Re: generators - help!
I kind of doubt that any modern computer would have a problem with a generator unless the generator has a brush noise defect of some kind. If you operate your computer through an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) you are especially protected. The UPS also provides battery backup so you can shut the computer down gently when the generator quits, but it also has a lot of filtering in it. I don't have a computer without a UPS.
All computers today are themselves powered by "inverter technology" internally or in the power cord. What that means is that there is a 'switching power supply' in the power system. It might be a box inside a desktop computer, or a box in the line cord of a laptop, but somewhere there is this box. The power supply box has 'switching' electronics in it, for which the main function is to convert the incoming AC into the various AC and DC voltages required by the computer internally.
The 'switching power supply' also allows any common voltage or frequency input. In other words it doesn't care whether you plug it into 110-120 AC @ 60 Hz. or 210-230 AC @ 50 Hz. if you use the right cord. The same power supply does it all.
For computer manufacturers it means that they don't have to have a different power supply for different countries around the globe just a different cord. It also means they don't have to build those dang things from scratch. A 'switching power supply' is practically a commodity now. In other words, they're a dime a dozen.
The same sort of electronics that has become common in electronic power supplies has now been built into 'inverter technology' generators. These generators (simple description coming) still use the ubiquitous internal combustion engine to spin a rotor of wires inside a magnetic field to produce AC power. Except now that is only the first step in the process and not the last step as it is in a conventional generator.
This spinning rotor AC generator component actually creates a higher voltage and higher frequency than a normal generator. This is then transformed and converted to a high voltage DC (direct current from rectifiers) which can be filtered and regulated to a very clean and stable voltage. THIS IS THE KEY TO THIS FORM OF GENERATOR! The voltage and frequency output is no longer dependent on the RPM of the combustion engine.
This highly filtered and regulated DC can then be turned into a very stable (both voltage and frequency) AC (by an internal 'inverter') which is presented at the receptacles that you plug into. Since the output AC is created by internal electronics the manufacturer can control how well the output matches the traditional sinusoidal AC provided by the power company that powers your stick home. Most modern designs do this very well.
So, with an 'inverter technology' generator there's a lot of stuff going on with very different kinds of equipment. First, the engine turns from some kind of fuel. Second, the engine turns the rotor in a magnetic field produced by the battery to create AC. Third, the high frequency high voltage AC created by the rotor is transformed and rectified (converted) to stable DC. Lastly, with electronics, the DC is then 'switched', filtered and regulated (inverted) into the AC that we can use to power our stuff.
Note that the generator manufacturer can produce, with one package, a generator with various voltage and frequency combinations for the output to suit the local market on a global basis. Everyone wins!