Lightning storm, computer dies.. explain this to me

Halvix

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Mar 15, 2015
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Halvix
A few years back I had problems like this when my computer wouldn't post on occasion. Turned out there wasn't enough power coming from the wall socket. Tested the plug-in with a voltage meter and was only getting 70-80 volts out of the 110 that it should have been... Replaced the plug-in with a new one and all was good... Bad house wiring was the culprit. Another thing to be wary of is brown outs, low voltage can be just as bad as surges in power.
 

Yex

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Mar 15, 2015
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Yex
Oh wow I've never heard of a socket not delivering enough power. My wall sockets literally hang out of the bracket in my wall so I should check that >_>
 

Star Pilgrim

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Feb 24, 2015
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Star_Pilgrim
This happens to my PC on occasion without a storm. Google said it was the PSU as well and I thought the dodgy GPU I bought from eBay had blown it.

Turns out the cause was just a simple short circuit on the Mobo which by default wouldn't let the PSU spin up/Mobo post. I'd pushed down some cables when installing the new gpu

Mine was caused by the front IO connectors but check all your loose cables. Took month to finally root the problem. All is hunky dory now after I rewired it.
This mystery caused me so much stress I swear, the only reason I knew it wasnt blown was because I moved the pc and poked the wiring inside must have rejigged it enough to come back to life. Which I assume is what has happened to you. Took a few times of it happening for me to be like.. Wut.

Internet has very little info on these symptoms as nearly all just say RMA
I simply wiggled everything while slamming the power button until it posted lol
Finest example of "Made in China" I ever saw.
:D
 

thanatos73

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Nov 21, 2014
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thanatos1973
in the hotel I work at, I got a couple of rooms where the sockets magically switched from 110 to 220. Not a good thing for AC units.
 

Parrottmath

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Nov 11, 2014
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parrottmath
That lightning montoya really wanted to get you. Since it couldn't strike you directly, it wanted to SHOCK you in a different way... ;)
 

shadowvinez

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May 30, 2015
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vinez
So this is actually pretty common and can happen for a number of reasons. Its generally a sign somethings had a bad day though BUT some power supplies these days use a decoupling cap to do line conditioning. If to much voltage goes through the cap will pass as a closed circuit to ground until discharged but if the system is overcharged and then the circuit is immediately broken the cap may hold a charge. if this happens to the decoupler cap running your 15 and 16 pin 5+ volt rail in the PSU it wont operate until its sufficiently discharged to allow voltage. I gather the cap slowly discharged until it was at a sufficient level to operate again.
 

Azmodeth

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Jun 10, 2015
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Azmodeth
The electricity can skip all the features you have that protect against surges, because its in a storm, the static is technically in the air/surface...

So, it would travel along as surface while condensing around the capacitors as nearly super semi conductors, and then charge them with a flash of ligtning.. kind of like a path of least resistance... they SUCK the lightning to them. They are usually past/behind surge protection. Nothing can be done to prevent this except some type of Metal mesh/net around your equipment, with small enough pockets that regardless of the voltage it conducts and grounds the electricity, from anything gathered in the air.

Some times you can ground a tower properly with a mesh, but theres no guarantee right ?
 

WarrenPeace

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Jul 17, 2014
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Shortspark
...So no one's buying the paranormal discharge thing, huh?
 

Lead Poisoning

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Mar 28, 2015
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LeadPoisoning
Sorry if this has already been said. There was also an EMP from a solar flare approximately the same time the remnants of the hurricane came through the East Coast. It made my computer do funny things too. That could explain your experience.
 

MzHartz

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May 24, 2015
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MzHartz
You guys and your fancy "science".

I think we can all agree on ghosts.
Ooo, maybe your computer is possessed? And what kind of ghost would possess a computer? A gamer of course! Try playing again, I bet you've got skillz now!
 
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