Is my computer case shaking me when I step on it with my bare feet?
Is my computer case shaking me when I step on it with my bare feet?
Hi, When I flip the power button to turn on my PC, I feel a little shock only when my feet are bare. But if I wear shoes or sit with my feet up in the air, I don't feel anything at all. So, is this bad for my computer parts? If it is, how can I stop feeling that shock?
It's called static electricity. Something happening around you right now is making more electrical buildup. Maybe it's the carpet on the floor and the dry air. Having too much or just a few drops of moisture makes it easier to get shocks. For your stuff, touching the outside shell won't hurt your parts, but I wouldn't touch the motherboard or other internal pieces even if you have a wrist strap on. If you plan on cleaning or upgrading your computer, please do it somewhere else so things stay safe. Back in the day, makers made their products better at stopping damage from static, but being careful is still the best move because some parts come wrapped in bags just to protect them.
When you say "shock," are you talking about one quick zap and then everything is fine, or does the tingling keep going as long as your hands stay on something? If the tingling stays on, that usually means electricity from a bad power cord is leaking through to your PC. Most monitors have cords with earthing wires attached, so the PC should be getting ground power at both ends of those cables. That suggests the problem isn't right there in the main cable, but maybe somewhere else, like a broken outlet, a faulty wall socket, or even a bad connection between the wall and the house wiring. If that sounds scary to you, call an electrician to check it out.
InvalidError : When you say 'shock', do you mean a quick zap or a constant tingle while you touch things? If it's a steady tingling feeling, that happens when electricity leaks from an outlet not properly connected to ground. Most monitors use grounded power cords so your PC should be safe with earthing at both the PSU and monitor, which usually means the problem is further away than just those two points. It could be a broken bar, a bad wall socket, faulty wiring somewhere else on the wall, or even bad wiring in the building itself. If that's true, you might want to call an electrician to fix it. Hi, After reading your message I checked if this is only one time or always happening and yes, it is continuous. Is it because some cables from the PSU are hidden behind the chassis back cover and touching the metal part?
hasangola420 : After reading your comment I checked that if its one time static or continuous static and found that yes, it is continuous. Is it because some of the cables of PSU that are not being used are hidden behind the back cover of chassis and they are having some contact with the chassis? No, it is because current is leaking from mains AC input to chassis (likely by the PSU's Y-class EMI suppression caps) and the chassis isn't properly grounded. I already enumerated a few examples of places where there may be breaks in the path between chassis ground and Earth ground. Try a different power strip or plug your PC+monitor directly in the wall outlet. If you still get shocks, you mayhave bad wiring in the walls. Try a different outlet, preferably on a different wall in a different room. If you still get shocks, then it could be a site grounding issue. Either way, you'll need an electrician to find the ground fault and fix it. That's a problem with building wiring at this point, not the PC, and it is an electrocution hazard since an internal failure in the PSU could cause the case to go live at a potentially deadly 170-750V (AC peak voltage + APFC capacitor voltage) with no current limit.
So I unplugged the power supply from my computer case and plugged it into a wall socket. When I touched both the PSU and the floor with bare feet while running my hands along them, I felt electricity flowing all the time. I thought it was broken so I grabbed another one to test it. Again, when I did that same thing, I could feel current right on my skin. Because I didn't want my computer ruined, I called an electrician over to take a look at what's wrong with it.
I checked your message and looked at whether this problem is happening once or over time. It happens all the time. Some cables in your power supply that aren't being used are tucked behind the back cover of the computer tower. These wires might be touching the metal box around the PC. No, it's not because current is leaking from the wall plug to the metal case. Instead, electricity from the main AC source is getting into the chassis, probably because those special protection caps on the power supply aren't working right and the case isn't connected properly to the ground wire. I already listed a few places where the connection between the metal case and the Earth ground might be broken or loose. Try using a different outlet for your PC and monitor, or even plug them directly into the wall socket near an electrician if you still feel shocks. If that doesn't help, there is probably bad wiring in the house itself. I tried taking the power supply out of the computer and testing it on its own. While my bare feet touched the floor, I could feel a steady stream of electricity flowing through me while holding the device. I thought the unit was broken, so I bought another one to test, but the same thing happened again: I felt that continuous current when touching it. Now I have asked an electrician to look into this so my computer doesn't get ruined and because feeling that voltage is very dangerous.
There is no point in answering an old post by RokeyKokey because it has been dead for seven years now. It's too late to reply here anyway, and the thread is already closed.