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Tech

Removing Ground Wire

"Ground or earth in a mains (AC power) electrical wiring system is a conductor that provides a low impedance path to the earth to prevent hazardous voltages "from appearing on equipment" from wiki
I have a currently use a webcam that does not have the ground wire because i accidentally ripped it.
Will this fry my computer or just fry my webcam?

November 27, 2010

4 Comments • Newest first

fatpig

hope theres no black out, since i havent had one for a long time
do those cheap 5$ power strip work ?

Reply November 27, 2010 - edited
djpinc19

Depends on the source of the power spike although a properly functioning laptop power adapter will be able to stop an electrical surge at the cost of burning a fuse or in some cases the entire unit; it's cheaper to replace the power adapter than a computer. Malfunctioning power supplies can fry computer components even in cases when an electrical surge from the wall outlet did not occur. Most reported cases of peripheral damage have been the user abusing the units (eg. too much force through yanking and dropping).

You should not be concerned about surge damage before or after a blackout (and lightning strikes) if your valuable electronics are connected to surge protectors. Again, one of your computer components is more likely to take the damage than an attached peripheral like a webcam or MP3 player.

Reply November 27, 2010 - edited
fatpig

@djpinc19
so if theres a black out, my webcam might fry?
what about an cable plugged from my laptop into my mp3 player without the ground wire? will my mp3 fry or laptop?

Reply November 27, 2010 - edited
djpinc19

The webcam will take damage if the unit somehow receives an electrical surge without a grounding path.

Reply November 27, 2010 - edited