laptop and electric connection with no earthing

I have recently relocated my residence (India) and since then I am getting zapped from my desktop. I have been ignoring this a bit as there is nothing much I could do (no earthing at my place!). Now I am going to buy a laptop. I am worried now as the laptop is much more handy to use w.r.t physical proximity. I have been hearing that laptops are generally not harmful as the adapters take care of the voltage conversion and protection.
I have the following questions
1. Is it safe to use a laptop with an electric connection having no earthing?
2. If the answer to 1 is yes, are all laptops safe?
3. If the answer to 1 is no, what measures can I take to keep myself and the hardware safe?

Please help!

 

i can tell u that i live in egypt ( No earthing here ), and i am using the HP dv5 and macbook pro with no problems and all my friends and family don't experience any problems

 

most of the notebook power adapters don't use the earthing at all. The power adapter my Fujitsu uses also has no earthing, only uses the live and neutral wire.
That's why I also feel a buzzing on my fingers when I touch a metallic piece of my notebook or if I place it on a metallic plate.
Other devices, like external HDD, also don't use the ground wire.

So the laptop will run fine without earthing.

 

You won't have any problems with the notebook functioning, but you may get zapped.

This was actually a common complaint of the Dell XPS M1530...it has metal palmrests, and originally came with a 2-prong non-grounded AC adapter. Many users reported electrical tingling and shocks from contact with the metal palmrest. Dell later start including a 3-prong grounded adapter, and the issue seemed to go away.

So, the actual functionality of your laptop won't be harmed, but you may get shocked if there's any metal on the exterior of your laptop (palmrests, touchpad, keys, buttons, bottom if you keep it on your lap...).

 

I've worked in more places without earthing than I can count, often with a PSU with a 3 pin plug going via an adaptor into a 2 pin socket.

Quite often I can get some tingling in the fingers if I touch metal parts. This is uncomfortable, but not dangerous.

My normal fix is to remember to wear something with plastic or rubber soles on my feet. This stops the electricity from passing through my body.

Desktops tend to be worse. Over 20 years ago a colleague working in Egypt had to put in his own earth wire from a desktop computer to a metal bar placed in the garden.

John

 

Thanks for the posts guys. Well I did some work yesterday and found out some interesting stuff.

I read this blog on dell site - http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/01/18/41538.aspx. After reading it, I am pretty much convinced that it is safe (if not completely) to use the laptop over a no-earth electric connection. I remember using a laptop from my office with 2-pin prong and I should admit that I have felt the tingling sensation.
Ideally, since the AC adaptor converts the voltage to about 18.5V DC, I guess there is no chance to get a shock. Only if the adaptor is faulty, there may be a chance to get a shock. And more over I guess all the adaptors are double insulated adding the next level of protection.
Your thoughts, please.

John - As you said, I think it is a good idea to wear a rubber footwear or just work away from direct contact with the floor.

 

Hi,
If there is no earthing will parts of laptop get damaged ?
My Dell Inspiron's motherboard got damaged within three months and engineer
told me that, this might be because of no earthing.