static electricity effecting touchpad??

Question

Level 1

11 points

static electricity effecting touchpad??

Clearly, it has been winter lately, which means that I have much more static electricity in my hair and stuff than usual due to my coats and sweaters.
What I have been noticing lately is that occasionally when I go to touch my macbook, I get shocked. But then when I touch the touchpad on my macbook it just stops working. I try to move the mouse and it doesn't move, so I have to restart in order to use my macbook again.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is there any ways to help prevent it?

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Feb 27, 2008 1:05 PM

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Answer 1

bdkjones

Level 4

1,335 points

Feb 27, 2008 1:13 PM in response to jen8705

Static Electricity and computers go together about as well as oil and water.

If you're constantly getting shocked when you touch your Mac, you need to ground yourself out before you use the computer. Touch a metal object like a doorknob or a lamp to discharge the static before you touch your Mac.

Static electricity can fry electrical components, so it's important that you stop shocking your Mac ASAP!

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Answer 2

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Feb 27, 2008 2:33 PM in response to jen8705

Definitely, definitely stop shocking your computer. As BDK said, you can quite easily cause hardware damage to the system. You might want to consider an antistatic mat for your desk. You connect those to the screw on a grounded AC outlet, so you can just touch the mat to discharge yourself. If you have carpet around your computer, one of the various antistatic sprays may also help. Also consider putting a humidifier in the room where you have your computer. Dry air encourages the buildup of static electricity more than more humid air.

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