• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

My New Dell Workstation T-7500 gives electric shock

dan99t

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
28 (0.01/day)
Just bought Dell T-7500 Workstation.

When installation technician came to Install the workstation, he got an electric shock when he touched the Start Button.

He also got shock when he touched Front Panel.

No shock when touching rest of the Chassis.

He called Dell Support & tried to troubleshoot by taking out various wires etc but did not help.

I touched the same places & I also got shock.

We checked everything possible including connecting to various outlets but it didn't solve the problem.

Installation subcontractor said that they are not supposed to troubleshoot anything on new system, just install it & they made notes & left.

I called my sales guy & it was weekend so he said he will take care of it on Monday.

Here are my concerns :

(1) Why does that happen ? Although it is a mild shock & it won't kill you but might damage other parts of workstation ?

(2) Is this common for workstations ?

(3) What should I do ? Of course Dell will try to troubleshoot again but should I let them do that OR ask for a New System ?

(4) Wheat would happen if I continue using it till the new system arrives ?

Thank You.
 

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder
Joined
Jun 13, 2010
Messages
8,756 (1.74/day)
Location
Stuck in a PC. halp.
System Name Monke | Work Thinkpad| Old Monke
Processor Ryzen 5600X | Ryzen 5500U | FX8320
Motherboard ASRock B550 Extreme4 | ? | Asrock 990FX Extreme 4
Cooling 240mm Rad | Not needed | hyper 212 EVO
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 Corsair RGB | 16 GB DDR4 3600 | 16GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX6700XT 12GB | Vega 8 | Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB
Storage Samsung 980 nvme (Primary) | some samsung SSD
Display(s) Dell 2723DS | Some 14" 1080p 98%sRGB IPS | Dell 2240L
Case Ant Esports Tempered case | Thinkpad | Antec
Audio Device(s) Logitech Z333 | Jabra corpo stuff
Power Supply Corsair RM750e | not needed | Corsair GS 600
Mouse Logitech G400 | nipple
Keyboard Logitech G213 | stock kb is awesome | Logitech K230
VR HMD ;_;
Software Windows 10 Professional x3
Benchmark Scores There are no marks on my bench
the earthing in your house sucks.
Have the wiring in your house/room redone as necessary immediately.

"and computers are known to go kaput on bad earthing more than when they run without a UPS!" my cousin told me once, who's a computer engineer.
my ECS mobo went poop cuz i was running it without earthing
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
849 (0.16/day)
Location
Argentina (South America)
System Name Classy Gal
Processor i7 2600K
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3
Cooling CM Hyper 212 plus
Memory 16GB Kingston Hyper X
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX1070 FE
Storage 2x120GB Vertex 3 - 1x1TB WD
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Coolermaster Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Creative SB Titanium HD
Power Supply Seasonic M12II 750W
Software Win10 / Linux Mint
1) I guess it´s because there is some kind of grounding issue. You might damage something only if you touch inside parts like the Motherboard, RAM, VGA, HDDs, etc.

2) No, it shouldn´t happen in any PC, worksation or not.

3) don´t know, maybe it´s a problem with your house electrical installation. Does this happens with other PCs?

4) If it´s a grounding issue, nothing will happen.

My house electrical installation is rather old and don´t have ground, so this happens to me every time when i´m touching the metal case and the floor at the same time with no shoes.
It´s weird the frontal panel is causing this, is it made of metal or plastic?
 

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder
Joined
Jun 13, 2010
Messages
8,756 (1.74/day)
Location
Stuck in a PC. halp.
System Name Monke | Work Thinkpad| Old Monke
Processor Ryzen 5600X | Ryzen 5500U | FX8320
Motherboard ASRock B550 Extreme4 | ? | Asrock 990FX Extreme 4
Cooling 240mm Rad | Not needed | hyper 212 EVO
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 Corsair RGB | 16 GB DDR4 3600 | 16GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX6700XT 12GB | Vega 8 | Sapphire Pulse RX580 8GB
Storage Samsung 980 nvme (Primary) | some samsung SSD
Display(s) Dell 2723DS | Some 14" 1080p 98%sRGB IPS | Dell 2240L
Case Ant Esports Tempered case | Thinkpad | Antec
Audio Device(s) Logitech Z333 | Jabra corpo stuff
Power Supply Corsair RM750e | not needed | Corsair GS 600
Mouse Logitech G400 | nipple
Keyboard Logitech G213 | stock kb is awesome | Logitech K230
VR HMD ;_;
Software Windows 10 Professional x3
Benchmark Scores There are no marks on my bench
1) I guess it´s because there is some kind of grounding issue. You might damage something only if you touch inside parts like the Motherboard, RAM, VGA, HDDs, etc.

2) No, it shouldn´t happen in any PC, worksation or not.

3) don´t know, maybe it´s a problem with your house electrical installation. Does this happens with other PCs?

4) If it´s a grounding issue, nothing will happen.

My house electrical installation is rather old and don´t have ground, so this happens to me every time when i´m touching the metal case and the floor at the same time with no shoes.
It´s weird the frontal panel is causing this, is it made of metal or plastic?

nothing will happen?

there is a reason why all the components are so meticulously grounded. if nothing would happen they would just paint the parts were there would be human contact to save the hassle of grounding.
 

dan99t

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
28 (0.01/day)
Earthing was the first thing we checked & so did the Dell Support people asked us to do so.

Besides I have other Dell Systems running from the same outlets as well as AC, TV, Freeze etc.

We checked all of that.

The front panel is silver color & is metal but I can't tell whether it is Aluminum or steel or iron. Only Dell knows. Start button is bright silver which I think is steel or chrome plated.

The thing is that Dell is going to try to troubleshoot & take the whole system apart which I don't like.

I don't want a brand new system taking apart just because they screwed something up.

I rather have them give me a new system & let me use this till the new one arrives which usually takes a month. Let them take the Risk on this one.

Am I right or you guys have a better suggestion ?

Thank You.
 

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Nov 26, 2004
Messages
7,955 (1.13/day)
Location
Canuck in Norway
System Name Hellbox 5.1(same case new guts)
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard MSI X570S MAG Torpedo Max
Cooling TT Kandalf L.C.S.(Water/Air)EK Velocity CPU Block/Noctua EK Quantum DDC Pump/Res
Memory 2x16GB Gskill Trident Neo Z 3600 CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor Hellhound 7900XTX
Storage 970 Evo Plus 500GB 2xSamsung 850 Evo 500GB RAID 0 1TB WD Blue Corsair MP600 Core 2TB
Display(s) Alienware QD-OLED 34” 3440x1440 144hz 10Bit VESA HDR 400
Case TT Kandalf L.C.S.
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster ZX/Logitech Z906 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic TX~’850 Platinum
Mouse G502 Hero
Keyboard G19s
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2
Software Win 10 Pro x64
Well it sounds like they have screwed up something in the assembly so taking it apart is probably the only way they are going to find the problem. Could be something as simple as a MoBo standoff shorting against the MoBo/Case for example.

But you definitely shouldn't using it until the problem is solved. Your just asking for trouble. I would unplug it and wait until it's fixed. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's dangerous in it's current state. I mean one of these shocks could take out the HDD's for example and you will have nothing.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
849 (0.16/day)
Location
Argentina (South America)
System Name Classy Gal
Processor i7 2600K
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3
Cooling CM Hyper 212 plus
Memory 16GB Kingston Hyper X
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX1070 FE
Storage 2x120GB Vertex 3 - 1x1TB WD
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Coolermaster Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Creative SB Titanium HD
Power Supply Seasonic M12II 750W
Software Win10 / Linux Mint
nothing will happen?

there is a reason why all the components are so meticulously grounded. if nothing would happen they would just paint the parts were there would be human contact to save the hassle of grounding.

I know, but he isn't touching the inside of the PC, that's what i didn't understand, now that i know that the front is made of metal and it seems to be that the electrical installation is Ok i know there this something wrong with the PC itself. As long as you touch the case and the ground and nothing else, there shouldn't be any problems, my old TT toughpower gave me some shocks when i touched the case without shoes and is still runing and no component was damaged to this day.
 

Yo_Wattup

New Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
788 (0.18/day)
Location
Brisbane, Australia
System Name Desktop/Gamer/Digital Audio Wokstation ||| HTPC
Processor 2500k @ 4.65ghz ||| AMD A8 @ 3.6ghz
Motherboard ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Cooling Noctua NH-D14 with single Blue Antec Tri-Cool 120mm ||| Stock
Memory 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600 @1900mhz 8-9-9-24 ||| 8GB G.Skill 1600 CL9
Video Card(s) 2x HIS HD6950 2GB Crossfire, 6970 clocks ||| HD6550D
Storage 120GB Intel 320 series SSD + 2TB storage ||| 1TB Seagate
Display(s) 32" Sony Bravia LCD 1080p ||| 50" Hitachi Plasma 1080p
Case Raidmax Raptor modded to 7 fans ||| A compact HP Case
Audio Device(s) Firewire audio interface + two 9" studio monitors, 450 REAL watts ||| onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX 750W ||| generic 400W
Software Win 7 Ultimate + Win 8 consumer preview||| Win 7 Pro
Benchmark Scores Never drops below 60fps Battlefield 3 everything on max, fov 90. :D

dan99t

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
28 (0.01/day)
Well it sounds like they have screwed up something in the assembly so taking it apart is probably the only way they are going to find the problem. Could be something as simple as a MoBo standoff shorting against the MoBo/Case for example.

But you definitely shouldn't using it until the problem is solved. Your just asking for trouble. I would unplug it and wait until it's fixed. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's dangerous in it's current state. I mean one of these shocks could take out the HDD's for example and you will have nothing.

You are right, it could takeout HDD & I still need it because I don't have another comparable system. The old one is 6 years old & still works but I hate the idea of waiting another month to get the new system.

I do back up data daily, so I would like to keep working with this system till they ship me the new one.

I am not in danger of losing my life with mild shocks, or am I ?
 

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Nov 26, 2004
Messages
7,955 (1.13/day)
Location
Canuck in Norway
System Name Hellbox 5.1(same case new guts)
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard MSI X570S MAG Torpedo Max
Cooling TT Kandalf L.C.S.(Water/Air)EK Velocity CPU Block/Noctua EK Quantum DDC Pump/Res
Memory 2x16GB Gskill Trident Neo Z 3600 CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor Hellhound 7900XTX
Storage 970 Evo Plus 500GB 2xSamsung 850 Evo 500GB RAID 0 1TB WD Blue Corsair MP600 Core 2TB
Display(s) Alienware QD-OLED 34” 3440x1440 144hz 10Bit VESA HDR 400
Case TT Kandalf L.C.S.
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster ZX/Logitech Z906 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic TX~’850 Platinum
Mouse G502 Hero
Keyboard G19s
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2
Software Win 10 Pro x64
Well no your just gonna get "jazzed" but you run the risk of taking out the whole machine.
 
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,405 (0.37/day)
Location
People's Republic of America
System Name It's just a computer
Processor i9-9900K Direct Die
Motherboard eVGA Z390 Dark
Cooling Dual D5T Vario, XSPC BayRes, Nemesis GTR560, NF-A14-iPPC3000PWM, NF-A14-iPPC2000, HK IV Pro Nickel
Memory G.Skill F4-4500C19D-16GTZKKE or G.Skill F4-3600C16D-16GTZ or G.Skill F4-4000C19D-32GTZSW
Video Card(s) eVGA RTX2080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage Samsung 960 EVO M.2
Display(s) LG 32GK650F
Case Thermaltake Xaser VI
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G/Z-5500
Power Supply Seasonic Prime PX-1300
Mouse Logitech
Keyboard Logitech
Software Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1
When you checked the receptacles, did you check for for correct polarity?
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
172 (0.03/day)
System Name Zim
Processor AMD FX-6300
Motherboard GA-970A-UD3 (rev. 2.0)
Cooling AMD Stock with heat pipes
Memory Corsair CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 2x 8GB Kit DDR3 1333
Video Card(s) EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti FPB
Storage Western Digital WD RE4 1TB - Main
Display(s) HP LP2465 1920x1200
Case COOLMAX CS-480
Audio Device(s) Intergrated VIA VT2021
Power Supply hec X-Power Pro 600
Software Windows 7 Ultimate
Sounds like the faceplate on the case which you say is metal, is not grounded to the chassis. Imo the shock you guys are getting is static electricity. The problem is that this can find its way to the motherboard and fry it. Grounding out the plate to the chassis with a wire should alleviate this issue.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
849 (0.16/day)
Location
Argentina (South America)
System Name Classy Gal
Processor i7 2600K
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3
Cooling CM Hyper 212 plus
Memory 16GB Kingston Hyper X
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX1070 FE
Storage 2x120GB Vertex 3 - 1x1TB WD
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Coolermaster Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Creative SB Titanium HD
Power Supply Seasonic M12II 750W
Software Win10 / Linux Mint
There you go, do this and you are good:laugh:

 

dan99t

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
28 (0.01/day)
Dell called me back & gave me two choices.

They said that they will change motherboard or power supply or both to make it work.

OR

They will pick up this system first & then give me a new one which would take 4 to 6 weeks because it is manufactured in another country.

I told them that I need this system for my business & would like to keep it untill the new one arrives. I also told them that I will not hold them responsible if something goes wrong & I lose my data OR for any bodily harm.

Support guy said that he will talk to management & let me know.

After using other Dell systems for 9 years & knowing their tactics, I am pretty sure that they are going to give me the same system back after they repaire it.

(1) What should I do if they insist on returning the current system back before they give me the new one ?

(2) Also how would I know whether the new system is not a totally new but it is the same one that I have & they just repaired it & gave me back ? If that happens, what can I do ?
 

OneMoar

There is Always Moar
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
8,741 (1.71/day)
Location
Rochester area
System Name RPC MK2.5
Processor Ryzen 5800x
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Pro V2
Cooling Enermax ETX-T50RGB
Memory CL16 BL2K16G36C16U4RL 3600 1:1 micron e-die
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE RTX 3070 Ti GAMING OC
Storage ADATA SX8200PRO NVME 512GB, Intel 545s 500GBSSD, ADATA SU800 SSD, 3TB Spinner
Display(s) LG Ultra Gear 32 1440p 165hz Dell 1440p 75hz
Case Phanteks P300 /w 300A front panel conversion
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus+ Platinum 750W
Mouse Kone burst Pro
Keyboard EVGA Z15
Software Windows 11 +startisallback
I had a machine like this once
take a length of wire and run it to something grounded < attach the other end of the wire to the case
metal water pipes a heat register hell even if you just ran the wire outside and stuck it to a pole in the ground
you have grounding issues someplace either the psu is faulty or the power cable is faulty or your home wiring is faulty
and know it probably won't kill anybody but it sure doesn't feel good
this is NOT static this is AC current thats trying to find a path to ground
edit and yea its real easy to mark a system
take a magic marker and put a dot someplace :)
and or note the serial number :)
and in my case the fault was damaged wiring from a flood ;)
 
Last edited:

dan99t

New Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
28 (0.01/day)
I had a machine like this once
take a length of wire and run it to something grounded < attach the other end of the wire to the case
metal water pipes a heat register hell even if you just ran the wire outside and stuck it to a pole in the ground
you have grounding issues someplace either the psu is faulty or the power cable is faulty or your home wiring is faulty
and know it probably won't kill anybody but it sure doesn't feel good
this is NOT static this is AC current thats trying to find a path to ground
edit and yea its real easy to mark a system
take a magic marker and put a dot someplace :)
and or note the serial number :)
and in my case the fault was damaged wiring from a flood ;)

I had thought the same thing. I will have to put a dot with magic marker at several places. They are willing to replace both power supply & motherboard. Who know what else could be causing this.

And what can I do if they send back the same system that I marked ? Fight with them again & prove that it is the same system ? What would be their response ?

The only way to make sure that I am getting a new system is to keep this with me till I get the new one.
 

OneMoar

There is Always Moar
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
8,741 (1.71/day)
Location
Rochester area
System Name RPC MK2.5
Processor Ryzen 5800x
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Pro V2
Cooling Enermax ETX-T50RGB
Memory CL16 BL2K16G36C16U4RL 3600 1:1 micron e-die
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE RTX 3070 Ti GAMING OC
Storage ADATA SX8200PRO NVME 512GB, Intel 545s 500GBSSD, ADATA SU800 SSD, 3TB Spinner
Display(s) LG Ultra Gear 32 1440p 165hz Dell 1440p 75hz
Case Phanteks P300 /w 300A front panel conversion
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus+ Platinum 750W
Mouse Kone burst Pro
Keyboard EVGA Z15
Software Windows 11 +startisallback
I had thought the same thing. I will have to put a dot with magic marker at several places. They are willing to replace both power supply & motherboard. Who know what else could be causing this.

And what can I do if they send back the same system that I marked ? Fight with them again & prove that it is the same system ? What would be their response ?

The only way to make sure that I am getting a new system is to keep this with me till I get the new one.

why so concerned with getting a new system components are components
either the psu/power cable is faulty or the motherboard is shorting on a stand off ... either way it will be fixed
but I REALLY suspect the wiring in your house/psu/cable to be at fault it is 99% the cause of this because its near impossible for you to get a short like this AND for the machine to keep running
try this
move the pc to a different room and test with a different power cable
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,020 (1.91/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
I would hazard a guess that its the PSU's fault, since that the last 2 times PCs gave me shocks followed up quickly by sparks and smokes in the PSU (within a week).
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2011
Messages
494 (0.10/day)
Location
Hesperus IV
System Name Salvaged
Processor AMD Phenom II X6, 1055T
Motherboard MSI (cant remember model..)
Cooling Antec Kühler + extra fans (Antec, Zalman, Coolermaster, Generic brand)
Memory 8Gb (2 x 4Gb)
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon HD6870
Storage Samsung 1TB, 320 Seagate, 250 Samsung
Display(s) LG Electronics
Case ANTEC Sonata III 500 (found/salvaged + modified)
Audio Device(s) 8Ch + Harman Kardon 2.1 (modified, electronics in JVC wood speakers)
Power Supply It's made in Denmark, never seen a PSU made there..
Software Win7 X64 Ultimate
Is the system connected to an extension cord or something similar?
Anyway you can get an electrician to take a look if the grounding from the wall is ok??
 
Top