Ok Techies, here's one for you

[tt3]

So... I've got my new office, nicely wired to easily handle the computers etc in the basement... got my CPU and monitor etc plugged into the (supposed) UPS. So here I was surfing the forum, and a blip came through, dimmed the lights for an almost unoticaable fraction of a second but made my machine reboot.
W.
T.
F.
!!!
What the he)*(@#$)(*#@$)(*@$ good is a UPS if it doesn't provide UNINTERRUPTABLE power?
Did I just get a bunk unit, or what? Should I get a different one? I mean seriously, isn't the reason you plug your shtuff into that beast to keep it from rebooting with a power inconsistancy?
hmph
anyway, please advise?
thanks

[kidswriter71]

How old is the UPS? The batteries are typically good for a couple of years max, and then they no longer hold a charge. Also, if the UPS is under-rated for the amount of power your PC and monitor are pulling, then your UPS will go into overload protection and shutdown. Also, different UPS models have different trip thresholds. It's possible that the trip threshold is set to a voltage that is lower than the threshold at which your PC will reboot. On more expensive UPS units, this may be an adjustable setting.

The first thing I would do is check and make sure your UPS is big enough to handle the load. Add up all the wattages of everything plugged into the UPS (200-400 watts for the typical modern PC, 100-250 watts for a 15-17" CRT monitor). Consider not plugging the monitor into the UPS if it isn't, or buy a new UPS that has at least a 30-50% higher wattage capacity than your equipment.

If the UPS is more than a year old, test the battery. One way is to plug a couple of incandescent lamps in it, unplug the UPS from the power mains and see how long the UPS will stay up.

[Don-Dad]

Stay away from the crappy UPS. I bought an IBM once, well during the famous blackout a few years back, my PC totally went out of whack. Friggin UPS was useless. I now have a nice APC, 1100, cost $125 at Sams Club and a bit more at places like best buy. Has software that it uses for shutting down the pc correctly and so far so good. Its this model http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=27

[kidswriter71]

Stay away from the crappy UPS. I bought an IBM once, well during the famous blackout a few years back, my PC totally went out of whack. Friggin UPS was useless. I now have a nice APC, 1100, cost $125 at Sams Club and a bit more at places like best buy. Has software that it uses for shutting down the pc correctly and so far so good. Its this model http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=27

Agreed. APC is a good brand. The batteries still need to be checked and replaced periodically though.

[tt3]

I think the battery is fine, it was beeping in the middle of the freakin' night during an outage when nothing was drawing off it, hense it beeped until I got so freakin' annoyed I had to go turn it off... Its now downstairs in the office.
Its probably I've got too much on it then, or its a piece of crap, or both. Um, got a 350w powersupply in my box, and a 19" crt. I'll have to dig under all the mess and see what model it is and look it up. My bad, as I did go cheap. (It was the only way I could get one though...)
Ok, no more naughty words or frustrations. I'll take the monitor off the batteries and see if that works.
Thanks guys.

[Jackson's Dad]

Don't forget to check the settings. Could just be that you have it instructed to shut off at the first sign of a power outtage.

On a decent UPS, you should be able to connect it to your computer via USB cable. The, the UPS's software knows that is going on. You can then instruct it how you want it to react: shut down immediately, shut down when the battery is down to 25%, etc.

Yeah, I have an APC too. Good machine.

Dan