After a recent bout of thunder storms, I found my modem returning failure errors of not being able to get a carrier. Also printer connection failures are being reported 'Unable to communicated with printer'. I have removed the modem to see if it caused the IO problem but to no avail as the printer error remained the same. The telephone line and the printer itself (as determined by a self test) are functioning. I have not tested the modem in another machine. The serial mouse works and so does the sound card and SCSI devices. Could the computer have recieved a lightning strike through the phone line even though the computer was off? And, if it has, how do I difinitively assure myself that the IO section of the MB is fried? As background, the processor is a 486DX100 with 16meg of memory and onboard IDE, serial, and printer connections on the VLB MB. The modem is a USR 56K and the printer an HP855ci color. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ----- **Need help with PCBUILD mailing list? Send an Email to:** Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]> or Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>