OT: APC BK650MI ...

[RJK]

Anyone know how to get XP Home to automatically shut-down, when there is a
power outage ?

Years ago I bought an APC Back-UPS 650 (not the "pro" version i.e. it didn't
come with Powerchute CD and serial lead,...there is however a female RS232
port on the back of it.)
....I just bought on ebay, for 90p, an "APC basic signalling lead," which I
understand is an RS 232 with unusual pin-outs and a resistor across two pins
somewhere ! i.e. it's an APC 944-0020C
http://www.apc.com/support/faq.cfm#5

....and it's now plugged in ! I suspect there is some sort of comminication
on the RS2323 lead, because if I go into XP power management | UPS tab and
change COM 1 to COM 5 I get an error message on the UPS tab in XP Power
management. I've selected APC Back-UPS in Power management, and any change
in settings in there, takes a good half minute before the timer bottle goes
away.

....anyhow, cutting the mains power so that the battery kicks in, does not
produce any messages on screen.
I haven't been able to install the APC Powerchute software. i.e. I've
downloaded several versions and tried them, and each one says "unable to
locate an APC battery on a USB port" !! ...so I've tried locating an older
version that hopefully will detect an RS232 port.

....any clues gratefully accepted !

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

Anyone know how to get XP Home to automatically shut-down, when there is a
power outage ?

Years ago I bought an APC Back-UPS 650 (not the "pro" version i.e. it
didn't come with Powerchute CD and serial lead,...there is however a
female RS232 port on the back of it.)
...I just bought on ebay, for 90p, an "APC basic signalling lead," which
I understand is an RS 232 with unusual pin-outs and a resistor across two
pins somewhere ! i.e. it's an APC 944-0020C
http://www.apc.com/support/faq.cfm#5

...and it's now plugged in ! I suspect there is some sort of
comminication on the RS2323 lead, because if I go into XP power management
| UPS tab and change COM 1 to COM 5 I get an error message on the UPS tab
in XP Power management. I've selected APC Back-UPS in Power management,
and any change in settings in there, takes a good half minute before the
timer bottle goes away.

...anyhow, cutting the mains power so that the battery kicks in, does not
produce any messages on screen.
I haven't been able to install the APC Powerchute software. i.e. I've
downloaded several versions and tried them, and each one says "unable to
locate an APC battery on a USB port" !! ...so I've tried locating an
older version that hopefully will detect an RS232 port.

...any clues gratefully accepted !

regards, Richard

Well folks, (for those of you that may have cast an eye on my OP),...

It was a MESSY affair, this APC - RS232 "simple UPS controller cable" based
shutdown facility but, after trying almost every software download at
www.apcc.com , I finally got a result with their business edition Powerchute
download ! The readme file that came with it alerted me to change to
"correct" COM1 port settings in XP, then I had to install 3 applications !
.....
This removed the XP ups.exe service, (which was talking to my UPS but
wouldn't make it do anything as far as I could tell - or perhaps I just
didn't leave the mains power cut off for long enough), and this APC Business
edition install identified my UPS at 127.0.0.251 ...wherever that is !
After tweaking other settings in this mysterious software, ...when I cut
power at the mains switch :-
Battery kicks in as usual & the unit starts bleeping, ..as usual,
Little red "APC" icon in system tray starts blinking & alternating between
"APC" and a yellow warning triangle for a short time, then changes to a red
warning symbol, then XP shuts down, then UPS pretends to be dead and makes a
slightly different bleep, ...indicating there is no mains power ?!
....it seems that the APC Business edition console application has to be
running - so I've dragged that into "startup."

....So it's only taken me 10 years, ...hang on, I've been living here 13
years, and I'm sure bought the thing quite a few years before that !!!
...oh well, it took a while but, I finally got that APC cable from eaby for
90 pence, and now it's all ready for this winter !!!

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

....but, then of course, I would prefer to uninstall the APC software, and
put MS's ups.exe service back in but, having urmmaged:-
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=ups.exe+site:microsoft.com&meta=
I can't find any information on how ups.exe behaves, and when and what it
does if there is a prolonged power outage.
....and apparantly there is only one switch for ups.exe to specify which COM
port the UPS is on !
....any further knowlwdge on this issue would be helpful

regards, Richard

 

[Bob I]

I suggest reviewing the information available in Windows Help and
Support. Just look up UPS and click the links.

 

[RJK]

Thanks, I'll give that a whirl

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

Finally got there, after fiddling with those three polarity settings -
several reboots into safe mode to switch off ups.exe service so that I
could have another go !
....and thanks again, I wouldn't have normally looked in Windows help - I can
never usually find anything in there !

<quote Windows help>
To configure a simple-signaling Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) device
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators
group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to
a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing
this procedure.
Open Power Options in Control Panel.
On the UPS tab, click Select.
In the UPS Selection dialog box, under Select manufacturer, select Generic.
In Select model, select Custom.
In On port, select the COM port where the UPS device is connected, and then
click Next.

In the UPS Interface Configuration On dialog box, set the UPS signal
polarities as appropriate for:

Power Fail/On Battery
Low Battery
UPS Shutdown

Caution
Before changing these settings, see the documentation that came with your
UPS device.
Click Finish.
Notes
To open Power Options, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel,
and then double-click Power Options.
Using Power Options in Control Panel, you can adjust any power management
option that your computer's unique hardware configuration supports. Because
these options may vary widely from computer to computer, the options
described may differ from what you see. Power Options automatically detects
what is available on your computer and shows you only the options that you
can control.
Related Topics
<end quote>

....for my APC 650 (BK650MI), those three above polarity settings are neg.
pos. neg. ...after getting an unexpected hibernation - after tweaking a
radio button or two !
...then a bit more Googling:- ...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102711
....gave this one a go, Voila !!!



Thanks again Bob I for pointing me to "Windows Help," ....that's about
three items that have been of use in there !

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

....correction, after a little more experimentation, polarities appear to
need to be pos pos. pos. (the deafults),
....after one or two more test - cutting mains power to ups - XP was going
straight to (selected action) - hibernate.

regards, Richard

 

[Bob I]

You're welcome, glad to hear you have it working as desired.