Your Computer’s Power Supply…

Question: Do you use a surge protector or a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your computer?

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Using A Laptop In A Thunderstorm

While in the Philippines, I was using my laptop during a thunderstorm. Yes, I know, not a smart thing to do as I later found out. Suddenly, the computer stopped working and I suspected my power adaptor was “fried” due to a power surge, or due to lightning. When a strange burning smell emanated from the power adapter (along with smoke), I realized it was time to disconnect the chord from the wall socket!

I was able to buy a universal power adaptor for my laptop and everything was working fine. Then back in the U.S. this new universal power adaptor stopped working too! No smoke or burning smell, but I suspected (once again) it had something to do with the power supply.

Should You Use Surge Protection?

[ from How Surge Protectors Work ]

…a lot of the components in sophisticated modern electronic devices (such as computers, microwaves, DVD players) are much smaller and more delicate than components in older machines, and are therefore more sensitive to current increases. Microprocessors, which are an integral part of all computers as well as many home appliances, are particularly sensitive to surges. They only function properly when they receive stable current at the right voltage.

So whether or not you should get a surge protector depends on what sort of device you’re hooking up to the power supply.

* There’s no reason to hook up a light bulb to a surge protector because the worst that is likely to happen due to a power surge is that your light bulb will burn out.
* You should definitely use a surge protector with your computer. It is filled with voltage-sensitive components that a power surge could damage very easily. At the least, this damage will shorten the life of your computer, and it could very easily wipe out all of your saved data or destroy your system. Computers are very expensive items, and the data they hold is often irreplaceable, so it’s only good economic sense to invest in a quality surge protector.
* It’s a good idea to use surge protectors for other high-end electronic equipment, such as entertainment center components. A surge protector will generally extend the life of these devices, and there’s always a chance that a big power surge will causes severe damage.

Hopefully, A Final Solution

This time, I purchased a high-quality universal power adaptor, AND bought a UPS that guaranteed protection from spikes, surges, lightning, brownouts and blackouts. Plus, there is a battery pack in the event of an outage, providing uninterruptible power and the option to automatically (and safely) power down the computer and save valuable data.

For Safe Computing, Please Use Surge Protection

Hopefully, this will finally do the trick. But I have to confess that with this particular laptop, I hadn’t been using any surge protection, whatsoever. So, let this be a valuable lesson learned (on my part), and one I just wanted to pass along to all who have been skeptical about the importance of surge protection, and have just been lucky so far.