We have really been having some bad weather lately. We had another terrible thunder storm about three days ago. I knew it was going to be bad so I unplugged my modem from my computer. My modem had been struck by lightning just two weeks ago. It had been years since I had a problem with my modem, or a lightning storm. My entire motorhome is on a large back-up system, so it wasn’t much of a problem… I thought.
Well I turned off my computer and laid down for a nap. I generally like a thunder storm. I was laying down for about 15 minutes and I heard a sharp crack right outside my window. It scared me. I rose up from my nap and looked outside. I couldn’t see anything. My power was still flowing. Nothing in my bus had gotten struck, except for my computer and my modem (again).
I was really surprised by my computer being struck. It was offline and not only was it protected by my bus wide surge suppressor, but it was on a smaller battery back-up as well. My computer was completely dead. It would not turn on. It was if it had been thoroughly struck. After checking it out for a few minutes I realized I was going to need someone to look at it. The next morning I took it to Best Buy and showed it to a member of the Geek Squad, their computer repair guys. I told him it had happened when a thunder storm went through and would not turn on. He hooked it up to a power cord and sure enough it wouldn’t turn on.
Best Buy is in Warner Robins, Georgia, which is an hours drive from my house. The member of the Geek Squad told me it would be Sunday at a specific time that they could look at it for me. That was 3 1/2 days away and I would have to bring my computer back at that time. He told me if I were in a greater hurry I could take it to Computer Dreams, or You Broke It, I fix It which were only a couple of blocks up the road. I had been to Computer Dreams before years earlier, and being familiar with them that is where I went.
An older gentleman was the proprietor. I told him the problem I was having and he walked out to my car and brought it in. I cannot physically carry it since I have had a stroke. I am off balance. He looked at it and plugged a device up to the power supply which told him a few things and he said the power supply was good, but he would replace it if it had been struck by lightning. It looked like it had gotten the motherboard and possibly other things that were attached to it. After about 20 minutes of talking about it and telling me it would cost nearly a thousand dollars to repair it, my motherboard was quite expensive, and listening to what I do with it, he remembered a system he had in the back that a man had told him he would perform some work for him to repair it. The man had been a disappointment and it had been e year since he had left the computer with him, and the man had not gotten back with him.
He said he would combine the two systems and would only charge me 750 dollars. The amount was a bit high for me right then, but I knew I wouldn’t find a better system so I paid him 300 dollars and told him when he had it ready I would pay him the balance.
I left the place and since I was already in town I went to a couple stores and looked at getting a replacement for my battery back-up that I used to hook my computer up. I had just told my daughter Kristin that it needed replacing because it would no longer keep my system running during power outages. It was about 6-7 years old and the battery had died in it. I found one just like it at Wal-Mart for $179 dollars plus tax.
The next day I received my social security check so I was able to pay the man for the computer. When he called me later that day I made the hour run again up to Warner Robins to pick up the computer. I was told the man had found that the cold water cooling system had gone out. This may sound odd to some people, but the computer ran a water cooling circuit to keep thing at the right temperature. The man had actually burned his finger when he touched the cooling pipes and this let him know there was a problem with it. The water cooling system had fried the motherboard and the graphics card. The graphics card had just been replaced so it was under warranty and I am now having to send it off to Amazon for replacement.
The man told me that all I would have to do when I got the system home was plug it up and it would run. When I returned home I plugged it up and my monitor would not come on. I read the computer read out on the front of the PC and it said CMOS Error. The CMOS is what boots up the computer and it runs off one of those small round batteries. The batteries need to be replaced every few years. I called the man back the following day and told him the problem I was having and he told me that if I would bring it back to him he would put a new battery in it, and that would fix it. So, I made the hour trip both ways again.
When I got it home and hooked it up again the CMOS Error message disappeared, but the monitor still wouldn’t come on. I had watched it come on at the repair shop so I figured that my monitor had been struck just like the graphic card. When I told my neighbor George about it he gave me an old Dell monitor he had and the system finally came up. I had just one more problem. Everything came up except my mouse. After all my looking around I concluded that it was missing the dongle that plugs into the USB port on the system. So I got in my car and went to Wal-Mart in Perry, which is only half the distance to Warner Robins and I fixed my system.
The conclusion is for $950 dollars I have a computer that now works and a new battery back-up to protect it again. I must send off the graphics card and the monitor to get them replaced, but that is just time. Computer Dreams has given me a work around during that time.
Just a day or two previous to the lightning storm we had I took my trike up to Warner Robins for repair. The brakes needed tightening up, the chain and rear axles needed lubing, and the tires needed pumping back up. In total it cost $65 dollars and I was able to get the trike back during one of my trips to Computer Dreams.
In all I have spent all of my money for bills and groceries on getting these things done. It will be another month before I get my next Social Security check. But this is not unusual. I have often spent money on needs that I knew could not wait while I looked to the Lord to put it upon the hearts of the saints to meet my needs. I have been doing this now for 25 years and the Lord has been more than faithful. I would like to thank those in advance for sowing along with me into this ministry. Thank you.
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