I've had the following happen over the years to my computers and was wondering what your thoughts were on equipment damage:
1. A USB port on my computer got broken on the inside allowing a digital camera to be plugged in backwards. The computer didn't recognize the camera and I unplugged it. A printer was also later unknowingly plugged in upside down into the USB port and I detected a strange smell.
Windows XP reported something like "your USB port is overcharging and will be shut down". About 6 months later the computer stopped booting....Neither the printer nor the camera ever showed any signs of damage. What got damaged? Anything? Is it possible my DSL router got damaged? My HDD, etc. ? I've always wondered if the backwards USB accidents caused the death of my PC....
2. A friend donated a Dell Desktop to me who said it had been hit by lightning. I reinstalled the OS and it works fine....I wonder if it really had been struck......any way to tell? Prime95, Memtest, OEM HDD Tests, etc? I guess if it passes after about 24 hrs with each test, it's safe to assume it hadn't really been hit???
3. I also sprayed Radio Shack Color TV Tuner cleaner into a gameport on my pc years ago. It was later found to be unnecessary as the joystick was water damaged but I didn't know it at the time. Any chance that spray screwed anything up? It was supposed to be "safe" for electronic components.
4. I unplugged a PCI card from a motherboard that was plugged in but not turned on...could any damage be caused by that? The card was unplugged with the board on...not plugged in.
Just stupid crap that's always bugged me if anything was going to be later degraded or not....just wondering. Any replies are welcome!
1. A USB port on my computer got broken on the inside allowing a digital camera to be plugged in backwards. The computer didn't recognize the camera and I unplugged it. A printer was also later unknowingly plugged in upside down into the USB port and I detected a strange smell.

2. A friend donated a Dell Desktop to me who said it had been hit by lightning. I reinstalled the OS and it works fine....I wonder if it really had been struck......any way to tell? Prime95, Memtest, OEM HDD Tests, etc? I guess if it passes after about 24 hrs with each test, it's safe to assume it hadn't really been hit???


3. I also sprayed Radio Shack Color TV Tuner cleaner into a gameport on my pc years ago. It was later found to be unnecessary as the joystick was water damaged but I didn't know it at the time. Any chance that spray screwed anything up? It was supposed to be "safe" for electronic components.

4. I unplugged a PCI card from a motherboard that was plugged in but not turned on...could any damage be caused by that? The card was unplugged with the board on...not plugged in.
Just stupid crap that's always bugged me if anything was going to be later degraded or not....just wondering. Any replies are welcome!

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