By the time a power surge reaches your house, its already too late. Lightning strikes can be devastating and unforgiving when it comes to electronic devices. Power surges, voltage drops, intermittent service - these scenarios can wreak havok on computers. Did you know that even the slightest bit of static electricity can damage a computer’s motherboard? For this reason, computer technicians have to be very careful when handling computer parts; even the static electricity on your clothes can damage a circuit board! A computer’s case is designed to protect the “meat and potatoes” from getting damaged by static electricity, and physical trauma. However, it is no match for a voltage surge that comes right in through the power cord!

Shutting down the computer during a storm will not save its life - It is susceptible to damage as long as its’ plugged into the wall. Even if you are using a “surge protector” style power bar, you are not out of the woods. They do add an extra layer of surge protection, but be warned: They are not foolproof. Even the most expensive surge protectors can fail, and do fail all the time.

So whats the best solution when a thunderstorm is brewing? Simply unplug the entire power bar from the wall. This will protect all of your devices with one quick action. And, it’s 100% effective! Of course, you should shut your computer down first before just yanking the cord out (I can hear all the non-techies screaming at me right now: “Even I know that!” ). Unplugging other expensive electronics in the house during a thuderstorm is also recommended - including fancy big screen televisions. Better to be safe than sorry. And since we usually have only have a couple big storms throughout each summer, it’s well worth the hassle. Besides, we work hard for our money, and electronics are EXPENSIVE!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Computer Hardware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.