Microsoft Error Messages / Modem Burnt Out

[isabelmaidment]

Last Friday Night we has a severe thunder storm. Burnt out answer/expensive phone but did no damage no damage to cheap French phone. Booted the PC on Saturday and was told new USB device detected (twice). HP 1315 would neither print or delete. MS Office said it needed a to be reinstalled and neither Word nor Excell would load. Solution was :

1. User RegRecover to rebuild registry to point where you could manually delete HP software and printer drivers.

2. Re install USB printer from scrath.

3. Spend Euros 15 on new modem and install.

We have since spent more on parafoudre protection than the device are worth. I have not been so frustrated with a computer since

ACT supplied a PC with one double sided and and one single sided floppy drive and did not tell me

IBM PC DOS said 111 files constituted a full drive despite the drive being 60% free.

PC World sold me an upgrade,in December 2001 for a new PC from MSWorks to MS Windows which required Wordstar, Word Perfect or Supercalc to be present before the upgrade would instal. ( found a 15 year old copy of Wordstar to install fist)

CPM and Pascal list destination then source for their copy commands but MS DOS does it the other way round.

None of the internal checks on the modem or printer were of any help. We nay buy a cheap and chearful second hand laptop in UK onnnext visit so we can check the line for modem use before buying a new card.

Would be interested to hear of other people's experiences following lightenign damage

Anton Redman not an anagram of Isabel Maidment

[Iceni]

Have only been hit by a storm once and that was my fault. I had moved a Dell PC and plugged the scanner (which sits on top) into the UPS and the PC into the surge protector. Surge protector was useless as they usually are if it is a bad hit but UPS worked on scanner and other PC.  When I booted the Dell it told me I had sustained damage to the hard disk which was in need of an urgent backup. I backed up the HD and the disk died about a week later.

Since then I always use one UPS per machine (I find the expensive ones that handle more than one PC are far to expensive and also the stupidly priced batteries don't last). I also always use Dell as these seem the most robust PC's I have ever used and tend to be very very cost effective.

Sorry to hear about your plight, it really is worrying when this happens. We came home from a weekend to find a storm had tripped the electrics shortly after we had left and the freezer contents were all over the floor

[Mikew]

Have always used Belkin surge protectors, they promise to replace if damaged by surges, and also pay for damage to any connected equipment. I had one of their under monitor protection devices, it died with no other problems, and one phone call and several days later a replacement arrived, free. no connection apart from satisfied user!

(they protect modems, tv and satellite connections as well as mains supply)

Mike

[Vaughat]

My modem also burnt out during the storm on Friday night, fortunaltely no other damage. Bought a new modem on Saturday and everything worked OK. I don't have any surge protection yet but it sounds like it's going to be worth the investment.

Tony

[Peter S Bartlett]

Hi,

 

I have just returned from France where I was staying with friends - They suffered a lightning strike on their telephone line which is surge protected with a surge unit I bought at Home Base (£14) This unit also protects the modem from lightning strikes.

It saved the fax machine and the computer but the satellite box and VCR were totally destroyed as they were plugged into a different socket

An addage here. The socket the VCR & sat used was not earthed. Generally if you are using a surge unit and / or lightning protector then make sure there is an earth on the socket you plug any equipment into.

 

[Pixietoadstool]

Our house in Normandy was struck by lightening this summer which damaged the TV via the aerial (€100 to fix) and caused €300 damage to the PC (only 5 months old) - the lightening came in through the modem and flambeed that plus the power supply plus the mother board - never again will I leave the modem plugged in.

Can anyone please simply explain what I need - I thought a surge control protected the incoming electricity supply - not the phone line?

Oh and the insurance only paid a proportion of the damage - only about €8 for the TV and €200 for the computer.  Problem is my original computer warranty is no longer valid (I took out a 3 year warranty which is now worth nothing).

Valerie

 

[Mikew]

The Belkin surge control multiways that I use have, telephone, television co-ax and/or satellite connections built in according to model. There are both French and English versions. After a mains power break last night, I sorted out an UPS (uninteruptable power supply) to run my ADSL modem and wireless network box. This box also protects the phone line. Now I can check my e-mails on my laptop whatever happens to the power supply.....I hope!

 

MikeW