming the cable was properly installed (earthed).
needin4mation@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Here is what happened. Lightning hit my cable modem and blew up the
> integrated NIC as best I can tell from when it was my Windows XP
> machine. Everything else seemed to work.
>
> I want to use the machine with Linux and a wireless network card. it
> will be a frontend mythtv box. yes. i am very cheap and dont want to
> buy a new mobo. I bought a new one for my windows machine, but want to
> use the mobo again. It works, just scared to use it.
>
> Do you think it will burn my house down? I should just buy a new
> motherboard shouldn't I?
.
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