By Bill Detwiler Photography by Brad Rowden
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When lightning strikes a computer, charred metal, melted plastic, and burned circuits are the results.
This computer’s modem was hit with a power surge during an electrical storm. The computer was protected by a surge protector but not one with modem outlets.
The owner brought the machine to IT Systems Administrator Brad Rowden–who took these pictures.
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.
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.
Sounds shocking to me.