I've an Asus GL503GE laptop that I bought used a few years ago. I got a good deal, so couldn't really resist as it's a pretty powerful laptop for being able to produce when away from the desktop.

However, it's got a bit of a grounding issue and I have no idea how to resolve it. When unplugged, it behaves perfectly fine. However, the battery continues to drain and doesn't seem to hold a battery charge when it should be in sleep/hibernate.

Also, when I plug the charger in, I get that symptomic bad ground indication, where I can hear every grind of the internal drives or fans, the electrical charge sounds of components, and the electrical grinding kinda sound when moving the mouse etc.

Anyone got any ideas on how to fix something like this?!

 

Last edited: Jun 7, 2024

I have had very audible ground issues on tour with laptops... 9/10, the easy fix is a ground lift or simply breaking the ground pin on your IEC cable, extension or powerbar if you don't have a ground lift with you.



If you prefer and can afford it, there are "more professional solutions" like the Ebtech Hum Eliminator.. (not worth it in my opinion)

I also always carry a few Behringer HD400s (great value for money) with several XLR/TRS TS...RCA... adapters to be able to fix various noise problems quickly.

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2024

Cheers for this. Not sure this would resolve though?! I am in the UK, and the UK electrical system used the 3 pin plug, one of which is the specific earthing/grounding pole, and therefore not sure if these are needed in the UK as a quick search suggests nothing like this can even be purchased for the UK type of electrical socket (assumed because of the already existent third ground pole on sockets).

 

It depends on the laptop's grounding. My Asus has worked perfectly since day 1, while other laptops have been crap straight out of the box. It's always best to do some research before you buy.

 

not sure if i get your situation right, but often problems like this come from a loop - such as USB connections to an music instrument can create.

in this case a galvanic isolation of the usb cable should be the cheapest solution.

 

It's always the laptop in my experience. I had that loop thing, but it went away with a different laptop.

 

has the power brick for your laptop got a removable mains cable?
if so what is it like and can you post a picture of the end that connects to the brick.

wanting to know if its a kettle lead style, c7 or c5 plug on the brick end.

then depending on the connector if its removable you just buy a lead from say farnels and a 13 amp plug and wire it up and cut the earth.
as long as your old enough to remember putting plugs on cables.
or spend ages searching for a premade lead that has the ground pin on the uk plug end that is plastic.

but if its a c7 connector then it dosent have a ground so its posibly the switching power supply or somthing else.

cant guarantee it will work but its a cheap option and you will still have your original cable if not.
also cant guarantee the safety if the laptop has metal on exterior.

 

Last edited: Jun 7, 2024

I think you guys are guessing. The cable/adapter could be shorting, and the battery could be failing.

 

It's not a loop as it does it with nothing but the charging cable connected to the laptop. Until it's a loop due to something internal.

 

It's been like this pretty much since day 1, and was unused when I bought it.

 

It does. It's a bespoke Asus brick to the laptop, with a power cable from the wall to the brick that can be disconnected. I've tried different power cables with same result.

 

Last edited: Jun 7, 2024

can be a poor design or hardware flaw,
or can be a sign of problem with entire electricity grid or any other device in your electricity grid bridging ground (!)

years back I had issues with noise/buzz using combination of MSI GE60 laptop on adapter, and LakePeople headphone amp,
problem went away when I got old MacBook, and that MSI GE60 is used elsewhere no issues...

 

the other iec kettle leads that you tried have you made sure they dont have the ground connected?

 

It isn't an IEC. I mis-remembered and just checked. Here is the power brick and cables:

 

thats a iec c5

so like i said get say this
https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pe...7118&s_kwcid=AL!5616!3!491098866152!!!network}!959523800139!&gad_source=1

IEC C5 to Bare Ends Mains Lead, 0.75mm, 2m, Black - PELB2281

and a 13 amp plug cut the earth and wire up the live and nutral
or find one that is pre made that has the ground pin on the uk plug end that is plastic.

 

Different ways to get rid of ground loop. Pick what is best for your setup:

Pyle Compact Mini Hum






IFI GND DEFENDER

Audac TR 2070 - Ground loop isolator

 

Thanks, but none of these are relevant as they mostly focus on audio/speaker ground hum rather than the issue of bad ground on a laptop

 

So are you saying it just needs a plug with only the live and neutral wired up?

 

I'm not saying this is the cause in this particular instance, but in the past I have experienced similar, and honestly it came down to different USB hubs and quality of them and cabling... I was getting the same symptoms, and while my system was quite involved with a lot of usb hubs and different devices, from instruments to drives and interfaces and whatnot... swapping out newer better quality hubs and cables and whatnot took care of the problem.

But again, I'm not saying that is the problem 'here', but sometimes laptops will allocate usb power and whatnot differently when it's own power source is different... (so again, while I don't think my problem is yours, as one would likely think that if it was lead powered, it would have 'less' issues in that regard, so it does point to the other solutions offered in the thread)... but for sanity's sake, I probably would test with adding one external device at a time etc, and see if there is something in the chain... unless you are running completely untethered to other usb devices...