[Bungleau]

Hmmm... well, I can't tell you more than the experts.

What I do know is that standard phone lines don't have a ground wire. I'm pretty sure that standard coax cables don't either. So I suspect the only place that your cable modem could be picking up a ground is through its plug.

Now, "ground", by definition, means that the circuit runs into the ground somewhere. Somewhere around the house is a grounding rod buried several feet deep (and several feet away from the house itself). It may be just a wire, but I think it's a little more.

It *could* be that when you fried everything [img]smile.gif[/img] , you somehow completed a circuit somewhere that's going to a ground someplace. Where? I don't know. Could be through a loose wire, could be through the ventilation system, could be through a bunch of things.

I'd buy (if you don't already have) a small circuit tester for your outlets. You can get one at a hardware store for less than $5 (less than $2, I think). Plug that into your outlet, because that critter will tell you if the outlet is wired properly, and whether or not there's a ground.

If it comes back and says there's a ground, and you know there's no ground wire.... then I'd seriously look at calling an electrician. Hourly rate out here is less than $50, so it's not too expensive, but I'd have one look at things. If you didn't put in a ground, but there's one there, it must have found one of its own. The question is... where? And how do you want to discover it?