Because we have lots of power failures where I live, I bought a UPS as I understood that if you run your computer through it, you'll get a constant supply of smooth power, so when there's a power failure, you'll at least have a few minutes to save your work and close your computer down properly.
But this UPS switches off and on for just a fraction of a second when there's a power failure - just enough for me to lose my modem connection and for my computer to turn off and start rebooting. I thought's wrong so I took the UPS back to the store, they supposedly sent it for repairs, but now it's back and I think it's the same as it was. I'm hesitant to test it on my computer, so I tested it with an ordinary 60 watt reading lamp. I first charged the UPS overnight, and now if I simulate a power failure by turning off the switch at the wall, the reading lamp flicks off and on for just a second before it starts running on the UPS.
Is the UPS faulty, or is this really the way it works?
2006-09-02 01:58:00 · 5 answers · asked by Homeboy 5 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
The UPS is an acronym for Uninterrupted Power Supply and they are supposed to be part of the continuous power supply family. But low-end UPS'es have a know response time of up to 50ms (although the article says 5ms) Normally your PC's PSU (the box with the fan behind the ATX case where you plug the AC power cord) should compansate such small fluctuations because it has many very large capacitors in it. So most likely you have a faulty UPS (or PSU-power supply unit- or you might have a small capacity PSU for you PC), it is true that you can adjust some USP settings with an RS232 cable but they aren't very much and response time isn't one of them. I had an ADSL modem which was loosing connection at every minimal (10ms) power failure but my PC (which isn't on UPS) can withstand shortages of up to half a second! Even TV set gets to stand-by but good-old PC just keeps going on.
Check http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question28.htm
Loren Soth
2006-09-02 02:48:17 · answer #1 · answered by Lord Soth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds faulty to me. All UPSs I've dealt with will power the PC for around 15 minutes, and often initiate shut down procedures for the operating system so everything goes smoothly and you just end up with a turned off (happy) PC. As an aside, get your electrics checked - lots of power failures are an indicator of dodgy wiring. You didn't say what brand of UPS it was, so I can't say anymore that this...
2006-09-02 02:04:45 · answer #2 · answered by nert 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The UPS should be taking over power supply to the computer to keep it running (for whatever length of time it is able to). Check the information with the UPS about how to change the sensitivity. It may not be set to be sensitive enough for your situation. APC UPS units generally use a data cable to connect to your computer and use a program called PowerChute to configure the sensitivity and check status, etc.
2006-09-02 02:04:58 · answer #3 · answered by bill91173 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it should kick in instantly, if it doesnt get your money back.
2006-09-02 02:42:47 · answer #4 · answered by torbrexbones 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a ups is a delivery company that deliver parcels.
2006-09-02 02:01:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋