static shock

[Yorus]

Can someone advise me on this:

I seem to get ridiculously statically charged (everything I touch shocks me), and although i touch something metal before I touch my Ibook G4 to ground myself, occasionally that gets a shock too. The problem is that 4 or 5 times now it has completely shut the computer down without warning.
Is this normal? I would have thought that the internal workings of the Ibook should be suitably closed off to prevent such things. Moreover, would this be doing damage to my computer (I would be surprised if it weren't)?
I have the apple care warranty, but I'm not sure if shocking my mac is covered and so am not sure what to say if I want to send it in to have it checked out.

Any ideas? Cheers, Yorus.

 

[mrgreen4242]

Yikes, that seems very odd. I'm not sure how isolated the ibook is from the casing, but it seems very strange that it would shutdown from static shock to the outside. I would invest in AppleCare if I were you!

Something you can try is to use Static Gaurd spray regularly on your clothing, to help disipate charges while you are dressing, etc. That might keep the problem under control some. Also, try some shoes withour rubber soles, or at least without dense/thick rubber soles, to help you keep grounded with the earth.

Good luck, Rob

 

[Peterkro]

As far as I know there's not a lot you can do about it. Touching some sort earthed metal nearby(plugged in electrical appliance, water pipe,whatever) is a good idea. Some people just hold static charges more than others.

 

[Yorus]

yeah, the static guard is a good idea, and i know that i tend to get more shocks then most people (darn, will have to stop wearing those new winter boots with rubber soles), but is it really normal for the computer to shut down though? and if not would the apple care warranty deal with this, admittedly somewhat weird, problem?

 

[Peterkro]

Its difficult to understand why the iBook is shutting down.In theory it should have no effect as all metal touchable should be at earth potential, but low voltage circuits have some strange properties.
Just as an afterthought does it shut down when on battery power or mains or both?

 

[Yorus]

i'm not sure if it shuts down when it is running off the battery, i've never shocked it under that condition. if it makes a difference, in all instances it has been plugged into a powerbar that has a fuse, not directly into the wall outlet.

 

[Peterkro]

The only thing I can think of is a dodgy extension, try plugging straight into socket.

 

[appletalk]

Can you look in your system prefs - energy saver, in the options tab, to see if "restart automatically on power failure" is checked?

Maybe your discharge is screwing with either the iBooks power supply or your powerstrip, and causing the ibook to think there is a power failure?