Paull

Reading back, this guy might also have an awesome Static problem. Cheap carpet, synthetic fabric yarns, higher humidity, rubber or synthetic shoe soles... Yeapp, and the ground wire in the power outlets etc is a lovely place for that static to go, or thru the metal computer chassis etc to ground MBA still a POS tho...

Hmmmmmmmm, sounds to me as though your Apple POS has a serious design flaw, the charger brick supplies +VDC to the computer, which should then go only to internal circuitry, the chassis should be on the 0VDC side of things. Take and throw it at apple for selling such junk. the power brick is fed AC current, which it then processes down to the appropriate DC current to feed the computer, the nature of AC means that the brick can handle a power feed of either 'polarity' and works fine, sending the DC current in correct polarity to the device. OTOH, in the house wiring, you must have correct 'polarity' (even though AC current has none to speak of) because of the way the wiring connects to appliances, hence there is an 'Active', sometimes called Hot, there is a 'Neutral', which is NOT ground, and there is 'Earth' A safety device called an ELCB works by detecting current 'leakage' from the neutral side to earth, though appliances, hands, etc and shuts off the supply, in less than a heartbeat. If the Active and...

ummm, i thought most all laptops have a VGA connector, or is this POS made by Dell one of the few that dont? it would surely simplify matters, one external LCD monitor and off you go...

I think theres a matter of Electrical Standards involved here. I dont know if USA wiring standards specify which connector in an AC outlet is Active and which is Neutral, but there is a hazard if the Active line is connected to what should be the Neutral contact and then an earth connection is made. I also know that newer outlets have 1 pin larger than the other, in theory to try to force observance of polarity, (YES, A/C current DOES have polarity) Here in Australia, its easier with our angled slots, you cant plug an item in with the pins swapped unless it is deliberately done when the outlet is installed or the plug is put on the end of a cable. Thats my take, you may be experiencing a neutral-to-earth leakage symptom, an ELCB would drop the circuit breaker real fast, but with reversed connections, it's anyone's game...

Applies to any electronic device: De-power as soon as possible Disassemble as soon and as much as possible wash with Alcohol, rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, or surgical spirit is best. Even Dunking completely is ok Alcohol will not do damage, and because it is Hygroscopic, it absorbs any residual waters from the flooded item, then all that remains is to allow the residual alcohol to also dry out. Keep in mind capillary action can keep the liquid under SMC's for some time, so some time for drying out is recommended. Dont add heat! If the flooded item was drenched in Coffee, Soda, fruit juices, you may as well re-flood the disassembled components with fresh water before the alcohol, as you need to also remove sugars, acids, and whatever else may be contained therein Sorry, same applied for Vodka, Brandy, Scotch etc, they are not pure enough alcohol, heh