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Mysterious Reboot

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by james_randy 1 view

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One of my users has his computer sitting on the top of a counter (similar to a kitchen counter). Next to that counter is his desk, on which sits his monitor, keyboard and mouse. There is a metal edge on all four sides of his desk. His computer does not touch the metal edge of the desk. (It's about one inch from it.) Obviously, the keyboard, monitor and mouse are directly cabled to his computer.

On an average of about once a day he will touch the metal edge of his desk and produce a small static charge. At the instant of that static charge, his computer will reboot itself. This does not happen EVERY time he produces this static charge, but only sometimes (maybe one in four). He had a different computer in the past, which was setup the same way. He?s always had instances of that static charge, but it never caused that previous computer to reboot. He's had this particular computer for about two months. The problem has been occurring for about two months.

His current computer is almost identical to his previous one. It's a Pentium II 450 on a QDI motherboard, 128 MB RAM, ATI graphics card (replaced a Diamond Stealth), 3Com NIC wired to our LAN with cat5 cable & RJ45 connector, Viewsonic monitor, Microsoft keyboard & PS2 mouse. It?s a pretty standard desktop PC. The previous QDI motherboard blew a capacitor and I replaced it with an identical motherboard. That capacitor literally blew itself off the board with a loud POP. (I wonder if that old motherboard's blown capacitorand this reboot problem are related?) He is connected thru a UPS, a Liebert PowerSure. His network connection is also routed thru that UPS unit.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could cause this problem and/or what could prevent it? I know, he should ground himself first someplace else, but that's not really practical.

(It's time I give you guys back some of these points.)

Regards,

jr

14 replies

by rlevesque

JR,

I've seen this before lots of times in my old work place. There were a couplf of things we did to try and help.

1) inside the computer, sometimes the case had grounding wires that attached from the power supply to the chassis via the screws holding the cards or drives. maybe these aren't attached, if there are any.

2) try changing the UPS unit. Perhaps something inside is loose or worn out, and/or maybe the grounding circuit isn't working.

3) Put his chair on a good quality rubber or vinal floor mat, preferibly one with a grounding strap or grounding wires. Usually a chair with wheels across a rug is enough to cause the problem.

4) give him a can of Static Guard, the kind you spray on clothing. If he sprays his area or himself once or twice, the static may ease a bit. I know I keep a can especially for the winter time when the air is really dry.

5) Buy a wrist grounding strap and make him wear it while at his desk.

I know it seems silly, but static does cause havik, as you have seen.

by ann777

In addition to the above, i'd recommend putting a grounding mat under the computer on top of the table.

by don christner

I suppose it is time to give back. Since most of your answers were garbage posted to old questions with only one answer. (Old questions with only one answer do not auto close). So you got 1/2 of the points without even answering the questions.

by dmiles

The system cords carries electrical current through it to the power supply,the dischage is being caused possibly by the capacitor that is in the monitor and power supply,you can try insulating the with rubber tubing or move the computer because eventually it may cause a spike that will eventually cause the ic circuits to start malfunctioning,and lead to failure.The other thing is to try grounding the power plug.

by maxwell edison

You could always try to plug the system into a different outlet.

Something else that seemed strange is that the motherboard change seemed to be the start of your problem. I'm not familiar with QDI motherboards, I prefer ASUS, but the first one blew a capacitor, the second one keeps rebooting with a little bit of static charge. Why not try another brand of motherboard, if you can, of course?

Good Luck.

Max

by mike (from canada)

this is what I was thinking. If it keeps rebooting, your wires in a cable (probably power cable) might be disconnected or frayed which causes the computer to work when it is adjusted one way, while when adjusted the other way, it doesnt work. so I think that is your problem. If you think it is the desk, remove the metal since it conducts electricity. and be sure no electronic components or anything that produces a static charge is around it. also, try not brushing your feet on a carpet cuz thatbuilds static in your body and when you touch something, static comes out of your finger. LOL, I think thats true.

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