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Been working on systems for awhile for others, but had an issue where a regular customer came in with a system that was completely trashed. Issue is, his power pole outside his house was hit with lightning and caught fire. I've got pictures of a computer case that looks like a blow torch hit it as the power supply and the mother board is literally blackened. He now has to deal with getting a new breaker box, rewire his house, and needs a lot of new lighting and electronics. Basically, everything in his home was blown and it also suffered damage from a small fire caused by by sockets and the breaker panel in his box catching fire. His issue with me is they require a detailed computer diagnostic claim. He basically only trusts me to do his computer work though I only do it on the side (Comptia A+ certified as well as other non-hardware certifications but on VA disability so I don't do it professionally.) I've looked at information needed for the reports but hope I can find someone to give me advice on what I should add and subtract. I consider it pretty funny that they replaced the other electronics in his home with no issue but want a detailed diagnostic for the computer.

Here is what I wrote up sans the name and address plus my header

Issue: Customer brought in components and case of system for system that failed due to a reported power surge. Preliminary tests showed failure of the main power supply and motherboard (list to follow) due to electrical issues. Power supply fuse fused and damage to component rail visible. Damage to motherboard visible at the 24 pin ATX connector as well as 4/8 Pin CPU power connector. Modular connectors from the power supply to the board show signs of overheating and possible over voltage with loose sections where the wire casing created bubbles on the connection harness. CPU pulled and shows signs of over voltage in the CPU socket. Due to the sensitivity of the CPU to voltage, not tested. CPU may still work, but it's lifespan is questionable for long term use. Customer informed of the issue.

Tested other components of the system that are connected to the motherboard by connecting to bench system. GPU (full list of components tested will follow) booted up into OS display but crashed soon after. Preliminary thoughts is that the GPU sustained damage at the PCI slot connection and is non-repairable. Ram was then installed onto bench system. One stick of DDR 4 memory faulted during boot into bios and was unreadable. 3 sticks booted into bios and appeared properly as system ram. Booted into OS and ran diagnostics for ram but discontinued after 30~ minutes due to multiple errors on all 3 sticks. Diagnosed the remaining 3 sticks of DDR 4 ram as unreliable for further use due to failure of 1 stick and processing/retrieval errors on 3 sticks. Unable to determine the original placement of ram on original motherboard as the customer tried to diagnose the system himself after purchasing a new power supply, CPU, CPU fan (original system had a liquid cooling harness,) and motherboard. Possible placement would be the failed stick of ram in slot 1 and remaining sticks in slots 2-4.

Hard drives: Tested M2 SSD and M2 failed to load as a primary or secondary drive. Diagnosed as non-functional due to damage more then likely caused by the damage to the motherboard and power supply. 4 mechanical 4tb hard drives tested. 3 failed to appear on bios as readable. Possible failure of the circuit boards for the hard drives. Unable to test those 3 further. 1 hard drive booted into bios but failed to properly display hard drive size. Diagnosed as full failure. Retrieving data off of drives would be difficult as drives were set up in a Raid 6 configuration as informed by the customer. 3 hard drives would need new circuit boards for testing purposes and due to failure of 4th hard drive to properly activate, my suggestion would be for replacement due to uncertainty in the drives even if control boards replaced due to cost and uncertainty of the long term reliability of the drives.

Fans: Were not tested due to being integrated parts for the case, the CPU water cooling system, and the GPU water cooling system. Customer had switched out the original fans with quieter fans, but the items come with prepackaged fans when purchased and he stated he may have the originals in storage.

Other: Blu-Ray/DVD drive failed to respond when connected to bench system. Recommend replacement. Fan controller, not tested as integral to case.

Case: USB ports on case non-operational when connected to bench system USB headers to test. Recommend full replacement. Power button, hard drive activity light, and other functions of the case not tested.


Components in system:: Asrock MB: Z370, Corsair Vengeance Ram, Intel Core I7-8700k, Corsair Hydro CPU cooler, LG Blu-ray./DVD player, EVGA GTX 1080 TI SC2 Water cooled GPU, Coolermaster Cosmos II case, Samsung 1 TB EVO M2, 4- WD 4TB Blue Drives.

Not listed- case and radiator cooling fans manufacturer, 4 Sata cable manufacturer

Recommendations: Replacement of almost all components either due to damage or uncertainty of reliability of components. Data recovery not recommended due to nature of the Raid 6 configuration. Hard drive control boards by specialized centers possible but not recommended based on uncertainty that it will fix the hard drive issues.

Replacement costs:

Case: Cosmos II anniversary case- out of stock- comparable Cooler Master Cosmos C700m $699
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W Fully Modular supply- unknown/out of stock- comparable EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+ $189
Motherboard: Asroc Z370Pro4- out of stock- comparable – MSI Pro Z390-A $129
CPU: Intel I7-8700k- $379
Ram: Corsair Vengence LBX (4 sticks-32gb)- $259
GPU: EVGA 1080ti Hybrid- $1099
DVD Drive: LG Blu Ray/DVD - $76
M2 Drive: EVO M2 960 - $499
Hard Drives: 4 WD 4tb Blue- $400

These costs are as of the date of research and subject to change. Prices have also been rising due to supply issues so availability of replacements are not certain.

Costs for technical services:

System Build- 2 hours maximum (subject to radiator placement and moving fans around to accommodate.)- Full hookup of components and discrete placement of the wires. $85 per hour subject to complexity (SATA and other common cables needed supplied as well as common mounting hardware)

System Setup: Installation of OS and setup of Raid drives $60

Conclusion: Due to the components being past manufacturers warranty and doubts on coverage, replacement at dealers cost is recommended due to the nature of individual components needing replacing, the specialized nature of repair, the additional costs compared to replacement, and the uncertainty of reliability of the components if they are repairable. Some of the components are specialized towards certain makes and models so even if a specialized repair location can be found, the cost of the components (if they can be located) would be cost prohibitive.

Any advice would be helpful. First time doing this and he wants me to do the workup though he could probably get it done at shops that do it regularly.

I've done a couple of these.

First be sure this is printed on company letterhead. (don't have one? make one!)
If you are not DBA (do business as) it only takes few minutes and quick drive to the county courthouse to get yourself setup.

Next be sure you stay away from conjecture.

Last be sure to state near the top that on initial inspection you see smoke damage and clear signs of lightning strike.
Can you PROVE that all the damage you see is caused by the strike? Nope but the timeline matches.

Everything else looks good!

Aranarth wrote:

I've done a couple of these

.

It's good to get advice as it's something that I've never had to worry about as I just tinker with systems on the side. I did some revisions to the diagnostic, but the main information pretty much was the same on letterhead with Friends and Family computer technician as it's title. Printed it out with my contact details and he submitted it last night. Got a call from the adjuster this morning and we went over the diagnostic in detail. He asked me which computer repair firms I had work for, I informed him that I've worked on computers (building, modifying, and repairing) since the 1980's, I've never done it formally. I've gone to school and done certification classes but never actually did it as a profession. He laughed and stated that though my diagnostic was blunt, it was one of the better and thorough reports he had seen and he wanted to talk to the person that wrote it. We talked shop where he quizzed me on types of damages, the signs and smells you look for, how to tell if it is a touch short vs power surge, and other items so I guess he was digging to see if I knew what I was talking about. He then asked if I took referrals, I said yes but my availability depended on my health. We hung up and my buddy received an email an hour later with his claim approved. I may be getting referrals for diagnosis reports in the future (not sure, but his questioning seemed aimed at that.)

Juiced wrote:

Aranarth wrote:

I've done a couple of these

.

It's good to get advice as it's something that I've never had to worry about as I just tinker with systems on the side. I did some revisions to the diagnostic, but the main information pretty much was the same on letterhead with Friends and Family computer technician as it's title. Printed it out with my contact details and he submitted it last night. Got a call from the adjuster this morning and we went over the diagnostic in detail. He asked me which computer repair firms I had work for, I informed him that I've worked on computers (building, modifying, and repairing) since the 1980's, I've never done it formally. I've gone to school and done certification classes but never actually did it as a profession. He laughed and stated that though my diagnostic was blunt, it was one of the better and thorough reports he had seen and he wanted to talk to the person that wrote it. We talked shop where he quizzed me on types of damages, the signs and smells you look for, how to tell if it is a touch short vs power surge, and other items so I guess he was digging to see if I knew what I was talking about. He then asked if I took referrals, I said yes but my availability depended on my health. We hung up and my buddy received an email an hour later with his claim approved. I may be getting referrals for diagnosis reports in the future (not sure, but his questioning seemed aimed at that.)

Bwahahaha!
Time to quit your day job?

I've only one guy give me grief and that was because it did not look professional enough at first glance.

I built a proper letter head, made sure it looked like a business letter, copy pasted the guts of it over and I was good to go after that.
He also recommended stapling a business card to the quote. Apparently if you have a business card you're a professional... lol