Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:2298 comp.sys.ibm.pc:12243 Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nbires!isis!aburt From: aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt) Newsgroups: sci.electronics,comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: A static problem--solutions? Message-ID: <2216@isis.UUCP> Date: 22 Feb 88 14:25:30 GMT References: <959@pbhyc.UUCP> Reply-To: aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt) Organization: Math/CS, University of Denver Lines: 39 In article <959@pbhyc.UUCP> jdf@pbhyc.UUCP (Jack Fine) writes: >... Micro computer systems (IBM PC XT) from certain users will >suddenly blank the screen and freeze up requiring a cold boot to get >started again. We have tried various things... >It seems to be happening in one or two very specific areas of the building... >A person sitting working never noticing a problem >before will have a screen die and system lockup with data loss. Then it >begins to repeat on the same person... >Someone sitting a couple of feet away doing the same >things (apparantly) will not have a problem. Sometimes the problem goes >away and we have attributed it to one of the things we have tried.... >Anyone else run into this kind of problem? I have indeed seen this as a participant. In my case I have narrowed it down to fabric of clothes vs. fabric of chairs. It seems when I wear pants with any polyester content to them, and sit in a chair which has (I think) polyester in the cover -- the computer gets shocked when I stand up (including an audible pop). A different chair or pants fabric and there are no problems. (Carpet on the floor rubbing on shoes could cause this too.) If I take the same chair and put a cotton towel on it, no problem. This could explain why you find it happening to certain people, in certain locations, but not reliably. I've tried a few approaches such as touch pads, anti-static spray, all to no avail. I'm not about to plunk down the money for an anti-static chair mat and find it doesn't work either... What I have found to work, though, is this: Backing the chair up about five feet from the equipment, then standing up. Still pops, but nothing gets hurt. (I also tend to avoid certain clothes in my wardrobe...) -- Andrew Burt isis!aburt Fight Denver's pollution: Don't Breathe and Drive.