Power Meter - bogus On-Battery indication

[George Neuner]

Hi all,

Got a weird problem with an XP Pro desktop and a new APC Backups ES
750. I'm using the Windows UPS service and connecting the UPS to the
computer via USB (plugged in directly - not through a hub). AFAICT,
the UPS service is correctly configured for a USB connected BackUPS.

About 20 to 30 minutes after the computer is started, the battery icon
suddenly appears in the tray. In the Power Options applet, the UPS
tab shows the system running on AC power. At the same time, the Power
Meter tab shows the system on battery with 100% remaining. The
battery meter does not drop over time - it remains pinned at 100% but
keeps insisting that the power source is battery. If I pull the UPS
cord, the UPS tab correctly shows the switch to battery and then back
to AC when I plug it back in.

This is my first USB connected UPS (I've only had serial prior to
this). Is there some configuration option that could be causing this?
Any other ideas?

Thanks,
George

 

[Guest]

Have you recently calibrated your battery?

1 | Fully charge your battery
2 | Fully discharge your battery
3 | Fully charge your battery
And that is calibatration.

If all else fails, run Scandisk.

In my computer, right click on your computers hard drive and click Properties.
On the 'Tools' tab, click on 'Check Now...'

This checks your hard drive for errors.

I am sure that one of these is causing the problem.

 

[George Neuner]

Have you recently calibrated your battery?

1 | Fully charge your battery
2 | Fully discharge your battery
3 | Fully charge your battery
And that is calibatration.

Yes, the battery was calibrated at installation - just about a month
ago. It seems like the signals from the UPS are being lost or cut off
somehow.

If all else fails, run Scandisk.
This checks your hard drive for errors.

No errors on the disk. Also no new software (except for MS updates)
installed since the UPS was installed.

George

 

[Guest]

Hi George.

Do you have antivirus and/or antispyware software on your computer?
And if so, when was the last time you did a complete system scan?

John.

 

[George Neuner]

Hi George.

Do you have antivirus and/or antispyware software on your computer?
And if so, when was the last time you did a complete system scan?

John.

I have ZoneAlarm Pro, configured tightly, and both McAfee and AVG (I
normally run AVG hot because McAfee impacts performance too much).
AVG scans fully every morning (it wakes on timer because the scan
takes ~2 hours). I scan manually with McAfee (even longer) and with
Rootkit Revealer whenever I suspect anything hinky. I also scan
periodically with AdAware.

Anyway, I'm rather positive there is no malware. Everything works
normally except the stupid UPS battery monitor.


Incidently, I'm a professional software developer (~20 years). I read
all the security bulletins, but I'm not aware of any malware that
affects either USB or the UPS service (I'm sure it's out there, but it
can't be very common).

It seems more likely that it's a configuration problem because I tried
the UPS on another computer and it worked fine. But I don't know what
to look for - there's precious little documentation on the USB
ports/drivers and UPS service. I did check to make sure that the
internal USB hub was not in power saving mode.

George

 

[Guest]

Can you describe an update name and/or number?

Example: Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications - KB905474

Even MS is too *lazy* to add reliability to their products.