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I need to ground my Toshiba laptop as it says in the title. It is not a static charge problem because I live in the tropics. It also only happens when I plug in the laptop (the metal case becomes charged). I can ignore the occasional 'zaps' but I am worried about my equipment. I run a small home studio and using a condenser mic on my usb interface results in a lot of low frequency noise. The laptop charger has no distinct neutral, nor ground prong. I have tried placing the plug in the socket both ways but no luck. Everything else in the house doesn't appear to show symptoms of improper grounding.

Jaja
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    If you unplug your recording equipment do you still have the problem? I suspect there is an issue with what you have plugged in to the laptop, not the laptop itself. – Tyson Jul 11 '15 at 00:47
  • I get zapped with or without anything connected to my laptop. Since I bought it I've had that issue. The equipment is actually getting its phantom power from the laptop. As soon as I unplug my laptop the noise dissipates. – Jaja Jul 11 '15 at 01:00
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    The laptop has an internal issue then, it's normal for laptops to be ungrounded. In fact, connecting a good ground at this point might kill it permanently. if your asking here, you likely don't have the skillset to open the case and locate the problem yourself, find someone or a shop that does know what to do. – Tyson Jul 11 '15 at 01:03
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    ^ and therin lies the problem with recommending methods to ground it, an improper potential of voltages flowing where they are not suppose to grounding through the human. You wire that up to what is supposed to be a ground (easily done), and you increase the flow, the flow of wrongness. Must somehow solve the original wrong, then additional grounding could be done. – Psycogeek Jul 11 '15 at 02:04
  • Try another power supply; All switch-mode PSUs exhibit some leakage, but some are just worse [cheaper] than others. It's strictly speaking not a grounding issue, it's a leakage issue; don't confuse the two. – Tetsujin Jul 11 '15 at 07:24
  • @Tyson It is **not** normal anymore for laptop chargers to not have a ground connection. The OP should replace the charger with one that has it. – kinokijuf Jul 11 '15 at 11:05

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I'd recommend to have a local Electrician look into the problem.
It is close to impossible to analyse the root cause (correctly!) at a distance.

NOTE: There are plausible root causes that might cause life threatening hazards - be warned.

Hannu
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