Why do I get little shocks from my new Asus laptop?

Question

I have a new Asus laptop with the correct 3 pin power adapter and I keep getting these little pin prick shocks and vibrations on my wrists when I am typing. It does not seem to matter whether I'm in Canada or Mexico. I do wonder if it has to do with the humidity or just a bad design? It is very annoying to have this happen all the time.

Comments

Follow this link for more general information (do not fully trust this as your problem may be different) http://www.techhive.com/article/141516/article.html

This is a common issue and anything can be the problem. You are messing with potentially (120 Volts,60Hz) for Canada, slightly higher for Mexico and a lot more if you go outside North, Central or South America. Do not try to fix this yourself or work on theories because without a professional looking at it you might be putting yourself in danger.

However, as an engineer i may be able to help with your curiosity given more information. Such as when this started? Have you charged your laptop outside Canada and  Mexico? how long do these shocks last for? Myself and other guys here i'm sure we can help to our best knowledge but without physically testing the system we could all be wrong.

Here is a list of potential issues:
- Battery is faulty as the link suggests
- Motherboard is not grounded properly

- You visited another country whose mains function at different frequency and voltage, you used your charger (which you shouldn't if it is rated by Canadian Standards ) eg Zimbabwe (220Volts, 50Hz). As a result, you blew your motherboard creating a short circuit. Even with a convertor this could go wrong

Now you see the wide range of problems, hence this is important you take it to a professional who can physically test for you.

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Thanks so much for your reply. The article was helpful. I do think the issue is the humidity, my skin can be a bit damp. I am only in Canada for the summers. I was getting shocked in Canada before using the computer in Mexico. When my arms are in the right position to receive a shock, it continues until I pull my arm(s) away. I have to say I am not very impressed with my Asus, and will not ever buy another one. It has already had other problems too. It is on a 3 year warranty, so next time I return, I can ask Tiger Direct about it. I think the only solution for me is to hook up an external keyboard so my arms don't have to rest on  the metal frame. In typing this message I have been shocked 4 times 3 on the right and once on the left.

Answer 1

Several possibilities:

1: The ground connection in your house is not working. Could be that the house was built when all plumbing was metal, and the ground was then connected to the plumbing. Now, most plumbing - and notably the public water supply - is made with PVC, so your ground connection is non-existing

2: You are using a mains adapter (e.g.round-to-square pins)) that doesn't carry the ground connection

3: Bad power cable

You should have a skilled person (electrician) lokk at your installation. Not only are you at risk, byt also is your PC.

Regards, Chris

Comments

Thanks so much for your reply. The article was helpful. I do think the issue is the humidity, my skin can be a bit damp. I am only in Canada for the summers. I was getting shocked in Canada before using the computer in Mexico. When my arms are in the right position to receive a shock, it continues until I pull my arm(s) away. I have to say I am not very impressed with my Asus, and will not ever buy another one. It has already had other problems too. It is on a 3 year warranty, so next time I return, I can ask Tiger Direct about it. I think the only solution for me is to hook up an external keyboard so my arms don't have to rest on  the metal frame. In typing this message I have been shocked 4 times 3 on the right and once on the left.