US laptop in Europe
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She may need to go into her phone settings and manually switch over to the Eruopean network. Again, an online phone model user's guide should specify how to do it.
I feel your pain Susan!
Todd
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Susan,
Sorry to hear of your daughter's problems in Italy.
In the UK we use 3 prong earthed/grounded plugs, but these days the earth prong is usually redundant as most appliances are double-insulated. I use my laptop in Sweden frequently- they use the standard 2 prong unearthed system (actually, before anyone corrects me, they actually have 2 systems, one earthed for older appliances, one unearthed which is more common now). Both prongs are identical, but it doesn't matter which way round you put the plug in.
I can't see why a lack of earth would cause her laptop to burn out though. If it starts up, but the screen stays black it sounds like the graphics card has burned out- not good news I'm afraid. If it's new I would imagine it would be covered by the warranty,but don't mention using it abroad, they'll just use that as an excuse to wriggle out of it.
Hope you get this resolved,
Jackson -
Well she has it going again, but on battery power. I'm wondering if maybe the problem was just a sudden power surge as she plugged in. She told me there was a blue flash.
My son, 15, suggested that she plug the adpter in the receptacle first and then plug her laptup plug into the adapter. I wonder if that would help.
Given that we all have previous knowledge of the electrical differences, I really can't uderstand why there arent' any reliable products to make the conversions imperceptibly. I keep hearing about hair blowers smoking and curling irons burning hair. -
That's great news Susan. Do Canadian plugs have a separate fuses in them that may have blown?
You're son's advice is correct- I've found that my UK to Sweden adapter takes a bit of wiggling to get in sometimes and it can spark a little. I plug the adaptor in first, then the laptop transformer into the adapter, then finally the laptop transformer cord into the laptop.
Jackson
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if it handles 240 and 120, there is probably a little switch on the adapter for either one, if the wrong one was chosen when she plugged it in, that would explain the flash followed by the shut down.
I hate to say this, but I'm not sure how long she'll be able to turn it on for... if she did accidentally overload the circuit, she will have most likely blown a few capacitors in the computer, which can cause weird shut downs, and erratic behaviour. Lets hope that didn't happen!
Travelling would be a lot easier without all this darn technology getting in the way! lol
Best of luck to her!!
PS;
I'm so jealous, my high school Europe trip was cancelled by our insurance company, I can't wait to get across the pond!
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Jackson, no fuses in the plugs. The laptop makers advise to plug the cord into the laptop first and then into the socket. So don't know what to make of it.
Wil, there is no switch on the adapter. It is an adapter, just a plug, not a transformer. She shouldn't need the transform for the laptop. Aside from all the technological problems, she really is a lucky kid to be doing this. I'm jealous too.
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Pretty much all laptops use some kind of 'brick' in the power lead. I guess this is the place you found the 110/240 label. If so then the laptop should run OK in Italy. If she hasn't got a brick then it's possible that a switch on the laptop need to be changed to switch the power supply voltage - I haven't seen one of these for a few years now.
There are two basic kinds of bricks - some of the older ones had both the in and out leads permanently fixed. The one in the image below and probably your daughters has a fixed lead to the laptop and a plug in lead to the power socket.
The plugin lead will be have an IEC standard C5 (two pin) or C7 (three pin) to plug into the brick and probably a US plug to go into the mains via an adaptor.
The simple thing to do is to go to the nearest hardware store in Rome and buy a replacement IEC lead with an Italian plug on the end. They come in various kinds (see Type L here) but I'm sure that she can identify what will work in the place she's in. Here in France those leads coat around 2 euros in the supermarket. (The three pin ones are a little harder to find but if needed a two pin lead can be made to fit into a three pin brick and will work fine.)
You can get a little spark when you plug a laptop into a live power supply - shouldn't be a problem - smoke and flames are a different problem!
Good luck to her.
Bob
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Susan
I have an Acer laptop, though I don't think the manufacturer makes any difference. When I went to UK with it I bought a power lead there at a computer shop. Not surprising because UK is 240v, with weird plugs that look like they could jump start a Titan rocket. Anyway, best thing is to buy a laptop power lead in Italy. That will plug into the blackbox that is then connected to the laptop. Don't assume that just because the prongs on the plug fit in the socket the power is compatible.
Jeremy
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Guys you1re all being very helpful here and Susan would appreciate it but I have to tell you that she is not in an urgent need of help any more because this is a "transferred, old topic" from SCF1. Her daughter was going to travel to Italy some time in the Summer.
However it is certainly always good to know all this above and get prepared with the help of your contribution...
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