Removing the ground on PC?

I'm very surprised and bothered by the sheer number of people who disconnect/remove the earth from their PC to solve a hum or noise issue. That earth connection is there for a very good reason - to stop people dying from mains voltage shocks in the event of a component failure.

There are times when the quickest and cheapest solution to a problem is not the smartest, and this is one of them.

Quite frankly, in this day and age of modern high end gear, I'd take an amp/source component straight back to the dealer for a refund if it 'hummed', or have my house wiring checked out, not start stuffing around with mains voltages and risk a live chassis.

Carl109: I agree wholeheartedly. What further amazes me is that audiofiles will go to great lengths and expense to add 'tweaks' to their systems (most of which are meaningless) propose theories that audio equipment and music are too complex for even the most modern scientific instruments to measure, attempt to discuss subatomic particles and the philosophical aspects of current flow, but when there is a ground loop hum, what happens - "let's chop off the ground - look ma no more hum, ain't it grand".

Musicnoise/Carl109, A question..........

I have a source connected to a power conditioner with PC and an IC to the pre-amp. I have the Pre-amp PC going to the same power conditioner and its IC to an amp. I have the Amps connected to a difference power source. The Power conditioner, the pre-amp, and the amps all have their grounds intact.

Are you saying that having the ground prong from the source PC defeated that I have created a potential source for electrocution?

If yes, please explain. I don't understand. I do understand why the power conditioner should have a ground, and the amps have a ground, so just address the issue of the source ground defeat.

Thanks......

That depends on whether your interconnect is connecting the chassis of the source to the chassis of the preamp. If the interconnect is connecting the chasses then no, you still have all chasses grounded. However, if that is true, that then I would consider leaving your ground intact on the power cord from the source to the power conditioner and lifting the connection of the shield pin on one end of your interconnect. That is likely the connection that is causing the ground loop problem.

Newbee, it's true that your source will be grounded via the IC (if it doesn't have it's own) to the amp's ground pin, provided your amp & source use the chassis as a common ground (usually the case), but that's under normal operating conditions.

The big problem is that IC cables are not designed to take mains voltages, and it will be the outer conductor in the IC that cops it - often a very fine copper braid designed for just a few volts. Using Australia's mains as my example, I doubt a typical IC will stand up to 240VAC at 10amps for long, and in a split second you may be back to having a CD player with a live outer casing. At the very least it would likely burn out the IC and start a fire.

As I said earlier, I'd be looking for the source or cause of the hum, not removing a safety aspect. If a component has a 3-pin PC, then the unit is not double insulated and by law has to be properly earthed. If a fire started due to the removal of an earth pin, I know what your insurance company would say.....