Static electricity and my Powerbook

Viro

Viro

Registered
One of the biggest annoyances about my Powerbook is the aluminium body. Sure, it looks cool and is an eye catcher, but it gives me electric shocks too.

Whenever I remove my fleece/pullover, I get static electricity on me. So the moment I touch my Powerbook, which is grounded, I get an electric shock. These range from mild to quite painful.

Now, am I the only Powerbook owner who faces this problem? How do I get rid of static before working on my Powerbook?
 
I have similar problems only the static usually comes from petting my cat while I'm wearing fleece or sitting with a fleece blanket. It's a dry climate here on the Front Range of the Rockies. A humidifier goes a long way to reduce static of all sorts, but if you need immediate release after removing your fleece pullover (or whatever), touch anything else metal first to discharge yourself (pun intended). Static can cause harm to any computer ya know. :p
 
Ditto with the iBook, it's not just a PowerBook problem. Only with the iBook one has to be careful so as not to accidentally shock the trackpad, for example, because that's usually the first conductive thing one touches, seeing as the case is plastic. I shocked the trackpad once, and I thought I killed it. Never did that again :)

Weirdly, if you shock the latch button, that will freeze the pointer for a few seconds.
 
Something metal... I've tried touching window frames, office chairs, and nothing.

What metal thing am I meant to touch, exactly?
 
I usually try to touch something grounded, for example, we have some clip-on lights that have metal casing. They work like a charm!
Also, the little plate around the light switches and electrical outlets are metal in my house, these work too. Pretty much anything metal will do the trick.

One thing I've noticed: If you touch something to 'un-static' yourself, and then continue touching it, but move again, you will still shock the computer. You have to ground yourself AFTER you're in position to grab the laptop.
 
Strange. I think its because today seems more cloudy and damp than usual. I haven't had any need to 'discharge' myself before using my laptop.

Will try it the next time its dry. Thanks for the answers
 
dlloyd said:
Also, the little plate around the light switches and electrical outlets are metal in my house, these work too.
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Yikes! I'd be careful touching the plates or the screws in the plates of electrical sockets to discharge static electricity... one day you might "complete the circuit" unwittingly!
 
Oh... hehe... I guess I've just had one too many experiences trying to plug something in by feel... we've all done it -- guided the prongs into the socket with our finger(s) in the dark, only to discover that if your fingers are still on the prongs when you actually find the socket, you get quite a shock!
 
Ha! I have done that once in the broad daylight. Albeit I was only 8 years old ;) However, I learned my lesson then and haven't done it since.
 
Hehe... well, some lessons are harder to learn than others. It's kinda like a lesson you have to keep doing in order to remind yourself not to do it... :p
 
I shocked myself plugging in a light, in the dark, behind a stack of bedding. Somehow a wire coat hanger had go behind the stack, and fell across the prongs as i plugged in the light. Huge flash, considerable shock and all the light go on in the house (also setting of the burglar alarm). I was ok, but afterward when i looked at the prongs, they had a gouge in them the shape of the coat-hanger about 4/5ths of the way through the prongs. The coat-hanger was similarly gouged, and was only hanging together by a thread of metal, and the plug/socket were charred black.

Suffice to say, i've never plugged in something in a place i can't see since!

On the static issue- you could always buy a static cuff (one of those things you plug in, then put round your wrist for working on the insides of computers) but it would be a bit of overkill. Its easier here in the uk (i think) as our plugs are 3 pin and so have an earth, which should be attached to the metal casing of almost all your appliances (like my desk lamp), so you can just touch one of them.
 
I stuck a pair of tweezers in a socket when I was about four. I don't remember much except that that particular outlet still doesn't work :).
However, the wall plate around the switches aren't actually connected into the wiring, so it would be pretty hard to 'complete the circuit'.
And I never even had to 'learn' not to guide the prongs to the socket with my fingers. I'm pretty sure I always knew that :D.
 
I stuck a pair of tweezers in a socket when I was about four. I don't remember much except that that particular outlet still doesn't work
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Now I understand dlloyd :)

However, the wall plate around the switches aren't actually connected into the wiring,
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Not true. On older buildings/houses, where there wasn't a separate ground, the box itself was part of the circuit, that would include screws, cover. New installs, still using metal boxes, would still have the ground connected to a ground screw in the box.
 
ora said:
I shocked myself plugging in a light, in the dark, behind a stack of bedding. Somehow a wire coat hanger had go behind the stack, and fell across the prongs as i plugged in the light. Huge flash, considerable shock and all the light go on in the house (also setting of the burglar alarm). I was ok, but afterward when i looked at the prongs, they had a gouge in them the shape of the coat-hanger about 4/5ths of the way through the prongs. The coat-hanger was similarly gouged, and was only hanging together by a thread of metal, and the plug/socket were charred black.
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Wow! That's cool! I'll be right back... I'm gonna go try that real quick! If y'all don't hear from me again, you'll know why... ;)
 
I was married to an electrician for many years, who, on more than one occasion, was shocked badly enough to boil the blood in his viens; so, I wouldn't try that one. He was once shocked badly enough to fall from a ladder in a concrete building during an installation job in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 18 years ago. It put him in the hospital for a week. Needless to say he gave up being an electrician about 14 years ago. However, I don't personally know any of you, so maybe you need a good shock to smarten up.

It is true that many older homes/buildings have metal boxes behind the switches and recepticles, and yes, many of them are connected to wires to help ground them. As a starving artist, I often do remodel jobs to support myself and family and have come across these on more than one house. Today however, most boxes behind the plates are plastic too (much safer). But, you can still get shocked if you aren't too careful.

You guys in the UK do things better now, what with the on/off switches for power right on the plug plates (not only in the UK, much of modern Europe does), but you still have enough of the old wiring around too to kill.
 
Viro said:
Finally, someone sensible!
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Women generally are. Well travelled women even more so. Thanks for the compliment.

Some of the others here are just killing time, while some of us are looking for no nonsense advice. Thou I like the entertainment value too sometimes.

As for more on the static discharging, someone suggested a doorknob. That's sensible, but I prefer one of my kids (if they're around). It's a game we play. The discharge is fast and fun, more so than a doorknob, but you might not have one to chase down. My cats hate the static, even though they can cause it. Got a roomy? Any appliances close by? I like the doorknob though 'cause it's not plugged into anything that might increase the discharge amount.

************

Artists are engineers too.
 
I;ve seen many outlets that gave out no electricity simply because made poorly .. and switches that don't work, poor work, old wires etc. That bugs me more (in new places hard to decide if to trust the outlet enough to plug the powerbook there) .. than the static electricity.

Door handles, metallic table legs, metallic candy boxes, anything metal you have around the computer before touching it. I think I've never had a bad shock of a mac or other computers - but I remember a few really bad ones. One was at border's (music/book store) of their floors I think .. when I kissed someone it felt nearly as bad as a heart attack. Well, never kiss in borders..
 
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