Kevin
09-28-02, 02:20 PM
I'm back! This explains why I haven't been on DBSTalk for over a month:
One day in the middle of August (the 16th, I think) there was a severe thunderstorm with some pretty bad lightning at noon. That evening, at 6pm, my computer recieved a blue screen out of nowhere and then proceeded to restart and do an automatic ScanDisk. The ScanDisk froze at 3% so I flipped the power switch on my surge protector, waited a few seconds and then flipped it back on. Then I noticed that the power button on the computer was lit yellow instead of the normal green. The CPU and processor fans were running as they should but no matter what I tried, I couldn't get the computer to boot (I couldn't even get the monitor on, as a matter of fact). I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with the Dell Tech Support taking the computer apart and troubleshooting only to find out that my motherboard had been fried by the lightning earlier that day through the phone line and that my computer was no longer covered under the warranty since it expired in June. I was forwarded to the sales department which told me that I would have to buy a brand new motherboard and put it back together myself, so I told them forget it and hung up. I was so pissed at the computer that I decided to forget about it for a little while because I needed a break from it. It sat there for 3 weeks before I took it to a computer repairman who told me that I can file a claim under the homeowners insurance and possibly get the whole thing replaced. The next day my mother called the insurance company and filed the claim. She was told that they would replace the computer if we paid the $250 deductible, so we faxed the computer's specs over to the insurance company and the new computer was ordered.The computer arrived today and what a surprise I got! Not only did they send us a new hard drive, but new speakers, keyboard, and mouse too (I thought that they were only sending us a new hard drive)! Plus, I got 256MB RAM and a 2.0gHz processor, almost twice as fast as my old computer! That's about the only good thing I can say about the whole ordeal. Not having a computer for almost 6 weeks really sucked and it's great to be back.
One day in the middle of August (the 16th, I think) there was a severe thunderstorm with some pretty bad lightning at noon. That evening, at 6pm, my computer recieved a blue screen out of nowhere and then proceeded to restart and do an automatic ScanDisk. The ScanDisk froze at 3% so I flipped the power switch on my surge protector, waited a few seconds and then flipped it back on. Then I noticed that the power button on the computer was lit yellow instead of the normal green. The CPU and processor fans were running as they should but no matter what I tried, I couldn't get the computer to boot (I couldn't even get the monitor on, as a matter of fact). I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with the Dell Tech Support taking the computer apart and troubleshooting only to find out that my motherboard had been fried by the lightning earlier that day through the phone line and that my computer was no longer covered under the warranty since it expired in June. I was forwarded to the sales department which told me that I would have to buy a brand new motherboard and put it back together myself, so I told them forget it and hung up. I was so pissed at the computer that I decided to forget about it for a little while because I needed a break from it. It sat there for 3 weeks before I took it to a computer repairman who told me that I can file a claim under the homeowners insurance and possibly get the whole thing replaced. The next day my mother called the insurance company and filed the claim. She was told that they would replace the computer if we paid the $250 deductible, so we faxed the computer's specs over to the insurance company and the new computer was ordered.The computer arrived today and what a surprise I got! Not only did they send us a new hard drive, but new speakers, keyboard, and mouse too (I thought that they were only sending us a new hard drive)! Plus, I got 256MB RAM and a 2.0gHz processor, almost twice as fast as my old computer! That's about the only good thing I can say about the whole ordeal. Not having a computer for almost 6 weeks really sucked and it's great to be back.