is it normal to feel like i'm being shocked by my keyboard?

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i have an early 2008 macbook pro. i've had issues here and there over the years, but it's served me well. currently, there are more and more odd things happening that i've been relating to normal aging. just wondering if anyone else is having the same issues...

1. a common one that i've heard is these pretty colored lines going up and down my screen. they continue to multiply on me.

2. my battery has been replaced due to it expanding and causing my whole notebook to "rock" as i typed. due to heat i'm assuming.

3. several of my keys have had the "paint" wear off of them. namely the A,S,D,E,C and L

4. FINALLY AND SCARIEST is that as i'm typing, i feel a constant, low grade, "shocky" feeling on the part of my arm that is resting along the front lip of my computer. like electricity is seeping out between the metal and the plastic edging. sometimes my arm hair stands on end. this can't be good...right?
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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There seems to be a few of these threads floating around. I would have written it off as unlikely - but now I'm not so sure. Does it hurt? Or just it just feel like a mild static field - like a balloon rubbed on hair? I'd like to see one of these and see what's causing it. Shouldn't be too hard to chase down.
 
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your explanation of the "static field" is pretty accurate. if i just lightly run my fingertips back and forth along the front edge of my notebook, you can feel what you are describing. very weird, very much like a staticy balloon would feel like it. like those clear ball things that you'd find in a "science store" that you touch and the electricity inside visibly attracts to your fingertips.

but...when i'm on my mac for an extended period, and my arms are "laying" on it, it does hurt. not like my arm is shocked and it flies off the keyboard involuntarily...more like right now, as i type, i can feel the "irritation" building on my arm (my right arm more than my left). several times now, i have to pull my hands away from the keyboard and rub my arm (looking to see that i don't have some kind of prickly heat type rash forming-there never is though), then i feel the need to repeatedly make a fist and then open and extend my fingers. like someone seeking relief would because of arthritis in their hands
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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Well - since I can't look at your computer it's tough for me to say what's causing it - but it's definitely not normal. Has it always felt like this? Do the '08 MBPs have mag-safe connectors?
 
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i think it's been a slow progression, getting worse in the last year i'd say because i'm noticing it a lot more.

not sure what mag-safe connectors are...my power cord "sucks" right into it's port due to it's magnetic qualities if that's what you mean. ;O)
 

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i think it's been a slow progression, getting worse in the last year i'd say because i'm noticing it a lot more.

not sure what mag-safe connectors are...my power cord "sucks" right into it's port due to it's magnetic qualities if that's what you mean. ;O)

Yes. I wish I could say - but I really can't - but we're definitely seeing this from time to time on the forum. I'm wondering is the HD generating static - is something happening to the power supply, has the chassis ground been compromised...I just don't know.

Make sure your mag safe connector is completely clear of debris - that goes for the part on the computer as well.
 
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Have you tired unplugging everything for a few hours, to discharge the static? Worth a try for sure, it's certainly not right.
 
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Just to chip in, I get that 'static' feeling from my Macbook (13" Alu) when it's plugged into the mains, my iPad - when it''s on mains power and from my Sky PVR.

It's more profound when i move my fingers across the surface and also more pronounced in my left hand than right. My wife thinks I'm mad because it doesn't happen to her.

I put it down to some people just being more 'attuned' to electrical fields in the same way that different people can hear different frequencies of sound.

None of the devices have ever displayed any kind of fault.
 
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Feeling static through the keys is definitely not right. If it were me, I would send it into Apple for a check up.
 

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