After thunderstorm my desktop will not connect to the internet.

BlazeDragon

Reputable
Jun 30, 2015
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4,510
Greetings, thank you for taking the time to read my post.

A thunderstorm occurred and after a flash and the lights flickering my computer made a loud pop noise one time and then shut off. It sounded like a blown capacitor. My computer would not turn back on. I tried unplugged it, flipping the switch, tried holding the power button for 1 min, then plugged it all back in and nothing. tried other plugs on the surge protector, still nothing.

Eventually after fiddling with the plugs I got the lights and fans to come on but no POST... also the monitor said no signal. So I tried another out lit with a different surge protector. AH HA, it posted, booted and looked good, but had to go to work. My wife picked me up two new surge protectors and I plugged everything in and thought I was good to go...BUT no... I have no internet.

Looking at the back of the computer the port's ACT LED is lit up orange even with the computer off, also I don't see network adapters at all in the device manager.

I tested two Ethernet cables, and tested them successfully on my wife's laptop. On the Desktop, the port has the orange ACT LED light, and nothing else. When plugged into the laptop the port from the gateway (which was blank for the desktop) lights up and flickers showing data is being transmitted.

The port is integrated into the motherboard. An Asus P6T SE mother board, I am running windows 7.

I assume it's dead and I need to buy a PCI NIC card?

However... are their other suggestions? Does this mean my motherboard is gonna die, following suit? I could not find a blown capacitor, nor did I smell burning when it shut off during the storm. It was plugged in through a surge protector. So far the only issue is the RJ-45 port. Is the light staying lit gonna cause more issues? could this issue be isolated or lead to more problems down the road?


Thank you for your time,
Blaze
 
Solution
buy a new nic card. but to be safe back up any data that you need online and on a usb stick. if the mb craps out you be able to pull the data back down after the new pc goes online.
its not a good thing but you got off lightly, search your mobo for power surge and most are dead motherboards.

What is on other end of the Ethernet cable? Did it get fried too? or was it a direct line?

you might be lucky and only need a new NIC - but in future, just dc everything in storms, its much safer.. pc lives to fight another day then without any scratches. I just unplug power and Ethernet if there is a thunder storm around.
 


It's a gateway from timewarner cable. It has the coaxial cable plugged in and the phone line. my wife can still get wifi on her laptop, we can also get it on our PS3, phones etc. I tried to take her laptop over to it and use the same cable and her laptop picks up that it's plugged in. Only my pc is not picking up.

Yeah I guess I'll need to start doing that :S I've always left my desktop running and plugged in everyday for about 7 years. with few exceptions for reboots or what not., but mostly left it running. Even through thunderstorms and this is the first time it's happened 🙁
 


So there is still a chance the MB will crap out on me? I do have an external 1 TB hard drive and I've backed up my files just incase. But the motherboard having other issues is one of my fears now. .