Lightning and your Computer

July 23, 2009

San Angelo has recently been the victim of some pretty good lightning storms. Inevitably, customers are calling to report connection problems.

So far, I’ve only had to replace a couple of NIC cards. Lightning damage can also manifest itself in just about any other computer component going bad, such as power supplies and motherboards.

The best way to protect your computer, before a lightning storm hits, is to completely remove any connection to the outside world. Power down your computer, first of all. Then unplug it from your power source (surge protector, power strip or wall outlet). Then make sure you disconnect the power and telephone/cable line to your modem.

Removing the connections between the wall and your modem will protect it (whether you own it or not), in addition to protecting your computer. Leaving the modem connected and only removing the Ethernet cable will still leave your modem vulnerable to damage caused by lightning and power surges.

Cable technicians usually tighten the connections to the point where you need pliers or a wrench to disconnect them, so you may end up only removing the Ethernet cable, between your modem and your computer.

DSL is much easier to disconnect. All you do is remove the phone line going into the modem.

Be sure to keep the ends of the cables/plugs/lines near where they’ll need to be reconnected, just to make it easier on you.

Have you ever experienced a lightning strike that required you to replace any electronic devices? Please comment, below.

Posted in Hardware

Lightning and your Computer

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