January 18, 2008 (Techworld.com) -- Dell Inc. has assured users of its laptops that there is no danger from electrical jolts sometimes received from the cases of some of its systems.
Users have complained of receiving either a continuous electrical "tingling" or sharp shocks from some Dell laptops. The Dell machines involved include the 9400 and, more recently, laptops with brushed-aluminum cases, such as the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530.
In a knowledge base article published on Wednesday, Dell acknowledged that "a tingling sensation may be noticed when connecting devices to Dell notebook computers or printers and touching exposed metal parts of the devices being connected or the parent device." But Dell denied that the "tingling sensation" is cause for alarm and said the surges will neither harm human beings nor do any damage to the computer.
The jolts reported by some users are due to an electrical potential, or voltage, between exposed metal parts of the laptop and the earth, according to Dell. This voltage can be found in any electrical device powered by an AC adapter without an earth.
"The voltage does not present any risk of injury to the user," the company said.
Earlier this year, users began noticing the voltage issue with Dell 9400 laptops. Other Dell users have reported the same problem with notebooks such as the XPS M1530 and other notebooks with aluminum cases.
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