Hit by Lightning!

[vanb777]

We've had about 30 days of terrential rain down here in Atlanta (VERY strange) and in the process my computer was struck down by Zeus. I built this box using advice from this forum and need some help in repairing.

CPU AMD|2500/333 ATHLON XP BARTON R
DDRAM 512MB|64X64 PC-2700 CRUCIAL
80GB|WD 7200RPM 8MB WD800JB
ATI RADEON 9000
ASUS A7V333-X

First of all, the motherboard looks like it's toast. The chip labeled "333MHz FSB Support" has a big brown bubble on it. That is the only visual damage I can see but I haven't been able to look at the CPU yet. What are the chances that this or other components are damaged? Will I be able to see if these components are lightning damaged without buying one piece at a time and seeing what works? (If everything is toast, I might consider using insurance before this process.)

Assuming the motherboard is the only component damaged, the easiest solution for me would be a direct replacement. But briefly looking around online, I can't seem to find this exact motherboard. This was my first time building a computer and I had a compatibility problem with the motherboard and CPU. It may have been the A7V333-X/L that wasn't compatible. Something I didn't think would affect CPU copatibility. So to the point... what would be a good motherboard upgrade that will be fully compatible with my current components?

As for the rest of the studio, everything seems to operate when hooked up to a friends laptop. However, this laptop has some internal noise and what seems strange to me is that when I start the PT software, the same internal noise of the laptop is mirrored in the monitors (Event PS6). Again, this is only when the PT software is started, all else equal. Does this seem normal? I don't know why a data cable like Firewire should carry any computer noise to the monitors.

All the studio equipment was plugged into a Furman AR-1215 Power Conditioner. Did the "Extreme Voltage Shutdown" protect against the lightning? If so, could the equipment still have been vulnerable through the Firewire cable? The computer was plugged into a separate APC Surge Arrest power strip so that I can shut it down separately from the equipment (plus avoid introducing noise into my "conditioned power"). Is there something more that I can do to protect from lightning in the future?

Thanks!