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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
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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 |
#4
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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 |
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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
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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. |
#7
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#8
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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
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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
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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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