Vista and UPS

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fitz
  • Start date Start date
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Fitz

I had posted that a 3 year old Cyberpower 825AVR would not work with
Vista and had asked if Vista would allow me to set up a "Generic" UPS
(polarity,etc). Since there didn't seem to be a way to do that, I
purchased an APC BX900R and downloaded the PowerChute 2.1.1 software.
Works perfectly- seems to be a good piece of work by APC. I'm not going
to stand around hoping for a brownout/surge as has been happening
lately, but that will be the true test of the hardware...the software
interface works well.

Thanks,

Fitz
 
Andre said:
You can test a power outage by simply unplugging the APC. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, but it's not an outage I'm really concerned about. It's the
"brownout" followed 2-3 seconds later by a significant surge- hence
buying the AVR version of the UPS. The voltage regulation is what is
going to be as important as the battery backup. For some reason my power
company hasn't mastered reliable, consistent electricity.

Fitz
 
I had posted that a 3 year old Cyberpower 825AVR would not work with
Vista and had asked if Vista would allow me to set up a "Generic" UPS
(polarity,etc). Since there didn't seem to be a way to do that, I
purchased an APC BX900R and downloaded the PowerChute 2.1.1 software.
Works perfectly- seems to be a good piece of work by APC. I'm not going
to stand around hoping for a brownout/surge as has been happening
lately, but that will be the true test of the hardware...the software
interface works well.
Click to expand...

It may not even be necessary to use PowerChute. I have a basic APC Back-
UPS 725ES. I just plugged the UPS cable in, and Vista (and even my old
Win2K) just treat it like a laptop battery. The only real reason for
using a cable is to allow for a clean shutdown when the battery gets too
weak.
 
It may not even be necessary to use PowerChute. I have a basic APC Back-
UPS 725ES. I just plugged the UPS cable in, and Vista (and even my old
Win2K) just treat it like a laptop battery. The only real reason for
using a cable is to allow for a clean shutdown when the battery gets too
weak.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought with my older Cyberpower- unfortunately there was
a delay between the loss of power and the battery kicking in, so it was
hit or miss as to whether it was going to be fast enough to keep things
running. The Powerchute software doesn't seem too cumbersome, so I think
I'll leave it on for now.
When I first turned on the APC (prior to software install), Vista
detected it, and there was a blue battery icon in the system tray for a
moment- it disappeared, though the UPS was being shown in Device Manager.

Thanks,
Fitz
 
When I first turned on the APC (prior to software install), Vista
detected it, and there was a blue battery icon in the system tray for a
moment- it disappeared, though the UPS was being shown in Device Manager.
Click to expand...

To turn on the battery/power icon in the taskbar:
Right-click the taskbar and select properties.
Change to the Notification Area tab.
Check the Power box to turn the icon on (you can also turn on/off the
clock, volume, and network icons from here.)
 
Andrew said:
To turn on the battery/power icon in the taskbar:
Right-click the taskbar and select properties.
Change to the Notification Area tab.
Check the Power box to turn the icon on (you can also turn on/off the
clock, volume, and network icons from here.)
Click to expand...

Thanks! Much appreciated.

Fitz
 
Andrew said:
To turn on the battery/power icon in the taskbar:
Right-click the taskbar and select properties.
Change to the Notification Area tab.
Check the Power box to turn the icon on (you can also turn on/off the
clock, volume, and network icons from here.)
Click to expand...
The Power box in the Notification Area is grayed out, unable to select.
Must be because of Powerchute (wasn't going to leave it turned on, just
wanted to check out the options)

Fitz
 
That's what I thought with my older Cyberpower- unfortunately there was
a delay between the loss of power and the battery kicking in, so it was
hit or miss as to whether it was going to be fast enough to keep things
running. The Powerchute software doesn't seem too cumbersome, so I think
I'll leave it on for now.
When I first turned on the APC (prior to software install), Vista
detected it, and there was a blue battery icon in the system tray for a
moment- it disappeared, though the UPS was being shown in Device Manager.

Thanks,
Fitz
Click to expand...

Did I read that right? You're saying that the Powerchute software
made the time delay to battery power shorter?

Tom
 
Did I read that right? You're saying that the Powerchute software
made the time delay to battery power shorter?

Tom
Click to expand...

No. It was a older (discontinued) Cyberpower UPS that wasn't Vista
compatible (wouldn't even show up in device manager). You would think
that regardless, the battery would kick in the instant commercial power
failed. Anyway, I replaced the Cyberpower with a APC. I think the
problem with the older one was that Vista doesn't have the option to set
up a "Generic" UPS as XP does (set polarity and shutdown options)
through Windows. I was just saying that because the Powerchute software
seems like a decent piece of work and isn't a huge program, I would
continue to use it.

Fitz
 
No. It was a older (discontinued) Cyberpower UPS that wasn't Vista
compatible (wouldn't even show up in device manager). You would think
that regardless, the battery would kick in the instant commercial power
failed. Anyway, I replaced the Cyberpower with a APC. I think the
problem with the older one was that Vista doesn't have the option to set
up a "Generic" UPS as XP does (set polarity and shutdown options)
through Windows. I was just saying that because the Powerchute software
seems like a decent piece of work and isn't a huge program, I would
continue to use it.

Fitz
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. That was just an issue with the older Cyberpower unit.
Thanks for setting me straight.

Tom
 
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