[apple_newbie]

Hi, I'm new to Mac, but I tried the powerbook laptop at the Mac store and I love it. I bought one right away. It's the 15" model. Here's the thing- I plugged it in at home and left the room for a sec and when I came back in, the computer was running system Jaguar great, but my son was lying on the floor. He was alright but he said the computer shocked him (he's 8). All he did was touch the keyboard. I touched it and sure enough the thing fried my brains out. It didn't knock me out or anything, but it sure smarts! With enough of a zap to knock an eight year old out, i'd say we got a problem. It's still running in the other room and I don't know what to do. Anyone else had this problem? I'd hate to have to take it back. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Nobody]

now that's a POWERbook!!! I would suggest calling Apple right away!! yikes that's crazy

[dakota]

Shut the machine off using the track pad. I would next lift the keyboard (easy to do - see your manual) and check to see if there's any thing that can possibly be shorting to the bottom of the keyboard. You may want to try powering it up under only battery power to see if you get the same effect. I would call Apple immediately as well.
Best Wishes.

[rockinphotog]

The power cord is rubber, so you can safely unplug it from the wall and run the book off of battery. then follow all the previous instructions... /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[urrl78]

Right, this time hold a light bulb with one hand to make sure its not just static electricity. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
If the bulb lights not only do you have a great theft deterent, but an auxilliary source of energy in case of a blackout. You can always buy some rubber gloves. Seriously though get a refund or exchange immediately and don't take no for an answer. This is what credit cards are for. Threaten to dispute the charge and you'll get what you want.

[pjskelti]

Do nothing apart from unplugging from the mains, turning it off and boxing it up. Take it back to Apple and get a compensatory item - in lieu of a Lawsuit for them. This is damn serious, and if you have an electrician friend or someone of good standing in the community - get them to witness/verify this in case Apple just want to brush it under the carpet. I sincerely hopre they don't, but demand more than a replacement.
Sorry to hear of such a poor first experience for you, but hopefully in time you'll look back at this incident/episode and laugh about it. More likely than not, your future experiences with Apple products will be nothing less than great. Just don't assume this is indicitive of their QC - it most surely isn't.
BOL and hope your son has no negative feelings towards computers in later life.

[apple_newbie]

Hey everybody, thanks for all the help! I finally mustered up the courage to go back in there and unplug it. Of course, it just went to battery power and stayed on! Afraid to touch it, I left it on the table and let it run down and I'll be damned if when it finally went off I went to get it and it was only asleep. Guess what? Yep. Shock #3. Cool that Macs just go to sleep though.
Here's where it gets crazy. I call Apple, 2nd degree burn on my pointer now and my kids crying and "Emily" tells me small charges are often built up in computers and this is somewhat expected!! As I'm try to convince her it's a serious charge, Edward (my son) goes and touches the thing again! He screams, she decides it's a prank call and hangs up!! Now Edward won't go near lightswitches! It's his fault, not the Mac's, though- he's a great kid, but lacking in the common-sense dept. Anyway, I don't wanna discourage anyone from getting a cool new Mac, but be ready for a "hair-raising" experience and 2nd degree burns! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Anyway, once the reserve battery runs down, if its safe to take to back to CompUSA I will. I'll keep ya posted! Love the supporting Mac Community and a crazy first Mac experience. Hope my wife's cool with it.
Cheers!

[swsteckly]

That's totally insane man! I've never heard of such a thing. Definitely take it back to the store and demand a replacement.
This is in no way typical of Apple products. Apple makes some of the highest-quality products available. It's just a fluke.

[Parsec]

It may be a long time before that battery runs out. A PowerBook can run in sleep mode for weeks without needing a charge. If you know of any way of getting some electrician's gloves I would try using those to turn over the machine and remove the battery. Then wait a few minutes for the internal battery to run out and it should be safe to touch. If you have an electrometer I would suggest using that to determine when it is safe to touch the machine.

[swsteckly]

Get some of those Kevlar oven mitts ......
Seriously!

[theDOT]

Wait...
Before you go to return your computer to the store, pick up some eggs...
When you get to the store and they open the computer up in front of you and plug it in, pull an egg outa nowhere from your pocket, crack it open quick and dump it on the mousepad.
Watch their faces as they see a cooked sunny-side-up egg appear in front of them.
(Dunno if they'll accept the computer back after this though...)

[Caelth]

Um guys. I'm not sure on what voltage 2.5" HDDs run but even if it uses 12V like 3.5" desktop ones, the rest of the computer runs on 3.3V or even less. You need a static discharge of about 30V to kill CPU, something nondetectable by humans.
Are you guys sure it's for real and not just a joke? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[theDOT]

What are you talking about non-detectible by humans?
Have you ever tried to test one of those good old 9v batteries by sticking the two terminals to the tip of your tounge? You get a nice zap... and thats only 9v

[urrl78]

It is very obvious the machine is acting like a giant capacitor, building a monstrous charge from its little 4 volt battery. I should know, I am an electrical engineer. How do you think cameras get enough juce to produce such a big flash that must take time to rebuild, just like the tazers the police use. That poor customer has a Ti (tazerbook). If his grandma had a heart attack all he need do would be to open the laptop and place it face down on her chest. CLEAR!!! ZZZZAP!!! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif