[cherished79]

There was a storm that hit close to my fathers house and he has a new computer. Since the storm, he has been unable to do much with his computer. The two main messages he gets are:

The communication port is invalid or busy

That tries over and over again and when he tries to go online this error occurs:

AOL was unable to detect any modems connected to your computer.

He has replaced the phone cord thinking it may have something to do with that but it didnt work.
Is it possible that lightening struck something and fried the computer?

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VERY possible that he took some kind of a hit. Especially since he appears to be using a dial-up modem they die very frequently around here during the stormy summer months for that very reason. We generally recommend that you unplug the phone cord from the computer anytime a storm is near or at least use a surge protector that also protects the phone line..... no guarantee but bettter than nothing.

[shard92]

VERY possible that he took some kind of a hit. Especially since he appears to be using a dial-up modem they die very frequently around here during the stormy summer months for that very reason. We generally recommend that you unplug the phone cord from the computer anytime a storm is near or at least use a surge protector that also protects the phone line..... no guarantee but bettter than nothing.

[cherished79]

Shard92,

Thanks for the reply.
So, by the errors I told you, your thinking he was hit?
Nothing to do with anything else....say a virus or anything?
What should he do? Get a new computer, new modem or is there something else he can do?

[shard92]

Yeah sounds like he was hit to me. He might get away with just a modem but I'd recommend he take it to a reputable computer shop and have them check it out. just realize if it was struck no one can guarantee the system anymore....