Ok like a dumbass I went to Dallas this weekend and left my computer on. Well there was a crap load of rain and lightning that hit here in Austin. I dont think the power went out, but when I got home my computer screen was blank. So I re-boot and still get nothing. Problem is I didnt hear my computer boot up as normal (the hard drive running). Obviously I need to check the monitor first, Im just pissed I may have fried my hard drive or motherboard. Any suggestions?
keep it simple for a while 1) change outlets 2) check your power supply before you worry w/ your motherboard.
that is so scary... no HD whirring, etc? that does sound serious... hopefully its just your power supply but, if that's blown it probably did fry your PC! OUCH!! keep us up to date.. I feel your pain! rH
I can hear the fan going and it sounds like it boots up initially, but no HD running after that.....just the fan. I see that it is reading both my CD and CDRW drives when I turn it on, but not the floppy. Very wierd..... I did have it plugged into a surge protector......a pretty good one at that. Im going to try running it again when I get home for lunch.....
CMOS problem? Did you try going into setup to review the boot priority and your hard drive settings? Maybe it is a coincidence that you had a storm this weekend, and it is just that your CMOS battery (the one that looks like a watch battery) is dying and it reset your CMOS. How old is your PC? Few people keep their PC's long enough for the battery to die, but it can die in only 3 years (usually lasts longer). If so, replace the battery and fix your CMOS settings.
Drewdog, The power supply is independent of the mobo... so the power supply can work and the mobo be dead. Do this : 1) Disconnect the power cord from the wall or just disconnect the power cord from your PC. 2) Wait about 20-30 seconds. 3) Stick the power cord back into the wall (or the pc depending on what you did in step 1 above). 3) Power the PC back up and see if it reboots. If this fails, your problem may be far worse... Let us know.
Ok I tried using a boot disk to get the damn thing started and that didnt work either. It was doing the same thing. Power supply kicks in and it reads the CD and CDRW....then it just stops processing. Please God not my mother board!!!!!!! Just in case.....anyone know good motherboards to get. This one was the second EPOX I have bought in the last 3 months (first one was defective when I bought it)
Epox motherboards are terrible. I had 2, and 1 was like the one you sent back (DOA). The other didn't work very well, either. I have an Asus mobo in my machine, and it runs great. I highly recommend them.
This doesn't apply to your situation, but as an aside if you ever turn off and disconnect your computer due to storm potential, also remove the modem cable. My computer was turned off during a big lightning strike and suffered no damage, but my modem was fried.
If it doesn't even complete POST, a boot disk won't be much good. Did you try unplugging it from the wall for about 30 seconds? If not, then do it! EPOX is a good mobo manufacturer. Other good ones : ASUS Abit Tyan IWill (I love their latest AMD mobos and just bought one) Soyo MSI Aopen
Oh, two last things : 1) Does it beep upon attempting to boot? 2) Get the motherboard manual and see if you can find the magic jumper that resets the CMOS. There should be procedures in the manual on how to reset it. Do this and see if your machine boots up.
Ok I took it to Abdul at Computer Experts or something. According to him, my Ethernet card (provided by Time Warner Roadrunner) is bad. This would explain bobrek's theory of the cable modem being unprotected during the lightning storm. I guess I will have to see. Does this make sense or is Abdul blowing smoke to get my money? Thanks for the tips fellas!
It's possible the NIC is fried, but then the machine should boot once the NIC is removed. Does it? If not, then your mobo is fried or something else is the culprit.
