without a proper ground surge suppression, particularly on the phone line or cable modem won't work well. it also makes the machine radiate more rf. besides that, it means if you touch something that's supposed to be grounded when you are carrying static it can get into other things on the same outlet strip. also, much of the cabling could pick up static and do odd things. it's a bad situation with a good machine, particularly since the parts are getting more static and surge sensitive. i've run older computers without a proper ground, but when i put in the g4 the first thing i did was run a proper ground out to the power box (other outlets are grounded in my house but not all of them so a good ground was available). a cold water pipe is a much better idea than a radiator, hard to say whether or not the boiler has a good ground and odd things happen in boiler systems. it also means that shielding inside the mac won't be as effective, several parts of the machine are supposed to be shielded from each other.
without a proper ground the power supply puts out more rf into the case, as does the little board with the power switch etc. i'd definitely start by grounding it, for safety of yourself and the machine at the least, and because it could easily explain the odd behavior your seeing. shielding needs to be grounded to reduce the rf that gets out, in theory though it doesn't need grounding to keep rf from the outside from getting in, but reducing the effectiveness of some of the shielding is likely bad enough. it also means your monitor will radiate more rf into the mac and that cables will leak more rf as well. it's very easy for me to suspect some complex interaction because the shielding isn't working properly, or because the "grounded" case parts etc. are floating and may pick up charges from static sources or from picking up the rf that's leaking out of other places. sorry, that is a rather long babble on my part. whatever you do, DON'T ground it to a gas line! it seems terribly, terribly obvious that this would be bad but i've seen it twice, in fact i've seen an electric stove grounded to a nearby gas line! it doesn't take a genius to realize the potential for real problems and there's no reason to assume that a gas line would even work well as a ground. i only mention this because i've seen it twice, so obviously some people haven't figured it out and it's definately an invitation to a "freak" accident (really a stupidity accident, evolution is never pretty to watch). Joe Welling wrote: ------ > Also--how important is the outlet ground? None of mine in this house are > grounded (even though they've got the 3rd hole)--ancient ancient wiring. > If it's that important, I could run one to a cold water line or a radiator ------- -- "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." - Helen Keller, American Blind/Deaf Author & Lecturer... -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
