Or so says the TW/RR help desk dude. I shut the PC down yesterday afternoon around 6pm when those storms rolled through here. I went to start the system back up after they cleared out, and I kept getting an error message saying that a LAN cable was not connected. We have Road Runner, with the Time Warner supplied modem and associated wiring. I called the TW customer service phone number and they transferred me to the help desk. A really nice knowlegeable guy helped me, and he decided that the storm fried my network adapter card (I think that's what he called it, basically the 10/100 cable modem adapter inside the PC box). He said I could use the TW supplied modem via USB cable, but I'd have to get the USB driver's on disc or CD from the local TW office. The other option was to buy + install a new network adapter card- about $8-15 from Best buy or similar. I wanted to get back online ASAP, so I took the card out of our old PC and stuck it in an empty slot in the new PC. It took me a while to figure out that I had to disable the old LAN connection and enable the new one, but it works like a champ. My question is, is this a common problem like the TW guy says it is??? What can I do to protect my PC from this (besides unplugging the power + the cable from the machine)??? Sounds like I should be on the lookout for spare adapter cards just in case this happens again..... Also, one of our TV's is not working properly now- it picks up all the stations from about 45-up (we have basic cable, no cable box) but all channels 44 and below are MSNBC. Is this a Bill Gates conspiracy to up this channels ratings??? The other 2 TV's we have hooked up to cable are working fine. I put a different TV on the cable where the "bad" TV was, and it works fine......... Could this be the same power surge/lightning damage that fried my PC card??????? Rig.
Ethernet Card Problems Hi Rigmaster, Yes unfortunately lightning strikes can wreck havoc on any electronics that are plugged in, turned on or not. To protect yourself in the future, there are a couple things you can do. If you own your own house then power company that serves your area can install an industrial surge protector that will basically protect your whole house. Progress Energy has a one-time charge plus a monthly charge for the service. The only other option is to make sure you have a high-grade surge protector or even a battery-type backup UPS system. They usually protect well but they can cost a few hundred dollars for a good one. I would recommend going to Tiger-Direct or a local computer shop to get a spare adapter card. You can usually get a generic card for $5 or so. The standard Ethernet Card (10/100) has been around a while so generic ones are usually as good as the high-priced name brand ones. There are also gigaethernet adapters available but most home users won't really need them. Not so sure about your TV, could be that the channels got scrambled or something and just doing a auto-search channel find will fix it. Daniel
If your TV is also not working it looks like you took the hit through the cable line and not your electrical line. Which would make more sense as only items connected directly to the cable service are not working. If your electrical took the hit more items in your house would be showing symptoms. I'm amazed the TW modem did not take the hit????? On your TV, it sounds like the tuner is burned also. That is the point of entry circuit to the TV from cable. Unfortunately, most of the time, replacing the tuner is almost the price of a new set. A standard surge protector will not help you with cable tv. You can buy a simple $6 in line protector and install it on all cable lines. You'll need one for every line coming in the house. You'll want at least a 4' long pigtail line between the protector and the electronics recieving the signal. That's a safety factor for "lightning jump". http://www.petra.com/catalog_02/product_info.php?product_id=PET10-0022 They sell multi-purpose surge protectors that include cable protection but the cheapest "reliable" one I've found is $80. On a second note: Was your original LAN connector built into the motherboard and not in a PCI slot? If it's an Hp or Dell etc.., and still under warranty, remove the card you installed enable the LAN back and turn it in for service. (And play dumb on what went wrong) A hit to the LAN is only going to cause prob's in the near future.
