My refridgerator is messing me about

Yes i know its an odd problem, but its a problem none the less.

The problem is, fundamentally, that when my fridge turns off, my PC and laptop can get a bit messed up. Sound stopping and programs stop working.

The background is that i make music on my PC as a hobby, everything was going just fine til i moved into a new home, a small 1 bed flat with open kitchen living room. Anyways, when im either making music or just watching video on the net when the fridge switches off after having been doing its cooling cycle the sounds will just stop (I always run the audio through a M-Audio Fast track pro USB audio interface. If its the web im watching switching the speakers off/on on my amp will usually return the sound. If im making music, the software can stop working properly and i have to close the program and restart it, very annoying as you can imagine. Anyways iv been suffering it for the last few months as iv been concentrating on my studies and not making tunes.
But yesterday i bought a Native Instruments Maschine production studio/sequencer drum thingy and installed it on my new laptop (Lenovo x220) I hooked up my audio interface and monitors, plugged it all in and started using it (laptop running on mains power). Then the fridge did its thing and lo and behold no sounds and the Maschine software choked up, requiring a restart. However running my laptop on the battery it was fine.

My guess is the fridge is messing about with the flow of electricity through my flat and the sudden change in power flow is causing my problems. And that getting a power smoother/regulator type thing between my PC/lappy and the mains will fix it. But i dont want to go out n buy something based on my guess.

Anyways, does anyone have any experience similar to this or know how i can remedy the situation?

Thanks for reading my essay

 

Thank you everyone,

With my funds available, which is very little now that i bought alot of new stuff recently i think i'll try a fairly basic surge protector, mostly coz i have credit with a store that sells them. But that PL-Plus looks the dogs bollocks, il check the price locally as it looks a great investment for the future
I checked out all your links and ideally, if i had money left after my recent spending over the last few months, id go for one of the Furman items. I got some prices from my regular shop for all things Pro Sound and theyre just a bit much for me right now. SO imma use up some of my store credit at an office supply chain and get a surge protector power board. See how that fares, If that doesnt cut the mustard il put funds aside for a Furman.

As far as a sine wave inverter goes, do i fit into my setup by running all my stuff off batteries being charged from the mains? Which, although would be a great buffer between the power grid and my gear, it seems quite an expensive and bulky option for me.

 

OK, an update;

Because i had credit at the shop i went for a surge protection power board. I spotted it in a link from amiga's post, got the best reviews from a consumer watchdog and was really cheap. And so far it has solved the problem. My laptop hasnt missed a beat when running the Maschine software with the fridge doing its thing turning on and off keeping my beer n munchies nice n chilled.

However this discussion has given a alot of food for thought. As im getting more and more quite expensive gear, i need to be protecting it from the 'not so stable' electric supply here in Oz. At some point the power board i bought will sacrifice itself to protect my gear from something quite nasty and i'll need to replace it. So im definatley going to put funds aside for a Furman, they do exactly what i need. A UPS would be nice too, even if its just a 10 minute one so i can hit save and backup whatever it is im doing at that time.

Finally, with regards to the RFI filter you posted Miki, for someone with more confidence and understanding with electricity im sure it would be a good idea. But its not a great idea for me. Thanks anyways, il stick with saving up funds for your Furman suggestion

Thanks to you all for your help

IFFY