Do you turn off your computer in a storm?

I always turn my computer off during a storm. I also unplug it and I also make sure that my phone line is disconnected. Even though many people shut it off, or even have a surge protector they always forget that phone line. Phone lines can carry electric to and can also blow your computer if its hooked. I have lost 4 phones over the past 5 years due to forgetting to disconnect them during a storm.

nah I never turn my pc or any electrical devices off during a lightning storm the reason being is all my electrics have surge protectors so that will drop out before it fries my pc.

Hi moonchild here in NSW we are having quite a few thunder storms lately I always turn off and unplug my computer but I never unplug my phone! I did not know it can damage the phone? well from now on I will do that too! just lets hope summer is not going to be so bad

Yes, I turn my computer off during a storm. I do have a surge protector but if the electicity goes out I can not use the computer so I might just as well shut if off until the storm have pass by. I also shut my computer down when I am not on it or am not at home because never know when we could get a storm.

I agree, we do have really only 2 seasons here. The short winter which is generally pretty dry and the long summer which is the wet season. Spring and autumn are just short transitions to these extremes. The summer always comes around pretty quickly here! Storms are a problem for us as my wife and I work on our computers every day. We usually try to hang on for as long as possible and see how bad the storm will be before we turn off. We have had the power cut out while being online before and have had no problems. We have a safety switch on our power box in our home as most houses do these days, but we also have a large surge protector with battery back up. This is one heavy unit as it takes special batteries. We do not have it connected currently as the batteries are flat, but it is perfect for protecting computers and still keeping them running through a blackout!

No, I went and bought me a expensive surge protector just for these mishaps. That way I can work even in bad weather. If the electric flickers on and off multiple times I do turn off my computer then.

I have heard stories of melted down tv sets. Its best to turn everything off and unplug it.

Hi moonchild1au, During a storm I would turn off everything and unplug it. I remember when I was a kid we had a bad storm here and it blew our television. The television was was unplugged from the power but the lightning hit the TV cable which was still plugged in. So know I unplug everything even the cable for the cable TV. I must invest in a surge protector at some stage but I have been putting it off as we don't get many storms here.

Here in our country storm is not really affect the continuity of internet connection. Therefore, even there is storm I always turn on my computer to do something on the net...

Yup, i do turn off all my appliances like computer and television as i do not like them to intercept the loud thunder and lightning as it may result to short circuit or damage my appliances . For protection it better to turn it off so that the appliances may not becomes damage and it would last for a longer time.

I use a notebook, so I pull out the power, if the storm lasts long then obviously it doesn't help. Pull out the modem as well and switch to WiFi when it's possible, otherwise just leave it off.

Hello Moon I never turn off my computers. I have them both plugged into a serge protector. I have been through many storms with my computers on it only affected one when I didn't have it plugged into a serge protector, it took out the modem once.

yup its normal for me to turn it off theres a big chance of power failures i cant make that risk since i have lots of stuff stored on my single core pc..

moonchild, i dont often turn my computer off. I dont feel it is necessary unless constant lightning is happening close to your house. Now that I read some of these stories I feel I should turn my computer off in a bad storm. The worst thats ever happen to me during a storm on a computer was that it just restarted because the power went out for a second.

I will turn it off my television, and the my wired PC. Usually when the storms are pretty bad, the service will be lost anyways so its no use anyways. If it is a bad one with lots of lightening and thunder. I would not want to fry my computer either as I have heard if it happening before to some friends of mine.

I that this is one of the goldern rules in relation to pcs! I think that it's important to always turn your pc off during a storm unless you have one of these UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) devices attached to your system. If you have one of these and you get a power cut then your UPS will rely on backup battery power and this will provide you with enough standby power to shut down your pc properly and then you can wait for the storm to blow over. Another good thing to use is a surge protector! You attach all you computer plugs to this and then if there is a power surge your pc will be protected and the surge protector will absorb the excess rise in electricity. I think that it's better to be safe than sorry as I definitely wouldn't want to be paying out for a brand new computer. Andrew

maybe i didnt turn off the computer last time, but the tv. because i think it's safe in the tall building. but if in the countryside, i think i'll turn it off, even turn off the electricity. but maybe from next time, when great storm, i'll turn off all the electrical equipment.

Yes,Always i unplug it .

Normally I don't shut off my computer during storms since they are on surge protectors and I trust they will be fine. If I'm downstairs or near the computer I'll go ahead and shut it down so I don't lose any of my work but I don't stress about it too much since it's on the surge protector. My laptop I watch though as it could be very dangerous if it is plugged in during a storm and not on a protector so I def. make sure it's off of it. But for the most part it's better to be safe than sorry and just make sure it's off. I usually don't really care all too much because I at least have some protection if it works right which it has for a very long time.

No I don't turn my computer off when there is a storm. I am kind of concerned about living the power cord plugged in though. I guess It never phased me that anything would happen. My son always get nervous when a storm comes. He turns off every electronic thing in his room. That's the life of an 8 year old.