Ive just recently statred getting shocked after my 12in powerbook has been plugged in to charge. I get one shock every 5 or so mins. Any one else experience this??
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Powerbook 12in Electric SHOCK!!!
- Thread starter claytonbench
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this is not good. can you give more info, like where you get shocked, how much (relatively) it is, etc...
pnw
pnw
More Info
If I dont take my hands off the laptop after I get the shock the first time I wont get shocked again but if I take my hands off for maybe five minutes it builds up a new charge and I get a little zap. The voltage cant be too high (it doesnt really hurt all that bad, if anything it is REALLY ANOYING!!!!). hope this helps clarify.
If I dont take my hands off the laptop after I get the shock the first time I wont get shocked again but if I take my hands off for maybe five minutes it builds up a new charge and I get a little zap. The voltage cant be too high (it doesnt really hurt all that bad, if anything it is REALLY ANOYING!!!!). hope this helps clarify.
Yeah, judging from your description, it sounds like static electricity.
Have you tried touching something else that's metal (without touching rubber nor wood first)?
Have you tried touching something else that's metal (without touching rubber nor wood first)?
static electricity
I thought it was static electricity at first, so I started troubleshooting... it only happens when plugged into the charger
I thought it was static electricity at first, so I started troubleshooting... it only happens when plugged into the charger
It doesnt sound like static, because I have intermittent buzzes if I use my PB, but no way is it a shock, just a sensation of the current running through the casing. This is down to the supply in the particular house I am in at the moment plus my propensity for static in a town up in the mountains. Some people feel nothing and think I am mad, others feel it and think that them that cant sense anything are lying! It has been like that from the day I first plugged it in here, and didnt appear out the blue like it sounds yours has.
If it has just started shocking you after owning the PB a while then Id suggest some electrical fault has developed. Either get an electrician to check out your powerpoints, or get a technician to check out the adapter and/or Apple to verify the PB.
If it has just started shocking you after owning the PB a while then Id suggest some electrical fault has developed. Either get an electrician to check out your powerpoints, or get a technician to check out the adapter and/or Apple to verify the PB.
if it was the middle of winter i'd probably write this off as static electricity since it used to happen to me with my TiBook all the time during dry weather but right now it's very humid still in most of the country and i also now own a 12" PowerBook and have never had any shock with it, static or otherwise. sounds like you have a short somewhere, probably realted to the power unit inside the machine. get it looked at ASAP.
have you tried degaussing your powerbook? You know, grounding it.
Also, you may want to consider the possibility that your powerbook has a faulty wiring job. Aluminum, like other similar metals, is conductive. A melted wiring insulation, for example, could be your problem. The 12 inch powerbook gets pretty damned hot, so that could be a possible accomplice to the culprit.
Also, you may want to consider the possibility that your powerbook has a faulty wiring job. Aluminum, like other similar metals, is conductive. A melted wiring insulation, for example, could be your problem. The 12 inch powerbook gets pretty damned hot, so that could be a possible accomplice to the culprit.
Im not exactly sure, but you could try using a anti static wristband, though they are usually reserved for people, and see if it degausses it. I suggest degaussing it on a piece of metal that you dont care about and that isnt connected to anything that can catch fire (IE: a doorknob on a door)
Yeah, and get a fire extinguisher handy, rubber wellies, take any braces out your mouth, remove all rings and ....
Degaussing you PB would be a bad idea. That would mean passing it though a high powered alternating magnetic field.
The unit it's self should not gain a charge, because it is grounded though the AC converter. This almost seems like something that you should call Apple about.
The anti-static wrist band is a good idea. If your building up the charge it should disapate it. If the computer is building it up, you should still get shocked when you touch it (after the time you stated) but it will at least let you know that your not the cause. The anti-static wrist strap slowly bleads off charge, it isn't like strapping a grounding wire to your body, which some people might be into.
Take it in.
If I was to guess .. I think its in the power adapter. Can you try someone elses?
Take it in. Last thing anyone needs is to be electrocuted. I would think Apple is very interesting in this.
If I was to guess .. I think its in the power adapter. Can you try someone elses?
Take it in. Last thing anyone needs is to be electrocuted. I would think Apple is very interesting in this.
This happens on a lot of laptops, especially the tibooks and alubooks.
believe it or not it also happens in the pc world my dad's panasonic toughbook shocked me the other day
believe it or not it also happens in the pc world
my dad's panasonic toughbook shocked me the other day
peculiar, I had always thought of degaussing as just disipating an electric charge. I guess my education is incomplete (well, of course it is, Im a sophomore in high school) and I should take a "physics and electromagnetics" course to learn more about this
By the way, how did you know that degaussing thing. Are you an electrical engineer?
I remember someone mentioning this on one of these forums when the AlBooks has just come out.
Doesn't the AC adapter come with two plugs - one that fits onto the adapter, and one on a lead? The adapter for the iBook does, in the UK at least, but I'm guessing it's the same for the PowerBooks.
Well, only one of those plugs (the one with the lead I think) actually has the ground connected. So try using that and see if it cures the problem...
Neil.
a.k.a. Arnel
Doesn't the AC adapter come with two plugs - one that fits onto the adapter, and one on a lead? The adapter for the iBook does, in the UK at least, but I'm guessing it's the same for the PowerBooks.
Well, only one of those plugs (the one with the lead I think) actually has the ground connected. So try using that and see if it cures the problem...
Neil.
a.k.a. Arnel
G5orBust (Great name and goal) I work as an audio engineer (sans degree- but I am working on it). T.V. repire people degauss T.V. sets (but not true flat screens), and in the old days people degaussed their floppies shortly before the poliece showed up to bust them for copyright infringement.
When you take physics, the first week or so will probely be spent on the history of physics, or when you get to electro-magnetic theroy thyou will likely be introduced to Guass and Wilhelm Webber. In honor of Gauss's work with magnetism a unit was named after him.
any way to de Gauss is to remove a magnetic moment.
Of a comical note at this site-
I wan't to know more about people that have had problems with grounding on laptops.1
When you take physics, the first week or so will probely be spent on the history of physics, or when you get to electro-magnetic theroy thyou will likely be introduced to Guass and Wilhelm Webber. In honor of Gauss's work with magnetism a unit was named after him.
any way to de Gauss is to remove a magnetic moment.
Of a comical note at this site-
Heck, a flam thrower protects against computer viruses also Not every kind of magnetic media can be erased with a degausser. Some magnetic media is damaged by it (or at least can't easly be reformated), though it's still a quick way of deleting information. .
I wan't to know more about people that have had problems with grounding on laptops.1
OK OK OK the ultimate way to know if something is wrong....
Ok ok here is what you need to do.
1.) Take the powerbook outside.
2.) Get an extension cord and plug it in.
3.) Get a hose and get an area of the ground (directly on the ground, or soil,.... not concrete or some other ground covering) soaking wet.
4.) take off your shoes and stand in the muddy puddle you just made.
5.) Then...... Grab the powerbook!!!! and hold on!
One of two things will happen. N
1.) Nothing will happen and you will not feel the shock that you usually feel. There will be no wiring fault in the casing and the shocks that you have felt will represent some sort of static build up, reflecting an odd atmospheric condition or some other environmental static electricity influence.
2.) You will feel a rather sizeable shock if the casing does have a wiring fault. You will short circuit something and act as a ground yourself and you will definately feel it (if it doesn't kill you.... Though it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would).
If you have ba11s of steel, this is the best way to find out yourself if there is indeed something wrong.
P.S...... This test is even more accurate if you lick your hands before grabbing the powerbook.
Ok ok here is what you need to do.
1.) Take the powerbook outside.
2.) Get an extension cord and plug it in.
3.) Get a hose and get an area of the ground (directly on the ground, or soil,.... not concrete or some other ground covering) soaking wet.
4.) take off your shoes and stand in the muddy puddle you just made.
5.) Then...... Grab the powerbook!!!! and hold on!
One of two things will happen. N
1.) Nothing will happen and you will not feel the shock that you usually feel. There will be no wiring fault in the casing and the shocks that you have felt will represent some sort of static build up, reflecting an odd atmospheric condition or some other environmental static electricity influence.
2.) You will feel a rather sizeable shock if the casing does have a wiring fault. You will short circuit something and act as a ground yourself and you will definately feel it (if it doesn't kill you.... Though it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would).
If you have ba11s of steel, this is the best way to find out yourself if there is indeed something wrong.
P.S...... This test is even more accurate if you lick your hands before grabbing the powerbook.
-claytonbench
It really could still be static shock, and it makes sence that it only happens when it is plugged in and that's your ground. You won't get a shock whn it isn't plugged in as the PB is separate from the wall and therefore the ground. This goes hand in hand with it not shocking you if you remain in contact with it while plugged, you are grounded and unable to build up a charge.
How strong a shock are we talking? And how long a duration? If it is a stinging, instantaneous shock, well, I'd say introduce some moisute into the air as it's most likely static.
However, if there is any discernable length to the shock - let alone a vibrating one (doubtful as the PB is Direct Current), then be very concerned, and have Apple take a look at it.
Static can give very powerful shocks, they are very high voltage after all (little current though). Personally I've had shocks go through leather jackets, and such. Some of the most powerful I've felt have been from when I've exited my car in winter - some damn near knock me on my ass.
Check your humidity, and see if what kind of surface you are sitting/walking on, and what clothes you tend to wear - wool is teh worst for this.
It really could still be static shock, and it makes sence that it only happens when it is plugged in and that's your ground. You won't get a shock whn it isn't plugged in as the PB is separate from the wall and therefore the ground. This goes hand in hand with it not shocking you if you remain in contact with it while plugged, you are grounded and unable to build up a charge.
How strong a shock are we talking? And how long a duration? If it is a stinging, instantaneous shock, well, I'd say introduce some moisute into the air as it's most likely static.
However, if there is any discernable length to the shock - let alone a vibrating one (doubtful as the PB is Direct Current), then be very concerned, and have Apple take a look at it.
Static can give very powerful shocks, they are very high voltage after all (little current though). Personally I've had shocks go through leather jackets, and such. Some of the most powerful I've felt have been from when I've exited my car in winter - some damn near knock me on my ass.
Check your humidity, and see if what kind of surface you are sitting/walking on, and what clothes you tend to wear - wool is teh worst for this.
Its becoming difficult to tell which suggestions are for real now
If the thread was entitled, My Van der Graaf Generator is shocking me when i hug it, is that normal?, then I can go with some of the trouble shoots. However this is a Powerbook for goodness sake.
What´s the next suggestion, use it in a humid greenhouse onlyand see if that helps.
If the thread was entitled, My Van der Graaf Generator is shocking me when i hug it, is that normal?, then I can go with some of the trouble shoots. However this is a Powerbook for goodness sake.
What´s the next suggestion, use it in a humid greenhouse onlyand see if that helps.
well...
My friend often tells me his new 12 inch powerbook shocks him, he sits on a leather chair, the powerbook is on a wood desk. I thought it was just him, I guess he's not alone. My Clamshell never shocks me besides in the winter, well that's probably because it is mostly plastic....
thats all i gotta say
-limey
My friend often tells me his new 12 inch powerbook shocks him, he sits on a leather chair, the powerbook is on a wood desk. I thought it was just him, I guess he's not alone. My Clamshell never shocks me besides in the winter, well that's probably because it is mostly plastic....
thats all i gotta say
-limey