Sparks!! VGNFE880E

[Chkurgrnd]

Kind of a detailed story. Yesterday I went to to plug the RCA to 1/8" cable from our sound board to the audio jack on my computer and all of a sudden sparks flew out of the mini plug about 3" out, left a burn mark on the desk and the computer shut down immediately. Freaked out, I left it alone but returned later to see if it would turn on... It did indeed turn on but will not access the Vaio logo screen or beyond - just a blank screen. Tried it a few more times and nothing.

Fast forward to today. I took the cover off the memory compartment (memory is located on the bottom behind the audio jacks) and one stick of memory got toasted, there is a massive burn mark on the mobo. I thought that perhaps the bad memory was causing the lockup so I removed it and no such luck.

I have tried my other power supply to test if it was that, my battery is shot anyway since the computer is 4 years+ old and only works when plugged in. At this point my thinking is I can get by with not really having the computer but it is the data on the computer I need off. School papers, pictures, music, etc.

I'm not a noob at the computer game but I have 3-4 questions... I am hearing no clicking from the HD, it sounds like it always has and whines down when I force the power button off so I am optimistic.

1. If I replace the mobo (about $200 US) and reuse the hard drive, I have no disc that I can run a Windows repair from. I made my set of recovery discs but the partition is on the inaccessible hard drive. Is there a way to work around the chipset settings (perhaps safe mode) and get my data off then reformat the drive to original factory settings?

2. Kind of the same question, but can I purchase the same used computer and transfer the HD into that one, hoping that all the same settings will help me out?

3. I ordered an external HD case hoping that perhaps I can retrieve my data via USB to my desktop computer. The issue is will my XP desktop be able to read through the Windows 7 OS if I can accomplish this... or will I be dealt a disappointing blow because the notebook HD will try to boot when I plug it in?

4. I'm not wanting to spend a whole ton of dough so I don't want to send my HD to a recovery lab. As far as I know it's down to doing this yet. At the same time though I am not 1000% sure that it isn't fried. Is there something I can do while I wait and decide?

Bottom line I just wish this didn't happen. I backup weekly and usually on Sundays. I just got done compiling a bunch of single items into organized folders for backup. Any other ideas ppl can throw out there? Thanks. We have never had this issue before, nothing was out of the ordinary, grounds all were existent, all plugs secure...

[petereit]

First things first: get an electrician to diagnose and repair your electrical issue. What you did should NOT be possible with a correctly wired system. You may have a seriously dangerous electrical situation.

Second, with the price of PCs these days it's RARELY worth the cost and effort to replace a motherboard. This is probably an excellent opportunity to invest in a new PC.

Your current hard drive is most likely not damaged (unless it physically crashed in the surge). It typically costs well into the thousand-dollar range to have a damaged hard drive recovered, so that's probably not an option (which is why backups are so important!!)

[waynehoskins]

You should be able to mount the drive in another machine (or via that USB adapter) and recover data. I'm not sure how ownership and permissions will behave through that, but it should be doable somehow.

I'm with Mark on that outlet too. That shouldn't even be possible unless one of the frame-grounds (on one side of the cable or the other) was at line voltage -- which is definitely unsafe and needs to be addressed now.

[daver2]

Assuming I am reading the original post correctly - a 3 inch spark equates to about 20,000 Volts (which is significantly above line voltage).

Do you have an analogue monitor connected to your PC or a digital one (e.g. LCD)?

A spark of the size mentioned must have originated from a very high voltage source (e.g. the line output stage of a monitor). This also potentially implies that the unit wasn't adequately grounded. A potential fault of this magnitude could have fried everything in sight...

Please get all of your equipment checked out by a competent electrician before carrying on otherwise there is the potential for someone being killed.

Dave

[Chkurgrnd]

A few issues that concern me...

I highly doubt it was 20,000 volts screaming out at me. That's 150x the normal voltage from an outlet... No shock was felt and nothing else was damaged thankfully... but yeah there was about that throw of orange sparks on the desk.

We are portable and meet in a school gymnasium. I have no control over what happens but I am in the process of sending an email to the IT individual that works there. She is our point person when it comes to working with the school. The oulets themselves are very loose and not well maintained. I am not touching them for liability issues (ie. something happens to a student there and somehow my name gets thrown in the mix...) but something should be done.

The computer in question is a notebook so regardless of the monitor there is nothing that can be done. I am ordering an external case/usb so I can hopefully get my data off my computer. For my family personally that is my biggest concern. Pretty much on the same "threat level" for our church and the prospect of someone else losing their computer to the same fate, and the safety of others I need to take more time and research this.

All grounds were there. We plug into a 14g extension cord (about 15' long) to a power strip/ surge protecter and finally a Furman power conditioner in our rack. Sony power adaptors do not have a grounding peg on the power supply but after 4 years this shouldn't have been the issue. Power supply is good, no cracks in wire, ends are good, etc.

Aside from the tech aspect of this issue it showed us that God ultimately is in control and it was a good thing that for our Easter service it was mainly hymns (very rare) that were revised in great coffeehouse/acoustic/vocal arrangements so ppl could sing as well w/o having lyrics displayed.

[Chkurgrnd]

Update:
I was able to recover all the data off the hard drive by way of the SATA to USB adaptor.

Our front projector has taken the way less traveled and will turn on, but will not recognize ANY inputs... VGA, video, nothing... Thoughts? I would have thought the lamp would have blown before anything else was affected. Is there such thing as a fuse on an input? I haven't looked inside yet. We run from the VGA out of the affected projector to the VGA in on the rear projector. The rear facing projector doesn't seem to have been affected and works fine. I have a sneaking suspicion that our VGA cable from the computer to the projector is to blame so might as well call that out for the count.

I have notified the school a coupla days ago and they are calling in an electrician tomorrow to assess what/if there is anything that needs to be done. I am very wary of Sunday AM even if they find something and fix it.

Is there anything that anyone has encountered that would allow electrical current to run at a higher level through an RCA cable? I have been over cables 3-4 times and cannot find anything that would be sending power to a rack rail, etc.

[blonborg]

Most folks don't realize the voltages that occur when one is zapped after scuffing their shoes on carpet. 10,000-20,000 volts is entirely possible - of course the amperage is very low. Bill

Originally Posted by Chkurgrnd

I highly doubt it was 20,000 volts screaming out at me. That's 150x the normal voltage from an outlet... No shock was felt and nothing else was damaged thankfully

[bggowing]

Almost sounds like a power surge. Is the projector and the laptop plugged into a proper surge protector? In other words a Furman or other similar quality unit?

[bladeaudio]

First and foremost have a qualified electrician make sure there isn't something wrong with the outlets that everything is plugged in to. Then you might want to look in to your gear itself, the mixer, etc and make sure their power supplies are not shorted to the chassis or anything like that.

After doing all that, look in to using a "hum eliminator" between your mixer and laptop. Basically these devices are transformers, so your two devices are actually physically isolated from each other. This can save a lot of heartache.

[bcastle]

for the projectors check the circuit breaker, if you havent already, they may be on separate panel.

was this the first time that you tried patching this cable from the sound board to your cpu? or have you done this before with now problems?
like you we have lots of electrical grounding issues so we looked in to power conditioners and sequencers (mainly to simplify turn on/off procedures) and I picked up this guy below:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ter?sku=182651

on the pack i have 6-duplex outlets that are grouped in pairs of two. every plug is isolated from the next. i looked at the furman conditioners and didnt read anything about that. also this sequencer will automatically power down so my gear doesnt blow up with a surge or drop in voltage. the only down fall is that i dont have remote power. and an added bonus it has leds on the front that let me know if my main plug in (where i plug this into the wall) is grounded or if the wires are crossed. I didnt realize i had a grounding issue until i bought this. the digital amp and voltage display are nice too.

if you do buy something like this go to a store that sells it and does online price matchin. i got guitar center to sell it to me for 245 including a 3 yr warranty and tax exempt for the church instead of the regular 299 price.