Can a grounding problem damage computers immediately?

Question

Can a grounding problem damage computers immediately ?

I have transferred my office. New office did not have grounding. I tried to boot 4 computers.

Two of them booted. One of them hung while booting and another one did not even boot.

The computers which were hanging and the other which did not boot... Is there any chance of severe damage? I've switched off everything.

This mess happened due to greedy electrician's callousness.

Solution 1

It's also possible that the reason the two computers didn't boot was to problems in transit.

Components could have become lose and/or damaged.

When you get a power circuit you trust and/or someone to look at the computers, double check that all the components are seated correctly before assuming that something is broken.

Solution 2

Well, in my experience earthing shouldn't cause any major troubles. I have a small office in a building from the 15-16th century and the electricity system is not that new either and, obviously, it doesn't have earthing. We move there about 12 computers a year for a weekend and we didn't have any problem with them booting. The most likely factors of computer damage when moving to a new place are vibration on the transport that can damage solderings on the computers (haven't experienced an episode in a really long time, even with cobblestone streets) and a highly unstable voltage (really likely to upset computers and especially power supplies that are not in the best condition).

Solution 3

When you refer to a callous electrician, I'm assuming that you are commenting on a problem with their work. Some thing to consider is that there are technically 2 types of grounding (in a matter of speaking). There is the grounding conductor (green wire usually and tied to an earth ground) and the grounded conductor (white wire usually referred to as the neutral). Under normal circumstances an issue with the ground should not cause any problems, not impossible though, but unlikely. Grounding is for nothing more than personnel safety, it is not required for a 120 Volt system to operate properly. However, an issue with the neutral wire (grounded conductor) can be a significant problem and can burn up power supplies and fry mother boards with a problem as simple as a slightly loose wire not making good contact and arcing. Make sure you have a qualified electrician look over the electrical system. Simple, but time consuming resistance tests can be done to assure good contact throughout the electrical system. If you have had electrical work recently done, any reputable company will come and fix their problems.

Comments

[Admin]

how do you know this has anything to do with the grounding ? - and not say, the removal truck, cold, bumping down stairs in the move etc etc ?

[Admin]

I'd have to agree with Sirex. My gut tells me that this is more likely to be due to carelessness when handling the hardware during the physical move. It happened to me once. This is why I always transport my computers myself when I move.

[fixer1234]

Data corruption and physical damage due to non-groundedness?