Install UPS (uninterruptable power supply) in Vista

[Guest]

Hi All,

I am trying to install my UPS in Vista Ultimate. It connects to the com port
to monitor the power and configure shut down options.
..
In XP I could configure it in Control Panel/Power options.

I've searched Vista and can't find where to configure it.

Any suggestions welcome.

Regards

 

[Richard G. Harper]

I don't believe Vista support serial port UPSes, only USB port UPSes.

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Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
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[Michael]

Vista will not use a com port for a UPS. (XP would)
You will need to get a UPS that uses USB.
(been there done that grrrr.)

Michael

 

[Richard Urban]

The UPS will still work till the battery runs down. You just can't control
the options. In fact, you don't even need to connect the parallel cable at
all.

I have the same problem. I will live with it till it goes bad and needs to
be replaced.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

 

[Guest]

Has anyone tried one of those cables that coverts serial to usb. If this is
plugged into a USB port, would Vista recognise the UPS as being connected to
USB?

 

[Michael]

Tried that with a geek squad UPS from Best buy, did not work for me.
Appeared to make the USB port on the computer look like a serial port rather
that make the serial port on the UPS look like a USB port.

Michael

 

[koze]

No you have to install the drivers for those (convertor) cables and then you
do have a serial port which can be addressed.
Ko

 

[Richard G. Harper]

All the USB to Serial converter does is create a new serial port - which
Vista still will not support for plugging the UPS into. So no, it won't
work.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Richard Urban]

Oops. I meant the serial cable. <grin>

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

 

[John]

Vista will not use a com port for a UPS. (XP would)
You will need to get a UPS that uses USB.
(been there done that grrrr.)

Michael

Not necessarily true.
My Vista 64 installation recognizes my APC Smart-UPS 1400,
which uses a serial port, via the APC software just fine.

 

[Michael]

John,
Interesting, the Serial UPS that I tried had no drivers included with it,
the user interface depended on the native operating system drivers. (XP had
native serial and UPS drivers). My current USB UPS (say that five times
fast) is dependent on the native 'batteries' driver. Just as a point of
curiosity does your UPS show up in Device Manager? (Mine is labeled
'batteries).
When checking Microsoft knowledge bases they said Vista did not support
Serial.

Perhaps the OP should continue to try, starting at the manufactures site to
check for Vista drivers as well as user interface.

(CyberPower battery backup, Vista(32) Home Premium)

Michael

 

[Dave]

Yes, the APC software should work.
It's Vista's built-in power management that won't work with serial ports.

 

[John]

Just as a point of curiosity does your UPS show up in Device Manager?
(Mine is labeled 'batteries).

It does not show up in device manager. The APC software installs
a driver to communicate with the UPS. On XP the first thing the
driver installation did was to disable XP's built-in UPS feature. I
don't remember if that happened on Vista but I suspect that it did.

 

[w_tom]

Has anyone tried one of those cables that coverts serial to usb. If this is
plugged into a USB port, would Vista recognise the UPS as being connected to
USB?

UPS uses serial port status lines such as Clear to Send and Carrier
Detect to send signals to the computer. UPS is told to shutdown using
Data Terminal Ready status line. How are these handshake signals
carried on a USB port?

Obviously if not, then USB port on Vista could not see those
handshaking signals. To understand why USB converter does nothing
useful, one would understand simple serial port functions and how USB
works.

 

[Brandon M. Lee]

Just because this is one of the first things that pops up in Google, here is
the solution:

Download for your version of Windows
here:http://www.apcc.com/tools/download/software_comp.cfm?sw_sku=SFPCBE800&id=125&swfam=125
It supports Comm on Vista. This version of PowerChute is only to be used on
1 computer FYI.

 

[Brandon M. Lee]

Also, to connect to it, go to your internet browser and type 127.0.0.1:3052

 

[Darren Sandford]

I had a similar problem, except my UPS (APC v/s 1000) was too old and not
supported by Powerchute. I ended up writing my own .net service that polls
COM1. When the UPS reports low battery, I do a 5-seconds forced shutdown of
Vista and tell the UPS to go into soft shutdown mode.

I found the command set here:

http://www.networkupstools.org/protocols/apcsmart.html

especially command "Q", as it does not asynchronously report low battery
(it's that old!).

 

[jonathan]

This is the agent only. You still need the Bus Ed Server, which requires a
purchase.

I have not found a free piece of software that will support a serial APC UPS