If you use a dial-up (a regular phone line connection) internet service, and you don’t have any surge protection on your phone line, it’s very possible that your modem has been hit with a damaging power surge. This is the most common form of surge to hit a computer, as most people have their systems connected to an electrical surge protector but not one that handles the telephone connection as well. Fortunately this is typically a cheap fix — modems for most computers are as low as $13.00, and they do not require much bench time to repair.
If you use a high-speed connection, you will want to get ahold of your service provider (probably Verizon, Charter, or Cox) and have them test the equipment before you bring your system in, as if the problem lies in their modem, we will not be able to replace it. They should be able to run a test while you’re on the phone; if they say the equipment is fine, the next step is to bring it to one of our locations. We can hook the computer up to our high-speed connection and diagnose any problems that may have arisen in the computer’s configuration or hardware as a result of power loss/surge.
