Cooler Master HAF 932 - static discharge from my finger caused reboot

onlywei

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Aug 4, 2011
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I just built my rig with a Cooler Master HAF 932 case and I seem to be having some serious issues with static electricity.

I have the case set up with the little wheels on the bottom instead of the round feet because one of the feet was broken when the case arrived. The case is sitting on newly installed carpet (more on this later).

Just half an hour ago I went to touch the top of my case near the rear with my finger for whatever reason, and when my finger got close I felt a pretty strong shock and my computer rebooted.

A few hours before that I went to plug a wire into a wall socket and as my hand got close I felt a static discharge and my computer froze. The surge protector that connects to my computer is also plugged into this same wall socket.

I understand that my new carpet is the source of my static electricity and I am going to try and reduce its effect by maybe getting some anti-static treatment spray for the carpet (does this even work?) or maybe a humidifier. But is static from my finger touching the outside of my case really supposed to cause my computer to reboot? I am very scared of causing some serious damage to my motherboard and other parts.

How can I fix this?
 

FtsArTek

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Sep 11, 2011
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For a start, HAF series cases all have full metal tops except for front IO panel. It can happen easily. Count has a good idea there, just get a peice of cheap MDF and chuck it under the case. I think when the PSU is plugged in, static may go through that, instead of the wheels if they are plastic. You might also want to have a way for your case to be grounded if it still happens.
 

onlywei

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Aug 4, 2011
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From what I understand about static electricity (which is not much), charge seems to be building up on my body as I hang out in this room. Whenever I touch anything that is grounded, the electrons on my body get super happy that they have found an escape route and instantly jump ship from my body into the grounded object and flow into the ground. This causes me to feel a shock, and this is what happened when I touched the top of my case I believe.

That means the computer is properly grounded through the PSU, no?