> my 9yo daughter looks shocked and says the computer buzzed her. i touch what she touched, floor grate and computer chassis, and buzzo. so perhaps improper grounding might be a factor in mobo deaths? Many years ago, I got a shock from the metal chassis of my dad's reel-to-reel tape deck. He said "unplug and plug it in the other way" (this was before the days polarized plugs). I tried this and it worked! The explanation was that there was a high-impedance short between the power transformer and the chassis. Plugging it in the other way moved the short closer to neutral (grounded at the fuse-box and the utility pole). Assuming you have a polarized plug, you might check your outlet. You can buy a 3-led tester at the hardware store for less than $5. If you're using a UPS, then that may be at fault.