Beware the Static Shock!

[emjosta]

So I'm at a client tooling around with my late 2008 Aluminum MacBook. Carpet. Cold, dry weather. Are you getting scared yet? Go to pick it up off a table and zzzzzzzpt! Shocked the hell outa myself and apparently my MacBook. I grabbed it on the right hand side and the static charge must have discharged through the slot loading cd rom drive. Now it won't charge. Battery and Mag Safe brick tested fine at the Apple store. They're going to swap out the Mag Safe port for $110 first and then the flat rate repair for around $380 if needed. Note to all Aluminum MacBook/Pro owners. Ground yourself, or plug in the grounded PSU brick.

FML no laptop for work. I'd like to thank the engineers for coming up with design materials that encourage you to break your own laptop. Genius revenue model. It's not like I'm touching the inside of the machine. Gimme a break. Plastic netbook here I come. $1600 for a lightning rod. BS.

 

[miles01110]

If you discharge static into a port it doesn't matter what the casing is made out of.

 

[emjosta]

Didn't really discharge into a port. I'm guessing it was the optical drive. I can't really touch the inside of the optical drive. Something has to bridge that jump. The metal case. I just know I touched the right hand side of the bottom half of the laptop. Are you telling me anyone who picks up their aluminum macbook between november and april in northern america without grounding themselves can expect to fry it?

 

[MrCheeto]

*sigh*

No electrical charge is going to travel from the case to the mother board, if you don't believe me how come there isn't 16.5v of constantly coursing through your wrists as you rest them on the notebook?

The same reason movies like Wanted and books like that really old one are so prevalent, ignorance.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

Can't say I've ever been zapped by my Aluminum Unibody MacBook...I always use the 3-prong extension cord, so maybe that's why?

I doubt your grounding out on the case killed the charging circuitry, probably more along the lines of the charging circuitry kicked the bucket and shocked you when you grabbed the case...but I have been wrong before *shrug*

 

[XboxMySocks]

They would obviously sufficiently insulate the METAL case from the METAL components, apple isn't THAT retarded -.-