Mains Electricity

will0812 · 20 Dec 2009 at 15:45

How much does the mains electricity in your house effect a PC?. A while ago a wire in one of the walls in my house got covered in water and burnt up. But we were able to keep power running to the whole of the house by using a single wire instead of two wires for connecting the upstairs of the house, effectively doubling the load on that wire. Would this have any sort of effect on a PC? It seems to have been running fine scince although the performance has dropped off a bit, is it possible the electricty has done some sort of internal damage?

Sorry i cant explain it that well, but i dont fully understand the way the wiring is done in my house

Werewolf · 20 Dec 2009 at 17:32

It wouldn't have hurt the PC.
However if you're still doing running the upstairs ring with only one of the wires now*, get it sorted ASAP as the wiring is most definitely not in spec any more, and potentially dangerous (much more likely to over heat/fail, turning a relatively simple problem into a major one, or even starting a fire).
Depending on the original damage to the wiring chances are most electricians will be able to replace the original damaged bit cheaply and easily with a short length of new cable and suitable connections (although if the damaged bit is in plaster it may require minor redecorating)..

But please, if you haven't got it fixed already, get that section of wiring sorted by a qualified electrician before it causes a serious problem.

*I assume you when you refer to "2 wires" you mean out of the two "twin plus earth" cables you've only got one intact/connected (which would leave the sockets etc working, but no longer be a ring main and thus much more likely to over heat).

will0812 · 20 Dec 2009 at 17:40

Yea i think you know what i mean

I know i should get it sorted asap but its one of the main cables goes from upstairs bedroom to the electricty box in the kitchen, so would be difficult to put a new wire in but ill try and get it fixed asap, just glad it wont wreck my new pc when i build it.

wonko · 20 Dec 2009 at 18:26

What Werewolf said... sounds like you're running with all the upstairs sockets effectively hanging off one radial circuit. I'd get it sorted asap, and give it a higher priority than putting a new pc together. Apart from the obvious safety of you and your family, I don't know where you'd stand with buildings & contents insurance if the worst did happen.