Lightning Storm Fried My PC!

So a few days ago I was working on my computer and there was a lightning storm. I was wearing headphones so I didn't hear the thunder and suddenly my screen goes black. My computer instantly "shutoff" and will not turn on again. When I press the power button absolutely nothing happens!

What I'm thinking is that either my PSU or my Mobo is fried. Is there an easy way to tell which one it is? I have searched online and people suggested buying a multimeter to check my PSU, but a decent one costs like 30 bucks and if I am going to be buying a new PSU I need all the money I can save.

I was wondering if a voltage tester would work? I can buy one for three bucks, and basically it tells me if electricity is running through a socket or wire.

What do you think I should do? How can I tell if it's the PSU or the Mobo? Could it be both?

My PSU is a Zalman ZM600-HP heatpipe cooled 600 watt
My Mobo is ASUS M3N72-D

Thanks for your help.

 

Greetings, CuNaMo.

I'm assuming that you've bypassed any surge protection you may have been using (suppressors are usually only good for one major hit). Maybe try another wall socket?

One thing you could try is unplug any hard drives, opticals, PCI-E cards, etc., then try to power up, in case one or more of those discrete components are causing the problem.

This is not a good situation: the possibility exists, of course, that both motherboard and PSU have been damaged. You might have to bite the bullet, do an upgrade on a new PSU, and see what you've got left.

 

I agree with Caliban. Even if you tested your PSU with a DVM or other tester, it still might give you voltages but you won't know how many amps it is still capable of thereby not being able to power everything up. Many computer shops have an add-on PCI board that might be able to diagnose things but it costs money too. Considering that you have a decent 600W PSU, this is not a vintage system and probably has a good GPU card too. Does anything smell on the PSU?

I agree with the above, it's a lose/lose situation. Have you got a great friend that can try out your parts? Not the PSU or mobo though, might be able to salvage something out of this. Good luck and welcome.