power surge through modem has knocked out computer

[travisjr]

I have a Dell Dimension L900CXE computer which is connected to an external dial up modem. Although I had a surge protector on the computer and modem; a lightining strike created a power surge which traveled from the outside telephone line into the modem and into the computer.

Now when I turn on the computer it runs but there are no beeps and all I see is a blank screen. I tried booting from the CD rom but I only get the same blank screen. My question is can the computer be repaired and if so where should I start looking first. I was thinking it could be the hard drive but I thought I would ask before starting to replace parts. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Panama Red]

First thing I'd do is open the case and look for any signs of burned or blackened components. Electricity is unpredictable in the path it chooses to follow. Some components are removeable and can be tested on another working computer. I'd try that with the Monitor and Hard Drive (just set it to Cable Select and add it to the mid-position on an 80 wire cable of a known working system that has the Master hard drive also set to Cable Select). You can also remove the memory sticks and try them in another system as long as the two are compatible. None of this will cost anything. If there's no sign of burned or blackened components and the above parts test ok, I'd be inclined to replace the power supply first. Just hope it's not proprietary. Good luck and welcome to PC Mech!

[sdkfz]

My second computer had this happen to it (the surge protector and the first PC were pre internet and when I moved the surge over to the new PC with a modem I overlooked the need for a protector)

My problem was a blown hard drive (500.00+ USD for a 2.5 GB) but as panama mentioned your problem could be almost anything.

Do you hvae renters or home onwers insurance? I was able to use mine for my blown HD

Is the unit still under waranty, extended or regular, it is worth a shot (read the exclusions)

Watch out for the dell power supply's - for a while they re-wired the connectors so while they look identical to the regular PS - if you swap in a non dell ps you blow the motherboard

[travisjr]

I opened up the computer and could not find anything burned. So I will test out the components to see if I can narrow down where the problem is at. Unfortunately I did not have renters insurance and the computer is off the warranty. Thanks for the assistance.