One in an "added-on" laundry area, and the other in the master bedroom closet. My house has only one and a half properly grounded, 12 Guage circuits. Besides, it helps to get rid of static buildup. I wouldn't be surprised if the ATX power spec required a ground. You americans are SO GODDAMNED LUCKY YOU NEVER GOT SOCIALISM!!! (Me goes to cool off.)Miles - the whole point of grounding is when there IS a problem!! Also, in audio equipment, grounding can be critical to audio performance. This is one of a thousand tales of EU abuse of power, ignorance, undemocratic behavious and sheer bullshit socialism. ![]() It's worth pointing out (as the EU once noted a long time ago.) that the UK's wiring standards are the highest and safest in Europe. they're socialists after all) and the UK hifi industry gets a hit, no-ones any safer and that includes the Albanians. So, banana-plugs, as we call them in the UK, become illegal (Tony Blair and cronies do nothing. So, our socialist allies in the European Commission in Strasbourg and Brussels, unelected and unaccountable to a man (are you reading this, MWNH?), decided that rather than bring Albania up to scratch, they were gonna outlaw audio-cable connectors that could fit into Albanian power sockets. The problem was that in Albania, the wiring standards are ye olde and not very safe - large round pin-holes and no earth-guard (as you get with UK sockets -by law). Audio cables, of course, are bare terminated at both ends (most amps, bar certain Krells, aren't gonna kill you). It starts with the sad tale of an Albanian kid (Albania was never noted as a first world country.) that tragically stuck some audio cables into a mains socket and killed himself. My Grandad's house was rewired three years ago from the 1920s! He was a little oldfashioned, till the estate agents' (realtors) came round to have a look, and allegedly refused to enter!!If you want a story to show how fecking stupid, corrupt and pointless our membership of the EU is, check this. There is certainly housing still standing, and lived in, that needs rewiring - and if it's pre-70s then often you can get a grant to do that. British wiring standards require all house wiring to be earthed though properly 'double-insulated' equipment need not be earthed - eg CD players. Plenty of electrical equipment/appliances come with non-captive leads but by law they must all come supplied with everything that is needed to work and that inludes cable and plug. Disclaimer: I am not an electrician, nor have I ever played one on TV./frank What it will do is help to prevent you from getting a shock should your wiring or any applicances you have plugged in develop a fault. ![]() If the tester shows OK, buy a bunch of 2 to 3 prong adapters and you're fine.Having a third wire (ground) in your outlet is going to do NOTHING to protect your computer from anything. If not, your wiring is probably old enough that your house may have originally had a dirt floor and an outhouse, and you may want to investigate getting it replaced. If it shows that everything is cool, you're OK. Plug a two to three prong adapter into your socket, grounding the tab to the screw on the faceplate, then plug the circuit tester in. Has three prongs sticking out one end, and three neon lights on the other. In fact, if you're brave (or stupid) enough, you will find that there is no resistance, either - the two wires are physically connected together at the Circuit breaker box.Your best bet is to go to Home Depot and buy one of the $10 plug-in circuit testers. If you break out a Voltmeter on a normal three-prong plug, you'll find that between the ground prong and one of the other prongs there is no voltage. ![]() If you have a newer house, an extra wire is run to each outlet to provide a protective ground. How old is your house? Unless it's really old (75 years?), the outlets are grounded.In all modern wiring, one of the two prongs on the outlet is connected to ground back at the Circuit Breaker box. ![]() View image: /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gifTim S. Not to mention more plugs in better places and CAT5/telephone ports in every room.It's a fun project, relatively inexpensive, and will make you feel better about running an array of computers. I've re-wired my entire house with 12 gauge wire, increased the breakers to 20 Amps and divided the circuits better. The wiring was aluminum and would actually start smoking with my computers running, blow the circuit breaker, etc. Get new receptacles and wall plates while you're at it, a set can be had for a buck.I live in a 30 year old house. It's not much more difficult than pulling CAT5 (in fact, it'd be easier than CAT5 if there were no staples holding the old wire to the studs).It's also convenient to add new receptacles in ideal locations and increase the capacity of a circuit to 20 Amps.Plan for about $20 per 100 feet of 12/2 Romex (20 Amp) or $10 for 14/2 (15 Amp). Have an attic crawl space? Drop new wire.
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