Lightning + Network Adapter = :(

[darste]

I think the one network adapter on my Mobo is finished.

During the moerse lightning storm we had here yesterday, I unplugged the router completely(2 PCs, 1 router, my PC connected by around 20m of cable running through the roof, other PC sits right next to the router), so out came the phone line and the AC. I unplugged my PC completely too. Turned off the UPS and pulled the plug out the wall.

This morning, I start my PC and notice that the normal 'ADSL Connection' is not working. Go to "Network Connections"...:wtf: 'ADSL Connection' ain't there no more. Check around the back of my PC, connection is as it was yesterday. Eh? One of the two status lamps on the faulty port remains on permanently now.

I'm connected now through the other LAN port the Mobo has but still, what the hell has happened to the other port? Could lightning have got it? We never had a direct strike to the house during that storm yesterday so it doesn't make sense for lightning to have effed it up.

 

[Electron1]

Lightning could have induced a surge in the 20m cable that runs through the roof, causing enough of a spike to damage the network port.

You are lucky the second port works!

 

[darste]

Even without a direct hit?

I am lucky indeed. Need to think about proper surge-protection now but not that Ellies-type junk, something a bit more robust and reliable.

 

[Electron1]

Maybe you can reroute the cable?

If it runs under the eaves outside it is probably more likely to get induced current than if it ran in the centre of the roof.

A direct hit would have taken out your Motherboard and possible peripherals too, and you would have visible damage. Interesting story at the moment, one of my customers is fighting with their insurance, as they had a lightning strike on their WiFi link, blowing the modem off the wall mount. The pc and printer were damaged too, but insurance is now claiming that there is no visible lightning damage to that equipment and are dragging out the claim. Problem is the wireless kit was replaced the next day by the wireless Service provider and they do not have the Modem that took the hit to prove it. It really does not take much of a surge to damage electronics.

 

[SteveO]

I had a hit on my phone line and DSL router, fried the phone jack and modem part, but the router works fine.

Dont think it was a direct hit, but either way it does funny things, not just fry everything

 

[bekdik]

Double check that all the bits and pieces are plugged in and connected, it's easy to have a network cable not fully plugged in.

 

[darste]

Maybe you can reroute the cable?

If it runs under the eaves outside it is probably more likely to get induced current than if it ran in the centre of the roof.

That's just the thing. It runs in the ceiling over an extended diagonal distance.

Double check that all the bits and pieces are plugged in and connected, it's easy to have a network cable not fully plugged in.

I've double checked that, the problem is that the adapter seems to have disappeared off the device manager too. The connection just simply isn't there under Network Connections.

 

[bekdik]

I've double checked that, the problem is that the adapter seems to have disappeared off the device manager too. The connection just simply isn't there under Network Connections.

Try removing and re-seating the adapter. Also, if you're running win xp/vista/7 restore your machine to a date prior to the problem

 

[westom]

Even without a direct hit?

Induced surges can create thousands of volts on long wires. And then we connect a neon glow lamp (NE-2) to that wire. The less than 1 milliamp conducted by a glow lamp (same bulb inside lighted wall switches) reduces thousands of volts closer to ten. Protection already inside all appliance makes induces surges irrelevant. However a direct lightning strike down the street to utility wires is also a direct strike to every connected household appliance. Once that energy is inside, then it will seek earth ground. Was that NIC port in a path that could connect to earth? Remember, even linoleum tile is an electrical conductor.

To have surge damage means both an incoming and outgoing path exists. It is electricity. First current flows simultaneously and everywhere in that path from strike to earth. Much later, only one item in that path may fail. We have traced surges through motherboards that did not cause damage. And that did exit via a modem only damaging the modem. All depends on what that path is.

What could have been a best connection to earth? Incoming on AC mains. Arc from an electric wire to the ethernet wire. Through NIC post to earth maybe via the table top. A lightning strike down the street was a direct strike to that ethernet cable.

Why does lightning strike wooden church steeples? Because wood is the better electrical conductor to earth. All materials are electrical conductors. Some better than others. Protection always means earthing a surge before it can even enter the building. Once inside, that energy will find electrical paths that can be destructive. And that you still do not know exist. A direct strike far down the street is a direct strike to all household appliances if not earthed before entering the building.

Ethernet ports are designed to withstand over 2000 volts without damage. If damaged by a surge, then suspect a direct strike. One possible example listed above. Otherwise mechanical or manufacturing defect has occurred. Manufacturing defects typically occur even years after good operation. A static electric discharge when breaking or making connections is also a remote possibility.

 

[Venomous]

Even without a direct hit?

I am lucky indeed. Need to think about proper surge-protection now but not that Ellies-type junk, something a bit more robust and reliable.

I've seen a whole PC fry after a lightning strike.

the PC & printer were unplugged. sadly the phone cable was left in the printer. even the USB cable(printer connect) was out the PC. lightning struck so hard it melted the plastic of the USB cable & destroyed the PC coz it was lying next to the PC.

Before that I would not have believed it possible.

 

[westom]

sadly the phone cable was left in the printer. even the USB cable(printer connect) was out the PC. lightning struck so hard it melted the plastic of the USB cable & destroyed the PC coz it was lying next to the PC.

To have damage, both an incoming and outgoing path must exist. Without both, then no current exists. If current was incoming to a printer, then same current must be entering the USB cable on its other end. Lightning never just enters something, does damage, and stops. First that current is simultaneously everywhere in the path from cloud to earth. Much later, something dies. Not the entire computer. Only one or a few parts that were part of that current path.

Maybe the phone line made a connection to earth. That would be the outgoing path. What would be the incoming current path?

 

[bdt]

Even without a direct hit?

Totally: I've had to convert one (home) office to all-wireless for their network because surges induced into the network wiring was killing things. Also, at my own office my last batch of IP cams suffered greatly when we had a good light show overhead; last year one I JUST put up got fried later that same day. My new cameras have at least a modicum of protection to fend off the furies and so far so good! And for the cabinet/switch side, I've got my eye on a bank of these babies.

 

[darste]

Thanks for the help with explaining.

Try removing and re-seating the adapter. Also, if you're running win xp/vista/7 restore your machine to a date prior to the problem

The adapter is part of the mobo. It's an ASUS board that I bought not a year ago. Luckily the PC is covered by insurance.

I still find it strange. The router was connected to the same cable that was connected to my PC. Yet it still works just fine. And it couldn't've been a massively powerful strike as everything else on the PC is still 100%.

Very strange.

 

[bekdik]

I still find it strange. The router was connected to the same cable that was connected to my PC. Yet it still works just fine. And it couldn't've been a massively powerful strike as everything else on the PC is still 100%.

Very strange.

Have you tried restoring?

Try deleting the adapter from hardware, shut down, then power on again.

Also try updating the adapter driver.

 

[westom]

And it couldn't've been a massively powerful strike as everything else on the PC is still 100%.
Very strange.

Please read what was posted. Your assumption is based in feelings; not in how electricity works. In one example, power strip protectors earthed a massive surge into two computer motherboards. Due to those adjacent protectors, then protection inside each power supply was bypassed. That massive surge was incoming on the supply. But had no outgoing path. No supply damage.

That same surge passed through each motherboard. Was outgoing via each NIC. Each IC in that path carried a current so massive that its plastic case cracked on a pin that carried that surge. Meanwhile, all memory Simms in each computer were unharmed. Surge was incoming to each memory. And no outgoing path. So no memory damage.

That surge entered a third computer via its NIC. This semiconductor carried a current so large that its plastic case shattered around the conductive pin. Current found earth ground via the modem. That modem was also damaged. By replacing one modem transistor, the modem worked fine for years. Current was incoming to all modem parts; no outgoing path. No other modems parts were damaged as urban myths will so often assume.

Most all parts remain fully functional after a surge. Any part that can be damaged must have both an incoming and outgoing path. Motherboards also conducted that surge. But were not damaged. Because a path through each motherboard did not pass through any semiconductors.

Protection and damage is always about the incoming and outgoing current path. Anything that attempts to block or stop a surge means voltages increase as necessary to blow through that protector. Any protector that would protect by being too close to electronics can only protect by stopping or blocking a surge. An incoming surge path to every household appliance exists during a surge. But with no outgoing path, then nothing is damaged. Damage means a human mistake provided an outgoing path and therefore damage.

Surges seek earth ground. Protection is always about making that path outside the building. Anything damaged inside means a homeowner has all but inviting surges inside to go hunting destructively. To hunt for a destructive incoming and outgoing path through the appliance.