1. Flea Power (Electronics)

2. References

Flea Power (Electronics)

The term "Flea Power", as used in computing, can be found on the Internet, defined as any one of the following:

• Static electricity that can be dangerous to computer equipment (commonly known as ESD or Electrostatic Discharge): "Flea power can cause your motherboard to short out and cause your computer not to turn on or just show a blank screen..."^[1]
• An electrical charge that remains in the capacitors throughout the system, as a normal part of operation, which drains over time, or can be drained by removing external power sources and holding down the power button.^[2][3]
• "Auxiliary Power" or "Standby Power", which is a small amount of power used to keep certain components powered when a system is powered off, such as network interfaces, remote management in servers (such as HPE's iLO, and Dell's iDRAC), or remote control sensors in TVs and other home entertainment equipment. Usually there is a light, often amber, on the power button or in some cases such as TVs the logo, that shows you the device is plugged in but in standby (off).^[4]
• "Low Power" as in "Flea powered audio", meaning a device that uses very little power.^[5]

In computing, the term "Flea Power" can be confusing, because there are many references to draining this power to solve computer problems, which seems to imply that flea power is the cause of the problems.

In the case of ESD, precautions should be taken when handling any sensitive electronic devices to prevent damage from the imperceptible but damaging amounts of static electricity which can burn out microscopic circuits in modern integrated circuits.

The most common flea power drain methods to resolve computer problems are not a cure for "flea power" as the cause of the problem. Indeed, in the case of capacitors, it's a normal and necessary function of the components, as is standby power including such sources as the clock battery common on most systems.

In fact, if you frequently need to drain flea power from a system to clear a condition, the chances are very high this practice is just a way of clearing a condition that occurred somewhere else, such as an actual hardware problem, or an issue in software that creates a condition which can't be cleared without completely draining power and sometimes resetting the system NVRAM.

A very common problem with computer motherboards is failed electrolytic capacitors (See Capacitor Plague), which can cause a wide range of random and frustrating problems. Someone skilled in electronics could observe visible signs of failed capacitors and test those that are not obviously leaky, and replace them.^[6]

References

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