01-28-2005, 05:46 PM

My iBook keeps giving me an electric shock , every so often.
A couple days ago, i got a shock through the keyboard, and my machine went dead and wouldnt restart. Has this Happened to anyone else?

I took it to the mac dealer and they got it running again, and charged me 75 bucks to
reset the nvram,
reset the pmu
reset the pram

Does anyone know how i would do this myself if this happens again?

A week earlier they replaced the screen under warentee, and this was when it started shocking me all the time. Do you think this might be related?

thanks for any insight.
-jason

01-28-2005, 05:47 PM

It is a 14" G4 1 Ghz.

01-28-2005, 06:00 PM

to reset pram, shut down your mac, on boot, hold command+option+P+R, after 3 chimes let them go and itll keep going and boot as normal. to reset the pmu, see this:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449, and resetting pram also resets part of the nvram, but if your mac is open firmware based, youll need to reset the nvram in open firmware.

01-28-2005, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by counterstrike

A week earlier they replaced the screen under warentee, and this was when it started shocking me all the time. Do you think this might be related?

Anything's possible, but I would worry more about locating and repairing the source of these "shocks" than simply being content with resetting the machine when they happen. I would also never go back to that Mac dealer again, but that's just me.

01-28-2005, 08:17 PM

The iBook I had always shocked when I touched the touchpad, and sometimes it restarted the machine. I bought one of those heavy plastic chair rollers from Office Max or whatever to reduce static electricity and it never happened again.

Course, then the iBook was stolen along with a lot of music gear. But then I got an insurance check and got a dual powermac 1.42 \m/

01-28-2005, 08:32 PM

Do you have it connected to a surge protector? This is vital for any computer, and more so for yourself as it sounds as though your own static capacity is causing the shocks from the iBook, or you are in a high static area where you are using the i book. (Near TV, stereo, car for example).

Wearing rings in this situation will not help the matter either, nylon carpets are also a problem for harbouring static, and I would be inclined to get your electric outputs checks via a multi meter, as this could cause the problem.

Static can cause irrepairable damage to computers, the number of cases I have come accross relating to static is very high, and very often people will also go inside their systems without taking relevant anti-static precautions and then wonder why they are having hardware issues. (Although this is not the case with your goodself )

Invest in a decent surge protector, (do not get a cheap one), ensure it offers protection for at least 8,000 joules, and de-static yourself on anything metal before using the ibook and the problem should go away.

01-28-2005, 08:33 PM

Maybe even a UPS might be a good idea?

01-28-2005, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by Kyomii

Do you have it connected to a surge protector? This is vital for any computer, and more so for yourself as it sounds as though your own static capacity is causing the shocks from the iBook, or you are in a high static area where you are using the i book. (Near TV, stereo, car for example).

A surge protector will only protect the unit from voltage "surges" coming in through the power cord. Damage due to a static discharge from another source (e.g., a person) won't be prevented by having the machine plugged in to a surge protector.

01-30-2005, 12:45 PM

great.
thanks for all the suggestions.
-J