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lightning strike - should the components be reused



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 23rd 04, 11:50 AM
rello
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Default lightning strike - should the components be reused

got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a fill in
for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the above
applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

relloman
relloman
  #2  
Old April 23rd 04, 12:48 PM
Dave C.
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"rello" wrote in message
news:4088f437.47047881@news-server...
got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....


You're actually a very lucky person. The only component you would NOT have
wanted to keep was killed by the lightning. And you are very lucky in the
sense that this dell box actually had a ummm . . . video card?!? Wow. I'd
suggest you buy a really really CHEAP bare bone system (case, power supply,
mainboard) and build yourself a new computer. You might even be able to get
this off ebay. Then remove current partitions from hard drive and install
windows XP. BTW, do NOT try to use the old power supply, even if the
connectors look like they will fit.

Use it as your own personal computer, don't sell it. -Dave


  #3  
Old April 23rd 04, 12:57 PM
kony
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On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 10:50:13 GMT, (rello) wrote:

got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a fill in
for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the above
applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

relloman
relloman


It depends on how much $ your time is worth.
Sound and modem are relatively cheap items, especially since many
motherboards have integrated sound. However if the Dell used a
proprietary power supply then your ability to source another Dell board
cheaply may determine if the rebuilt is even cost-effective, ignoring the
value of your time. After you get it working again you'll just have to
test it and see how it does. If there's any chance the system would be
storing semi-valuable data you might want to replace the hard drive too,
and possibly the memory. The machine should certainly stay with you to be
tested for longer than a (non-damaged) typical system.

Be sure to test power supply, at least voltages, and memory extensively
with
http://www.memtest86.com , hard drive with manufacturer's
diagnostics. If you have need for a "testing station" then that would
seem a good role for the system.
  #4  
Old April 23rd 04, 01:11 PM
sooky grumper
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rello wrote:
got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a fill in
for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the above
applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

relloman
relloman


I wouldn't use it for anything. The components, though they may be
working now, probably have a significantly reduced lifespan. Also, I
doubt you have the time or resources to really have a good check of the
components (neither would I). Don't sell it, it's damaged goods. Give it
away if you don't want it. Who knows what the person will actually be
using it for. A critical component that was there during the lightning
strike could end up dying the night before a job interview and they lose
their resume or some such. Personally, I'd try and run some very basic
diagnostics/testing software (memtest86, the HDD manufacturer's testing
software, etc) and use it as something to play around with, as you've
already suggested. Anything that'll fry the mobo will have done some
degree of damage to the other components.

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo
  #5  
Old April 23rd 04, 01:12 PM
sooky grumper
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sooky grumper wrote:

I wouldn't use it for anything.


this sentence was incomplete: should have read ...for anything you might
ever want to save.


The components, though they may be
working now, probably have a significantly reduced lifespan. Also, I
doubt you have the time or resources to really have a good check of the
components (neither would I). Don't sell it, it's damaged goods. Give it
away if you don't want it. Who knows what the person will actually be
using it for. A critical component that was there during the lightning
strike could end up dying the night before a job interview and they lose
their resume or some such. Personally, I'd try and run some very basic
diagnostics/testing software (memtest86, the HDD manufacturer's testing
software, etc) and use it as something to play around with, as you've
already suggested. Anything that'll fry the mobo will have done some
degree of damage to the other components.



--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo
  #6  
Old April 23rd 04, 02:49 PM
Andrew J
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Posts: n/a
Default


got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a fill in
for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the above
applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

relloman
relloman


You can depend on the case only. Since PC parts that work one day and
not the next are a nightmare, destroy them. Got a PC hit by lightning,
just barely. No burned marks and almost got into Windows. Put the
drive on my desktop to get data off as a favor. It completely hosed my
drive with 35GB of data on it.
  #8  
Old April 23rd 04, 04:23 PM
Clint
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Default

I'd think using it as a testing station should be the last thing you'd use
it for. You'd never be sure that the test wasn't caused by damage on the
lightning strike. The best system for testing would be your most stable
one.

Clint

"kony" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 10:50:13 GMT, (rello) wrote:

got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and s/card
as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a fill in
for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the above
applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

relloman
relloman


It depends on how much $ your time is worth.
Sound and modem are relatively cheap items, especially since many
motherboards have integrated sound. However if the Dell used a
proprietary power supply then your ability to source another Dell board
cheaply may determine if the rebuilt is even cost-effective, ignoring the
value of your time. After you get it working again you'll just have to
test it and see how it does. If there's any chance the system would be
storing semi-valuable data you might want to replace the hard drive too,
and possibly the memory. The machine should certainly stay with you to be
tested for longer than a (non-damaged) typical system.

Be sure to test power supply, at least voltages, and memory extensively
with
http://www.memtest86.com , hard drive with manufacturer's
diagnostics. If you have need for a "testing station" then that would
seem a good role for the system.



  #9  
Old April 23rd 04, 05:21 PM
w_tom
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Posts: n/a
Default

Determining how and what is damaged can be an interesting
lesson in how damage occurs. For example, if it was
lightning, then damaged component have both an incoming and
outgoing electrical path for that lightning. Obviously, the
modem is a classic example: incoming on AC electric. Outgoing
on phone line. This damages modem. But usually, a modem need
only have something in its DAA or off hook relay circuit
replaced (ie a PNP transistor) and is perfectly good again.

What else was connected to computer at time of strike? For
example, could printer or network card also have been good
outgoing paths? IOW you must also know how each was connected
as part of the building's wiring. Analysis of how transient
transversed the computer must be from a building perspective.

Devices that should not be damaged are memory and CPU. Each
have an incoming but no outgoing path.

By using known information, then determine which parts (bad
and still working) may have conducted the transient. Those
would be the damaged and 'may fail in future' parts.

The analysis can be challenging which is why so many just
say, "Trash it". Continued repair depends on whether you want
to save money or you want to really learn something.

rello wrote:
got a newish dell dimension 4500 in that was knocked out by a
lightning strike......i got the job of disposing of the box

the mobo is definitely dead but all the majors, hd, both cd drives,
floppy ram and video board are ok...havent tested the modem and
s/card as yet but s/card prolly ok......modem i expect to be
fried .....

i could sell it at a very low price [with a statement as to its
origin], use it as a testing station or maybe hire it out as a
fill in for people who cant do without a computer........

what would opinion be on putting it back into service for the
above applications.....
thanks for any and all replies

  #10  
Old April 23rd 04, 05:23 PM
kony
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:23:26 GMT, "Clint"
wrote:

I'd think using it as a testing station should be the last thing you'd use
it for. You'd never be sure that the test wasn't caused by damage on the
lightning strike. The best system for testing would be your most stable
one.

Clint


That's a good point, but on the other hand there really can't be only ONE
testing station, a multitude of machines are needed to test different
power, chipsets, etc, without the arduous swapping back and forth of other
components.
 




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