"stars1234" wrote in message
Here's Today's problems and a few questions:

I got a laptop computer for Christmas. It uses an AC to DC adapter
(transformer) to get power and recharge the computer's batteries.

Unlike most modern electronics, this one has a non-polarized socket for
the charger and the power cord is non-polarized, non-grounded too.
Neither is there any kind of marking, such as a white stripe along the
cord that lets me know which is the hot/neutral side. From what I've
read, a white stripe usually indicates it is the polarized side (the
neutral) and goes into the longer slot on the wall socket. The longer
slot is always neutral. Is that right?

The instructions say, plug the charger into the computer and then that
into the wall socket.
When I did it, there was an arc from the wall socket's left slot. I
thought that's strange. (This is one of the three prong, polarized,
grounded (but not really) sockets.)

I left it plugged in for a day or so. I unplugged it. Later, when I
plugged it back in, without paying attention to the orientation of the
plug, there was no spark. I thought, "strange," again. So, I flipped
the power cord plug over, plugged it in that way and sure enough, a
spark from the left slot of the wall socket. --bright blue and snappy.

Obviously, the left (tall) slot of the wall socket is hot (which I
think is backwards according to code?). And with no white stripe on
the power cord that plugs into the transformer, then no polarized
socket on the computer: two round holes, instead of a square and round,
I can't tell which is hot/neutral and what should go where, but I
sure didn't like the arc at the wall socket.

Looking at the power cord's plug, the tip of the prong that got the
zap, is a bit black and melted.
Of course, I don't want to destroy the very expensive computer.

1) Does it matter which way the power cord goes into the outlet?
With nothing polarized, I don't know what to do. Or does it matter?

The side that sparks has nothing to do with which side is "hot". It
merely indicates which side makes contact last, or breaks contact first.
You could try replacing the outlet with a new "spec" grade outlet.
Avoid the cheap outlets.

Bob