Surge protector question: Was our notebook possibly damaged?

(Moderator: Please move this to the "Accessories" forum.)

So we had our carpets steam cleaned today. The service man plugged his machine into an outlet behind the wall where our notebook is pugged in.

The machine blew a fuse causing our notebook to turn off. After we reset the circuit, I turned the computer on and it seems to be working.

For future reference, is it necessary to unplug all our computer when when a machine that uses a lot of electricity will be plugged into an outlet.

Was there any risk of damage in this situation? The notebook was plugged into a Belkin surge protector which is about 10 years old. There is a green "Protection" light was on.


Are surge protectors effective?

Do surge protectors have a lifespan? I read somewhere that they should be replaced every year because it takes surge hits over the course of a year.that degrade it. The one I have has an LED light that says "protected"? Can I trust that light?

How many joules protection should I have with a surge protector.

 

Nope. What really screws up your adapter is the upwards spike in the voltage (i.e. a lightning hitting to an electrical supply line nearby your apartment etc.).

Tripping a fuse is no more different than unplugging the adapter cable where the laptop will automatically switch to the battery.


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No no damage was done to the laptop. As mentioned before it's more for high voltages, grounded wires being hit by lightning, brownouts, spikes, etc.
(albeit a direct lightning strike to your electrical lines (provided it's a wire going directly to your house or several houses) or house will render a surge protector quite useless because it goes far past their specifications for grounding- in other words your devices will more then likely be fried because that type of voltage is likely to jump past the broken fuse). While direct lightning strikes are ever so incredibly rare for areas with a known high risk of lightning strikes to the ground it's recommend to just unplug your electronics.

As far as lifespan that depends on your area's electricity service. If it's good, and rarely ever trips breakers or power goes out it could last many years (no real way to know unless you've got testing equipment). However on a bad area with bad electricity service it could render it useless under a year.

Yes you can trust the LED to let you know your protected (meaning grounded).

 

Surge protectors with passive components (MOVs and the like) have a finite lifespan. Often that 'lifespan' can be as little as ONE surge or lightning hit.

After that one hit, your 'surge protector' is often little more than a power strip.