Question Power losses - should i worry about my setup?

[ComputersOftenIrritateMe]

We had several power losses in quick succession yesterday (flickering lights a few times) while my laptop was plugged in. It uses two power cords and was also plugged into my external monitor.

Now, both laptop cords are themselves plugged into a surge protector, but the monitor is not.

My concern is that there could be electrical damage from the quick succession power losses that could've reached my laptop through the HDMI connecting it to my unprotected monitor.

I understand it sounds unlikely but I have a bad feeling that something could've happened.

 

[Lutfij]

I would hook all devices that are hooked to your laptop, including your laptop up to a surge protector.

I understand it sounds unlikely but I have a bad feeling that something could've happened.
I've had instances where lack of proper grounding caused the grounding to happen through an HDMI/DP/display cable. You're right to be concerned.

 

[ComputersOftenIrritateMe]

I would hook all devices that are hooked to your laptop, including your laptop up to a surge protector.

I understand it sounds unlikely but I have a bad feeling that something could've happened.
I've had instances where lack of proper grounding caused the grounding to happen through an HDMI/DP/display cable. You're right to be concerned.

So would it be obvious if something catastrophic happened, or will I just have to wonder for the foreseeable future.

Would all instances of power outages necessarily result in damaging power surges for PCs?

 

[BFG-9000]

We had several power losses in quick succession yesterday

This is caused by a device called a recloser which disconnects on overload and quickly reconnects. If there is a dead short such as from a squirrel or branch, the repeated automatic zapping burns it away and no manual resetting would be required, such as with a circuit breaker. So it's a way for the power company to avoid having to roll a truck.

As you'd expect, surges can be induced depending on how large the short was and what phase (where in the sinewave) the power is at when it is abruptly disconnected and reconnected. Even relays and switches at 12v DC such as in your car often have quenching diodes to dampen voltage spikes for this reason. The ignition system in your gasoline car, whether switched with breaker-points or transistors, actually relies on this to generate high-voltage spikes from only 12v DC.

All interconnected devices should be plugged into the same outlet because ground voltage can float, particularly when you have a surge suppressor directly shunting voltage into it. If ground voltages are imbalanced, current will flow in-between devices over odd things like the shielding in your HDMI cable which can be really bad because nothing is designed for that.