Can Lightning damage your PC?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,601
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When you have thunder and strong lightning flashing in your city, if you have your PC on, can the lightning interfere and damage your PC, LCD or other tech in your room? Has it before? what are the Odds of Lightning damaging it?
Does Insurance cover Lighting damage to your technology?

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  • lucky74lucky74 Posts: 4,819
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    Aww come on, where's the youtube video? I thought we were going to see you sat up a tree holding a computer above your head in a thunderstorm.
  • Jason100Jason100 Posts: 17,222
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    Lightning managed to kill our router when we had those storms in the summer.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 211
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    Depends where the lightning hits. I have opened up a PC where the house was hit and it came through the electricity sockets, it was black inside and the CPU had popped out of it's slot.
  • RicardodaforceRicardodaforce Posts: 8,576
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    Wb Lp.
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,452
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    You forgot: Will it upset your lover? :D

    The answer is yes, it can damage your gear mainly (but not only) if it's a direct hit to the house. With nearby strikes you'll probably get away with it.

    I always have got away with it... but I do unplug it all with an overhead thunderstorm (when it gets down to below 5s flash-sound delay).
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,601
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    Coo Ricardo and d'@ve, am sure lover would be upset by it :)

    Btw lucky74 can i risk damaging the cam with lightning?
  • lucky74lucky74 Posts: 4,819
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    LostPigeon wrote: »
    Coo Ricardo and d'@ve, am sure lover would be upset by it :)

    Btw lucky74 can i risk damaging the cam with lightning?

    It's worth a try. Give it a go and see what happens?
  • bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    LostPigeon wrote: »
    When you have thunder and strong lightning flashing in your city, if you have your PC on, can the lightning interfere and damage your PC, LCD or other tech in your room? Has it before? what are the Odds of Lightning damaging it?
    Does Insurance cover Lighting damage to your technology?

    If it somehow routes through any pathway into your PC, it will kill it stone dead. The hard drive will probably melt and fuse with the rest of the metal.

    But on the whole a PC will be a lot more protected than a TV is during a storm, as lightning is much more likely to hit an aerial or satellite dish, run down the cable and blow up your set.
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    LostPigeon wrote: »
    When you have thunder and strong lightning flashing in your city, if you have your PC on, can the lightning interfere and damage your PC, LCD or other tech in your room? Has it before? what are the Odds of Lightning damaging it?
    Does Insurance cover Lighting damage to your technology?

    I'd guess the first thing to bite the dust would be the motherboard. The CPU will also likely over surge with too much electricity, thus, causing it to burn out. The PSU will also likely totally burn out as well, what with it being the component that brings power to it. I also think you'd likely see quite a few sparks coming from within various sections of inside the tower.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 53,142
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    It will fizzle through your phone line and cause a fire :D
  • Joni MJoni M Posts: 70,225
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    One of my friends, whom I have met from the staff canteen in chatter, her keyboard 'blew up' through a lightning strike.

    (just added the extra info to show it's true and not just some urban myth :o)
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Lightning could damage your PC, but you'd be pretty unlucky for it to happen. Even Sunspot activity can cause computers to crash if the Sun is at it's most active.
  • HarryValleyHarryValley Posts: 16,433
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    Joni M wrote: »
    One of my friends, whom I have met from the staff canteen in chatter, her keyboard 'blew up' through a lightning strike.

    (just added the extra info to show it's true and not just some urban myth :o)
    I think mentioning where you met her has the opposite effect Joni :p
  • SuperUnleadedSuperUnleaded Posts: 3,686
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    Does my surge protector provide any extra help from such an event?
  • Joni MJoni M Posts: 70,225
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    I think mentioning where you met her has the opposite effect Joni :p

    Bummer :(
    :D

    Altough I met her in Newcastle :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,973
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    Does my surge protector provide any extra help from such an event?

    Only if its due to a spike in the electric supply as opposed to how they usually happen which is via aerial/phone/cable
  • SuperUnleadedSuperUnleaded Posts: 3,686
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    paddysu wrote: »
    Only if its due to a spike in the electric supply as opposed to how they usually happen which is via aerial/phone/cable

    And what's more rotten is that our block doesn't have anything in the form of a lightning rod. :sleep:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,481
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    And what's more rotten is that our block doesn't have anything in the form of a lightning rod. :sleep:
    They are useless anyway.
  • Carlos_dfcCarlos_dfc Posts: 8,262
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    Depends on the strength and proximity of the lightning strike, with a good measure of luck thrown into the mix.

    A few years ago, a bolt of lightning struck a kid's 'climber' in a play area a little over 20 yards from my house, and a little less than 20 yards from a friend's house.
    The surge down his phone-line killed his modem, and fried the USB module on his motherboard - He also lost a monitor, scanner, and DVD player which were all plugged in on the side of his house nearest the strike.
    Another neighbour also lost a couple of electrical items due to the same lightning strike.

    The surge tripped out our mains electricity, but luckily nothing was damaged.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,550
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    I had lightning hit a nearby phone mast once and take out my modem. My lover was unaffected though.
  • bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    Does my surge protector provide any extra help from such an event?

    Not from a direct strike going into your PC, no. But it might help if a slightly more distant strike had an effect on adjacent electrical cables, which could trip over to your PC.

    But given the strength of lightning, compared to the normal electricity supply, the likelihood is that it will cause massive damage through surge, if not directly.
  • eugenespeedeugenespeed Posts: 66,695
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    Sorry wrote: »
    Lightning could damage your PC, but you'd be pretty unlucky for it to happen. Even Sunspot activity can cause computers to crash if the Sun is at it's most active.

    Says a lot about me. Back in 2005, a storm caused a power surge with frazzled my power pack and my mother board. £80 it cost to repair it.

    I was advised to get a surge protector. 3 quid. :o
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,285
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    Depends where the lightning hits. I have opened up a PC where the house was hit and it came through the electricity sockets, it was black inside and the CPU had popped out of it's slot.

    My mates computer died like that. I always use a circuit breaker on my plugs and since hers went kaput if there is a storm I unplugged mine LOL. Hers was melted.:D
  • bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    My mates computer died like that. I always use a circuit breaker on my plugs and since hers went kaput if there is a storm I unplugged mine LOL. Hers was melted.:D

    Unpugging all appliances and removing aerial/dish/cable sockets, is always the best form of protection from lightning.

    Cable obviously isn't as vulnerable, but there are instances of it being affected by lightning. You'd have to be very unlucky though.
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