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April 26th, 2004 11:00
Struck by lightning
After a lightning struck very close to my house yesterday (so close that I could see some flashing coming out of my TV) my INSPIRON 8000 (which was turned on, very close to the TV and connected to a voltage regulator) does not work well. When turned on, appears the DELL logo and then gets frozen in the WINDOWS XP logo. When started up in SAFE MODE, it runs a few drivers but gets frozen again in the WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/DRIVERS/AGP440.SYS
Does this mean the hard drive is not working or the operating system has been damaged?
Besides, even if the display is OK for the DELL logo and when charging the drivers, is very dim for the WINDOWS XP logo.
I tryed to install again WINDOWS XP but it does not read the CD unit.
My 3 year warranty expired in December, so I really appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks
PD: even if the TV seems to work well, now I do not have any signal from DIRECTV...
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Dave Lyle
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April 26th, 2004 12:00
dalem29
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April 26th, 2004 19:00
Your homeowners rates might go up more than it would cost to replace your computer, TV and any connected equipment. It sounds like the strike was close enough to cause a surge in your house wiring. You might have a service technician take a look, but you probably had some components fried. It doesn't take much extra voltage/current to cause damage.
I've heard that even calling your insurance company or agent can cause your rates to go up, so tread carefully there. Also check your rooftop dish and down lead for the TV, its possible that is what it hit. The dishes are supposed to be grounded, but lightning is powerful enough to jump to the downlead, with resulting havoc.
Message Edited by dalem29 on 04-26-2004 02:22 PM
Dave Lyle
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April 26th, 2004 19:00
Your homeowners rates might go up more than it would cost to replace your computer, TV and any connected equipment.
That may be true, it's always a tradeoff you have to look at. But if you have a valid insurance claim and don't file it, why carry insurance at all?
As you say (and I agree with), there may be hidden electrical system damage and having a qualified electrician check things out is not a bad idea.
Message Edited by ddeerrff on 04-26-2004 03:29 PM
Ziwpiz
432 Posts
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April 26th, 2004 19:00
Also contact your electrical provider...(If your house was not hit directly, it may be covered by them)
Many electric companies will cover such damage. (Unknown to most people)
Proof of damage is also required, and this can be supplied from a qualified computer repair shop.
Dimension 4500 - Pentium 4 - 2.0 GHz
WINDOWS XP (Home Edition) SP-1 (PLUS!)
512 MB DDR SDRAM
80 GB HD 7200
64 MB GEFORCE4 Video card with TV out
SoundBlaster Live 1024 Voices Sound Card
16X DVD-ROM (LITEON LTD 163)
Pacific Digital 32 X 12 X 48 CD Burner (Nero)
100 MB Internal Zip Drive
IEEE 1394 Firewire Card
JVC GR-D90 DV Camcorder
Sandisk 6 in 1 card reader
Belkin 2.0 USB Hub
HP Deskjet 970 Cxi
HP Photosmart 100
mediclips
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April 27th, 2004 10:00
Thanks to everybody for your comments. I could solve the problem with help of DELL CUSTOMER SERVICE, even after I told them my 3 year warranty has expired. They guided me through the process od deinstall all the hardware: hard disk, battery, memory, CD & Diskette unit and modem. Then I installed again one by one and it turned out that the modem was damaged and was causing all the problem! Without the modem the computer works just fine. Curiosly, the 3 items that were damaged were connected to the phone line: the modem and 2 DIRECTV receivers. So I think I was very lucky after all. DIRECTV will replace the receivers at no cost and I just have to find a new modem (ACTIONTEC V90 Internal mINIpci CARD #MP1001M). Looks like neither DELL nor ACTIONTEC have it available... any suggestions were to find or alternatives?
Thanks DELL and thanks all of you for your comments.