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    Getting ZAPPED by fingerprint reader!?

    Discussion in 'Other Manufacturers' started by durdru, Oct 10, 2008.

  1. durdru

    durdru Newbie

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    I've had my sager2090 for over a year now, with nearly zero problems. However starting last week I noticed that the FP scanner gave me a bit of static each time I used it. I figured it was just me, but on further examination this could not possibly be the case.

    Something is continually charging the metal on and surrounding the FP scan area. On each touch, I get a shocked, and leaving it to sit will allow it to accumulate more charge. I also noticed for the first time that the system randomly froze, and also did so when the FP was continuously toyed around with--for example holding a conductive pen and tapping the metal on the FP scanner. I also noticed receiving static through the on/off button, though to a much lesser extent. This must be a hardware problem and an utterly serious one at that. Luckily for me, I use an external keyboard with my laptop, seldom moving it around. But I can imagine this being more than a minor problem when using the laptop's keys.

    I have not installed/uninstalled anything nor modified the hardware in any way. Nor have I moved to a low humidity area or even live in one. I am confident this is a hardware problem, I just need a way out of it.

    Had someone encountered this problem and know of an easy fix, short of sending the whole thing back (impossible, I have too many projects stored and too much to do to send a laptop back...) and preferably not disconnecting the FP reader (the obvious solution... and I use the FP scanner alot)
     
    durdru, Oct 10, 2008
    #1
  2. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Bad chassis grounding....
     
    flipfire, Oct 10, 2008
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  3. JoeNewberry

    JoeNewberry Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd say flipfire is onto it. You might want to check your AC adapter to see if it has a ground pin on it. I've seen some that were just two prong. If that's the case, you might want to find a three prong AC adapter cord. If it's poorly grounded either at the plug or inside the chassis you could be picking up shocks. It should be low DC voltage that isn't going to kill you, but it will probably get really annoying after awhile. I understand about having a lot you need to do with it, but if it is an electrical problem and it's not just that you have an AC adapter with no ground plug, you should get an RMA and send it back to be safe.
     
    JoeNewberry, Oct 11, 2008
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