PC with multiple organ failures
I was asked to check out a PC that wouldn't boot. It powered itself off
after a second. It looked like mainboard was kaput. Then I checked out all the bits I removed. Both DIMMs were bad, and one of the two hard disks also bad. There was no obvious damage (such as beer spillage). So what do reckon happened? A lightning strike? |
PC with multiple organ failures
On 6/10/2018 10:25 AM, Flasherly wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jun 2018 05:33:04 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I was asked to check out a PC that wouldn't boot. It powered itself off after a second. It looked like mainboard was kaput. Then I checked out all the bits I removed. Both DIMMs were bad, and one of the two hard disks also bad. There was no obvious damage (such as beer spillage). So what do reckon happened? A lightning strike? I don't trust "check it out" broken PCs and dear or good ol' beer buddies, just between and for a favor among friends. Last one, I'd also swung a super deal on a Dept. of Defense class, industrial modem. When I got there, not seeing the modem and asked where it was, he told me he wasn't sure, possibly that the dog had got ahold to have buried it in the backyard. If it did, or if you'd ever seen a lightning strike, it blows the doors off most electrical services, if not the whole house from off the face of a map. Just ask anyone in a assessed location with a lightning or natural disaster clause, what _do_ they pay for that in an home insurance policy. Attrition: Lightning is shameful enough where it only strikes once;- twice in the same spot, then shame on me. I've also been told by others they've had actual balls of lightning enter through the door and roll across the room. . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ball_lightning.png Skeptically, I'd of course first ask the owner if I might look for any trace residuals, e.g. softball-sized dents deeply impacted into the side of the computer case. About the same gauge of metal I did once happen physically to observe, where lightning had struck the side of an outdoor air-conditioning housing, frying everything inside, along with half a two-story building's appliances. (So for reason enough then for them to have sold the house.) - Remember: Always with, or never spit directly in to the wind. With that kind of damage I'd be inclined to loose the power supply. If it was a surge of some kind it most likely had to go through the power supply, if not then I'd strongly suspect a defective power supply. At least open it up and verify all the capacitors are not bulging. Also test the power supply under a load. Some read good voltages with no load or one of those little plug in LED testers but go bad when an actual load is applied. |
PC with multiple organ failures
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 6/10/2018 10:25 AM, Flasherly wrote: On Sun, 10 Jun 2018 05:33:04 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I was asked to check out a PC that wouldn't boot. It powered itself off after a second. It looked like mainboard was kaput. Then I checked out all the bits I removed. Both DIMMs were bad, and one of the two hard disks also bad. There was no obvious damage (such as beer spillage). So what do reckon happened? A lightning strike? I don't trust "check it out" broken PCs and dear or good ol' beer buddies, just between and for a favor among friends. Last one, I'd also swung a super deal on a Dept. of Defense class, industrial modem. When I got there, not seeing the modem and asked where it was, he told me he wasn't sure, possibly that the dog had got ahold to have buried it in the backyard. If it did, or if you'd ever seen a lightning strike, it blows the doors off most electrical services, if not the whole house from off the face of a map. Just ask anyone in a assessed location with a lightning or natural disaster clause, what _do_ they pay for that in an home insurance policy. Attrition: Lightning is shameful enough where it only strikes once;- twice in the same spot, then shame on me. I've also been told by others they've had actual balls of lightning enter through the door and roll across the room. . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ball_lightning.png Skeptically, I'd of course first ask the owner if I might look for any trace residuals, e.g. softball-sized dents deeply impacted into the side of the computer case. About the same gauge of metal I did once happen physically to observe, where lightning had struck the side of an outdoor air-conditioning housing, frying everything inside, along with half a two-story building's appliances. (So for reason enough then for them to have sold the house.) - Remember: Always with, or never spit directly in to the wind. With that kind of damage I'd be inclined to loose the power supply. If it was a surge of some kind it most likely had to go through the power supply, if not then I'd strongly suspect a defective power supply. At least open it up and verify all the capacitors are not bulging. Also test the power supply under a load. Some read good voltages with no load or one of those little plug in LED testers but go bad when an actual load is applied. It's unusual to lose DIMMs like that. Things connected directly to a PSU, like the hard drive, those get killed first on a transient event. The motherboard regulators for CPU and DIMMs provide a measure of secondary protection. If a DIMM was blown, that must have been a *pretty big* transient. Look for holes in the plasterboard, next to the machine. I would definitely replace the PSU before installing new kit. Even if any components "survived", I would mark them with a wax pencil, indicating they could die at any time in the near future. Some running components might not be far from croaking. Paul |
PC with multiple organ failures
On Sun, 10 Jun 2018 11:25:02 -0500, GlowingBlueMist
wrote: With that kind of damage I'd be inclined to loose the power supply. If it was a surge of some kind it most likely had to go through the power supply, if not then I'd strongly suspect a defective power supply. At least open it up and verify all the capacitors are not bulging. Also test the power supply under a load. Some read good voltages with no load or one of those little plug in LED testers but go bad when an actual load is applied. Loose power supplies are great for the spare or a project build on spare parts: I got mine. This one is, half off and shipped, less but may be still a little loose... EVGA 450 BT 100-BT-0450-K1 450W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Non-Mod $24.99 Whereas according to Johnny Guru... totalarkwar 7 points·2 months ago Excelvan buys surplus or rejected parts from other manufacturers. I would be very suspicious of the quality of this PSU... https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsal...ly_desktop_pc/ Yep, sounds about right for $12: totally loose, free and easy. A privately branded PSU, Excelvan 750W, contracted out of New York City from its California warehouses... http://www.excelvan.com/about-us/ Storm Stores, can great minds think anymore less in sync? Arriving Apr 10 - Apr 13 Track package Excelvan ATX Computer Power Supply Desktop PC for Intel AMD PC SATA US (750W) Sold by: Storm Store $29.99 Order Details Ordered on April 4, 2018 Order Summary Item(s) Subtotal: $29.99 Shipping & Handling: $11.57 Free Shipping: -$11.57 Promotion Applied: -$17.99 Total before tax: $12.00 Estimated tax to be collected: $0.00 Grand Total: $12.00 |
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