XBOX out of commission...

[Sotenga]

Recently, I went through a very annoying T-storm. It was annoying because the rumbles were repetitive and loud. Anyway, the storm apparently disabled my Gamecube and XBOX. Well, not my Gamecube. All that was busted on my GC was the adapter, so I am grateful for that. The XBOX, however...

The repairs would be a little costly, but that's not what gets me. I had many CD's copied onto my XBOX's hard drive. I had more than thirty, if I'm not mistaken. Well, now I'll have to spend lots of time re-replicating them, unless they find a damn good way to save the hard drive.

It's not likely, however...

[omnedon]

If you are handy, you could try replacing your Xbox's internal power supply. Another busted Xbox would do the trick. Most of the busted Xbox's I see have other problems (laser/mobo), and their power supplies are fine. The procedure would be no harder than a power supply swap out on a PC - easier in some ways.

[PDorr3]

damn...i hope that never happens to my friend...he has like 100 soundtracks on his damn xbox......

[Sotenga]

damn...i hope that never happens to my friend...he has like 100 soundtracks on his damn xbox......

That would really suck for him... especially if he had every single Rush album on it.

I'm not handy at all. I suck at Tech Ed, and I always think that I would sever myself on certain machines. It hasn't happened yet. Unless the hard drive hasn't been directly shocked, I'm afraid it's dead.

[Bratwurst]

Do you use surge protectors by chance?

[Sotenga]

Of course. I have surge protectors for every system. This bolt broke through the protectors! I didn't think the storm was that bad. I didn't even see any lightning, I just heard lots of thunder!

This will be a lesson to always unplug my systems through any harsh weather. Lest I forget.

[YoshiM]

Of course. I have surge protectors for every system. This bolt broke through the protectors! I didn't think the storm was that bad. I didn't even see any lightning, I just heard lots of thunder!

This will be a lesson to always unplug my systems through any harsh weather. Lest I forget.

What kind of protectors? What was the joule (ie shielding) rating? Were they even rated for lightning strikes? All things one should look into when purchasing power strips. I've got two PowerMax(? I think, had them for over 6 years) that retail for about $40 that are rated for lightning along with surge suppressors that have well over a few thousand joule rating. You may want to check the guarantee of your strips to see if they have a "if it gets damaged, we'll pay for it" deal. Not sure how old you are, but do you (or your parents) have renters/home owner's insurance that may cover this.