UPS power management

[zoob]

I have a line interactive ups that I would like to setup to shut down XP
nicely if there's a power failure. The UPS service is running, the com
port is connected to the UPS, and in control panel/power
options/UPS/configure/critical alarm I have set the option to shut down
on critical alarm, 5 minutes left on battery.

I think this is correct but if I simulate a failure by pulling the UPS
power cord to the wall the machine simply cuts out when battery is drained.

Am I missing something?

 

[Brian A.]

I have a line interactive ups that I would like to setup to shut down XP nicely if
there's a power failure. The UPS service is running, the com port is connected to
the UPS, and in control panel/power options/UPS/configure/critical alarm I have set
the option to shut down on critical alarm, 5 minutes left on battery.

I think this is correct but if I simulate a failure by pulling the UPS power cord
to the wall the machine simply cuts out when battery is drained.

Am I missing something?

If you're using an APC UPS, check APC's site for the free PowerChute Personal
Edition. Read the documentation on it fully and carefully.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Lil' Dave]

I have a line interactive ups that I would like to setup to shut down XP
nicely if there's a power failure. The UPS service is running, the com
port is connected to the UPS, and in control panel/power
options/UPS/configure/critical alarm I have set the option to shut down on
critical alarm, 5 minutes left on battery.

I think this is correct but if I simulate a failure by pulling the UPS
power cord to the wall the machine simply cuts out when battery is
drained.

Am I missing something?

Even without the UPS to PC network connection, and the attending UPS
software, you should be able to verify battery capability.

With the UPS network connection disconnected, no UPS software, you should be
able to:
Turn off the UPS with either a switch or pulling the plug from the wall.
The UPS should react with some kind of audible alarm, and keep the PC on for
a few minutes before the battery is below power level to support the PC any
longer. This should be verified first.

Then, install the UPS network connection and UPS software. Its purpose is
to turn off the PC when you are not present if power fails.

The indication I see, based on your input, is your UPS is not working or the
battery is not up to snuff to support the PC and whatever else is connected
to it. At minimum, you need the PC and the monitor connected to the UPS to
see XP shutdown.
Dave

 

[RalfG]

The brand and capacity of the UPS might be helpful, any UPS software being
used and the equipment plugged into the UPS. The UPS could be underpowered
for example and your run-time less than 5 minutes even at full charge.

The options that show up in Power options are not the same for every USP
brand, eg. the options that appeared for my APC brand UPS were nothing like
what you posted (and installing Powerchute software subsequently removed all
of them).

Some UPS and power conditioners require that the ground always be connected
in order to function properly.. IOW unplugging the UPS wouldn't properly
simulate a power-out but cutting the circuit breaker for the wall outlet
would.

 

[zoob]

It's a Socomec-Sicon EGYS-LP 1000, 1000VA model. Workstation and monitor
plugged in. When I turn off the circuit breaker, an alarm sound
regularly, and the machine remains powered for approximately 12 minutes
before it quits.

I'm not using any software other than the builtin XP control panel-when
I looked at it it seemed to fit the bill. Am I wrong?

 

[Paul]

It's a Socomec-Sicon EGYS-LP 1000, 1000VA model. Workstation and monitor
plugged in. When I turn off the circuit breaker, an alarm sound
regularly, and the machine remains powered for approximately 12 minutes
before it quits.

I'm not using any software other than the builtin XP control panel-when
I looked at it it seemed to fit the bill. Am I wrong?

There is a software called "UNI Vision", which they claim is available
from their web site.

http://www.socomec.fr/documentation/documents/dcg_84033_logiciels.pdf

You can try typing your UPS serial number here, to gain access to the
software. I cannot test this, because I don't have a serial number

http://www.socomec.fr/catalogue/produits/p_ups_univision_form_gb.htm

Paul

 

[NotMe]

You need to have software that will receive the notification from the UPS
and set it to shut down the PC after so many minutes without power.
Setting it to shutdown with 5 mins left on battery is not a good idea. How
does the software know the battery life?
As the battery ages, it will have less capacity.
I believe I have all my servers set to 7 mins without power and the UPS can
supposedly run them for 13-15 mins. But it takes a little while to do the
shutdown routine. I'd rather be safe than sorry...

 

[RalfG]

I'm like you in that respect in that I would also have assumed the available
power options in Windows would be sufficient. My UPS has abundant
monitoring capabilities built in, so the battery charge level is reported to
XP. There are audible warning levels which were set to go off at 50% charge
and 10% respectively including selectable responses for each level. As well
as that it has time based actions, to put into standby or hybernate
individual components like monitor, harddrives, computer, after x,y,z
minutes respectively.

After reading your situation I decided to install the Powerchute monitoring
software that came with the UPS to see what it was about. Though it reports
more UPS status information than Windows provided me(nothing I couldn't see
on the UPS front panel display anyway) I now actually have fewer shutdown
options that I can select. Estimated runtime is one of the things Powerchute
does monitor so I have it set to shut down when 5 minutes remains. I don't
intend to test it.

 

[Vanguard]

I have a line interactive ups that I would like to setup to shut down
XP nicely if there's a power failure. The UPS service is running, the
com port is connected to the UPS, and in control panel/power
options/UPS/configure/critical alarm I have set the option to shut down
on critical alarm, 5 minutes left on battery.

I think this is correct but if I simulate a failure by pulling the UPS
power cord to the wall the machine simply cuts out when battery is
drained.

Am I missing something?

How old are the batteries in the UPS? I end up having to change out
mine about every 3 years because they become too weak after awhile (the
uptime becomes shorter and shorter until eventually there isn't any).
The ones that I've bought allowed me to take them apart to get at the
battery to replace it. Usually BatteriesPlus had a replacement so I
didn't have to pay the exhorbitant price from the UPS maker.

Could be there isn't enough oomph in the batteries to keep the UPS
running for the 5-minute interval. Could be there isn't even enough
juice from the batteries to allow time for the software to properly
shutdown Windows (but that could also happen if the amperage draw of the
computer far exceeded the capacity of the UPS; i.e., you are draining
the current way too fast with an undersized UPS). Does the UPS software
show running time or remaining time (so you can see its guess as to how
long it will keep the computer running during a power outage)? That's
just a guess. If the computer doesn't shutdown immediately when you
yank the power cord to the UPS, and without changing what other software
is running on the computer during the test, watch the UPS software to
monitor the run time to see how closely it matches wall time. If it
starts guessing the runtime will be 30 minutes but it drops faster than
wall time and you only get 5 minutes of actual runtime then the
batteries are too weak.

 

[Vanguard]

It's a Socomec-Sicon EGYS-LP 1000, 1000VA model. Workstation and
monitor plugged in. When I turn off the circuit breaker, an alarm
sound regularly, and the machine remains powered for approximately 12
minutes before it quits.

I'm not using any software other than the builtin XP control
panel-when I looked at it it seemed to fit the bill. Am I wrong?

Wrong, the built-in UPS software included in Windows works only with APC
devices. You will need to install the software for your particular
non-APC device. Just like a nVidia video card can't use ATI drivers,
you need to match the software/driver with the device that it supports.
If you look at the drop-down list of available UPS makers, APC is the
only one listed. There is a "generic" entry but it probably uses the
same communications protocol (commands) and assumes the same serial port
pinout for an APC device. Sounds like you really have no software
control over the UPS.

UPS'es too often use their own wiring and signal order on those wires.
They may provide a serial cable which connects to the COM port on your
computer but the other end is not a serial port and the wiring gets
changed within the cable (so you also need the matching serial cable
provided with the UPS rather than some generic serial cable). With a
UPS that uses a standard COM cable, it doesn't matter which end you
connect to the computer and UPS, but with a specialized cable then you
need to make sure the "UPS" end goes to the UPS and the "COM" end goes
to the serial port on the computer. If the UPS provides RJ11 (network)
or USB connections, use those instead.