Non earthed power

[jamesjaws]

Hi. I am currently in India and using my Dell XPS 1330 laptop. Thing is that the power is not earthed here and the metal parts on the computer make the skin tingle when touched. I noticed after the first time of using the computer plugged in, when i rebooted the screen went all weird and colourful during POST, and sometimes when in windows the comp freezes due to the video card driver. Does anyone think that the non-earthed power has corrupted my video card? It's weird because sometimes the computer works and other times it doesn't. I take the battery out, put it back in and it seems to work. Is the damage permanent? or will it all go away when i get earthed power again. I now only plug in the laptop to charge it and use it off battery only just in case. I have tried reflashing the BIOS as well but that hasn't fixed it. I can't find anything to reflash the video card. Thanks.

 

[frozenlead]

Its very possible the ungrounded electricity is wreaking havoc on your system. The 1330 isn't equipped with a dedicated card, though, so you're damage is on the motherboard.

I find this quite strange, as one of my friends uses a 1330 with a 2 prong adapter, meaning it's ungrounded. His doesn't have this problem. The grounding is really only for the PSU, anyway - if you'll notice, the connector for the notebook itself only has 2 poles, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that the designers use the - pole for a ground..

You can get a 2 prong adapter for the unit and then wire a ground to it. Just get a longish wire and connect it to a pipe that goes underground (a water pipe is best).

As for how to repair the damage...I've no idea. The only thing I can think of is to replace the motherboard.

 

[jamesjaws]

Its very possible the ungrounded electricity is wreaking havoc on your system. The 1330 isn't equipped with a dedicated card, though, so you're damage is on the motherboard.

I find this quite strange, as one of my friends uses a 1330 with a 2 prong adapter, meaning it's ungrounded. His doesn't have this problem. The grounding is really only for the PSU, anyway - if you'll notice, the connector for the notebook itself only has 2 poles, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that the designers use the - pole for a ground..

You can get a 2 prong adapter for the unit and then wire a ground to it. Just get a longish wire and connect it to a pipe that goes underground (a water pipe is best).

As for how to repair the damage...I've no idea. The only thing I can think of is to replace the motherboard.

Thanks for that. I think in the US electricity is grounded at the sub station or electricity station. therefore here is no need for a grounding pin at homes. I will do your wire suggestion and plug the earth onto a water pipe... Thank you again.

 

[frozenlead]

On the contrary, all US homes that have been remodeled in the past 30 years (perhaps even more) or so contain grounding pins on AC wall plugs.