The locking up, with grinding noises sounds to me like your hard drive may have decided that its time has come and died on you. You have backups, right? :P
I've seen the lightening that you're describing and although I've never heard of anyone being electrocuted by it I doubt that it's safe. It normally occurs when the 'kettle plug' that goes into the back of the computer becomes loose and starts to slip out for whatever reason, but it can also happen if you remove the cable while there's power in it. Normally people remove the cable so fast that they don't even notice the sparks. Everyone does it, but any text will tell you that it's very bad practice and that you should always turn off the power at the wall first. If you do need to do it on a regular basis you might want to buy a powerboard that has switches on it so you can plug the board into the wall, but put it somewhere easy to reach and plug things into. Hope this info helps Gordo -- Need to get in touch? [EMAIL PROTECTED] MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about its friends -Make something idiot proof and someone will build a better idiot -----Original Message----- From: WAMUG Mailing List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kelly Duffy Sent: Tuesday, 2 March 2004 21:11 To: WAMUG Mailing List Subject: Sparking Mac Plugs, Ericsson Phones, Bluetooth and Other Bits... Hi all, After a long period of inaciveness here I once again find I need some help. The first is a concern I need serious advice on, the others someone like Daniel Kerr could probably help me in, I CCed you in, Daniel, so if you read this twice I apologise. The first is a concern. My Mac crashed hard, everything locked up, it made some grinding noises, wouldn't restart. I had to pull the plug and the thing let blue sparks fly at me. It was the back of the tower, not the power point. It happened once before, once after I first got it. It's a G4 tower, it's now just over three years old and not under warranty. It was an educational purchase but I got ripped off and only got the one year waranty for some reason, no idea why so it's not even slightly out of warantee. Has anyone ever had this happen before and is it a likely danger? Not just pulling the plug, which I don't like doing, but I have a bad back and couldn't move my desk to get to the powerpoint. I could see these little b;lue things, like lightening, and it was a bit too close to my hand for comfort. Is there a known problem, like the batteries catching on fire in some powerbooks, or is it just mine? Ok, the next bit, and much happier and less scary. I bought a new mobile, a Sony Ericsson T630. It is the update from the T610, which was Mac compatible. The new CD only lists Windows though. I emailed Sony and have had no reply, can anyone point me in the direction of Mac software or is it not needed? I want to sync my phone and Mac up, I run OS10.3. I also need a bluetooth adapter, USB, for my Mac, and preferably PC. Can anyone give me a decent price on one of these? Cheers, and here's hoping the computer doesn't blow up! Kelly ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> WAMUG is powered by Stalker CommuniGatePro
