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Hardware

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

By Bill Detwiler June 10, 2010, 11:25 PM PDT Bill Detwiler on Twitter billdetwiler

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Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Lightning strikes computer modem

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem

Photo by Brad Rowden
Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Charred circuits

Charred circuits

According to Rowden “most of the components inside of the machine were a mess.”

“The case might have been salvageable with some good cleaning,” Rowden told me, “but everything in there stunk terribly.” Miraculously, the machine’s hard drive was undamaged and Rowden was able to retrieve all the customer’s data.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Melted plastic

Melted plastic

The expansion card above the modem shows significant damage.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Blistered circuit board

Blistered circuit board

The modem’s circuit board fried to a crisp.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Burned modem

Burned modem

The modem clearly suffered the most damage.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Extent of the destruction

Extent of the destruction

Nearly every component in the machine was destroyed.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Computer damaged by lighting

Computer damaged by lighting

As noted earlier, at least the hard drive survived.

Photo by Brad Rowden

Lightning strikes computer modem leaves burned circuits behind

Disconnect your PC during lightning storms

Disconnect your PC during lightning storms

The owner of this computer learned the hard way that power surges can travel through telephone lines. It’s always a good idea to unplug all your computer’s cables during a storm. Or at the very least have every wire connected to a high-quality surge protector.

Photo by Brad Rowden

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By Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show.
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