The metal shield should be grounded. I'd be interested in the resistance from the metal shield to the ground pin of the power cord, and whether the outlet is correctly grounded. Do all of the USB ports react similarily? There may be some on the front and rear of the computer. Those on the front may be connected to the motherboard by faulty wiring. If you experience no other problems with the computer (rebooting with other peripheral connects/dsiconnects) then the fix may be as simple as adding a USB card to the computer and using those ports instead of the one that's built in that's failing. As far as talking to the IT guy, try to find a method (a particular USB device, etc) that will consistantly demonstrate the problem quickly. Ideally you can get to the point where it resets every five insertions (after five tries they'll get board and start reading your cubicle posters) -Adam On 5/22/06, Aaron wrote: > My computer at work has a very frustrating and nasty habit of resetting > when I plug in a USB device. Sometimes. Must have something to do with > the phase of the moon or dead fish as it doesn't always do it. :) > > It will also (sometimes) reset if I take a meter lead from my Fluke and > just touch it to the metal rim surrounding the outside of the USB > connector. The other end of the meter lead can even be disconnected > from the meter. > > Before I complain the the IT guy, has anybody ever seen anything like > this before? > > Aaron > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist