Ups / Surge Protectors


I bought a new computer, which was fairly expensive, and am now wondering what the best way to protect it is. First, i was wondering if their is a large benefit, relative to the price increase, in purchasing a good surge protector. Also, i was wondering if it is worth the extra expense to purchase a ups, and if the ups power should match the computer power supply in watts. Thanks, and let me know if i posted this in the wrong section.

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Combine Surge Protector With Ups

I need to get a ups to help prevent brownouts from fubaring my computer and ht setup. Would a belkin 1100va ups with 1080 joules surge protection work? I see all these standalone surge protectors with something like 3000 and 4000 joules of protection, and get nervous about the protection that i will get from the ups. On some forums, i have heard it is ok to plug a ups into a surge protector, and in others, i hear no. What would you guys do?

Posted On: 08-18-2005, 10:02 AM . View Related Posts . . View 10 Replies .

Ups Or Surge Protector Advice

I'm thinking it's about time to invest in one or the other. My budget is sitting around $50, and i know that's not much, but i'd like to have the piece of mind that i'm doing something other than plugging directly into the wall outlet(yes, i do have a surge protector). Since funds are somewhat limited, i'm sure a ups is out of the question, so i'd like your opinions on a good surge protector for the cash i have to play with.

Posted On: 05-03-2006, 09:24 PM . View Related Posts . . View 19 Replies .

Laptop Power Surge

We had a bad storm and a very close lightning strike over the weekend which took out my laptop. It's a gateway m305crv. I had it plugged in and turned on at the time of the surge. And now it won't power on. So i'll walk you through exactly what it's doing, and what i have done:

Right after it happened, the laptop wouldn't power on. Here's what happens:

If i plug the power supply into the laptop and put my ear down close to the jack, i can hear a high-pitched whine. Then if i hit the power button, the power light flashes very, very briefly, and turns back off. The whining noise coming from the jack stops, and it won't turn on again unless i unplug the power supply and plug it back in. Nothing else happens. The screen doesn't try to come on, the fan doesn't spin up, nothing. This behavior appears to be the same regardless of what components are plugged in at the time - it does this whether or not the the cpu, video card (which is integrated so i have no option), hard disk and a stick of ram are plugged in - and it does this even if everything, including the cpu, are removed at the time. If i put the battery in and connect the power supply, the charge light comes on and the battery gets warm. However, if i remove the power supply and run off the battery i get the same result; if i leave the battery in and the power supply connected and i try to power it on, same result. I've taken it completely apart, popped the motherboard out, and gone over every square inch on both sides of the board with a flashlight and a magnifying glass, and i can't find any damage anywhere - no visibility damaged chips, scorch marks, anything. That being said, i'm not an electrician, and so there's probably something that my untrained eye is missing. I've also tested it using a different power supply that i know to be good, which wasn't plugged in during the storm, and which i know to work with this laptop. Same result. I've also tried taking out the battery, unplugging the power supply, holding the power button down for thirty seconds (i've read you should try for as long as five minutes, but i don't know how long the caps take to discharge), plugging the power supply back in, and trying to power it on - same result. Oh, and i've tested both power supplies on multiple outlets. So at this point i'm assuming that something is damaged on the motherboard, and that the laptop is probably just hosed. However -

Does anyone know, from the behavior i described, what in particular seems to be going on/what on the board is likely causing the problem? I have a soldering iron and time; if there's a way to locate the damaged part and replace it, that would rock. Alternatively, if anyone knows of anything else i could try that might work, i'd love to hear about it.


Posted On: July 14th 2009 . View Related Posts . . View 3 Replies .

Power Surge Through Phone Line

Is it possible to get a power surge through the phone line and fry the phone jack on the wall as well as the dial-up modem?

My phone jack doesn't work as well as the hardware modem. I had to replace the modem and plug it into another jack to regain dial-up internet. (Yes, i know broadband would cure this but dial-up is the only thing available to me)


Posted On: 07-31-2007, 10:34 AM . View Related Posts . . View 8 Replies .

Battery Backup / Surge Protector Problem

About 3 months ago now, seemingly around the same period of time my computer and some of my hardware began to load up with problems. Im slowly getting it all worked out, as i don't want to get another computer for the time being. Among many other things, my surge protector/battery backup (apc back-ups es 350) has been occasionally giving out lately. Sometimes during a storm before i can shut down, my computer and everything connected to the surge protector/battery backup will lose power. Sometimes even with no storm in sight, the same thing will happen. It only happens briefly, as i can turn everything back on immediately afterwards, but it has done some damage to my computer, and im worried that it could do more if i don't get it fixed or replaced if need be. (Adding this in from info from another post)- plugged into the hardware is my computer (hp pavillion a1630n with a changed 435w psu and radeon 4770 video card) a set of 2. 1 speakers, a cell phone charger, a lamp, and a 22 inch monitor. Someone said that the problem may come from having too much plugged into the hardware, but with some of those things plugged in being slightly expensive, what might be the best option if this is the case?

So is this a sign the hardware is failing, or just some issue that might be repairable someway? I'll be getting my graphics card back next week, and i'm hoping to get all this worked out before it gets fried from one of these surges again.


Posted On: September 21st 2009 . View Related Posts . . View 1 Replies .

Looking For A New Ups

I am looking for a ups to replace my apc br1500 (865w). Should i get the same model again or is there a better offering from apc for around the same price? Also, i purchased apc because i heard they were a good brand and haven't looked at other companies. Are there better brands (in terms of quality/reliability) than apc? What are you guys currently using?

Posted On: 06-28-2008, 01:53 AM . View Related Posts . . View 5 Replies .

What Is Ups And What Is Its Use?

Answer:- short for un-interruptible power supply, a power supply that includes a battery to maintain power in the event of a power outage. Typically, a ups keeps a computer running for several minutes after a power outage, enabling you to save data that is in ram and shut down the computer gracefully. Many upss now offer a software component that enables you to automate backup and shut down procedures in case there's a power failure while you're away from the computer. There are two basic types of ups systems: standby power systems (spss) and on-line ups systems. An sps monitors the power line and switches to battery power as soon as it detects a problem. The switch to battery, however, can require several milliseconds, during which time the computer is not receiving any power. Standby power systems are sometimes called line-interactive upses. An on-line ups avoids these momentary power lapses by constantly providing power from its own inverter, even when the power line is functioning properly. In general, on-line upss are much more expensive than spss.

Posted On: 2 months ago . View Related Posts . . View 5 Replies .

Pop Ups

Okay, so i keep getting these damn pop-ups and i dont know why, i've gotten rid of all the spyware and adware crap, and its still coming, cleaned out my cookies, and its still coming. I tried to do windows restore, but i keep getting an error that states:

"The procedure entry point remoteassistancepreparesystemrestore could not be located in the dynamic link library winsta.dll"

What gives? How can i go around and get rid of these annoying popups?

P. S. They come even if there arent any browsers open.


Posted On: 11-23-2004, 03:33 PM . View Related Posts . . View 19 Replies .

Ups For System

I want to pick up a ups for my system. There's a apc bx-800 ups on sale at a nearby store, it says it's rated for 540 watts / 800 va. Will it be sufficient for my system? See sig for details, but basically 3 hard drives, a dvd burner, 21 inch monitor, x800xt vid card, p4 2. 4c eating up power off a 550w power supply. I don't really care about how much time i can run without any power, it doesn't take very long to shut down cleanly. I just want to make sure that the ups won't be underpowering things connected to it.

Posted On: 07-14-2004, 09:36 AM . View Related Posts . . View 17 Replies .

Ups Recommendation

We are planning on replacing our old ups because it only last for about 15 minutes during power outage. The ff are the device load for the ups needed:

5 ibm servers (dc, file server, test server etc)
2 switch
1 firewall
1 router
1 modem
1 monitor, keyboard and mouse
1 kvm switch
1 external hdd
1 extra linux test server
(Will add another device in the near future)

Can somebody recommend what va should i need. I'm not very technical when it comes to this i cant even compute the load of the server. Based on the devices above, what is the best spec for a ups preferably apc. Can somebody explain the volt ampere? Will it last long if it's high? I need a ups that will last 1-2 hours at least. Input is 220-240 v / 50-60 hz and output is the same.


Posted On: October 8th, 2007, 03:19 PM . View Related Posts . . View 10 Replies .

What Kind Of Ups Is Needed For Pc ?

I'm trying to figure out what kind of ups is needed for our pcs at work. If the pc has a 500w power supply, do i need a ups that supports at least 500w, plus a bit more for dual-monitors?

The cpu is a q6600 (quad core). An application called asus ai gear runs in the task bar and reports the watts used by the cpu - this fluctuates between 2 watts and 20 watts. There are also two widescreen lcd monitors in use, although, i guess only 1 monitor would have to be on the power backup. The graphics card is a pci express 2. 0 8800gt 512mb. Would a 1250va (750w) ups be suitable?


Posted On: June 9th, 2009, 04:35 AM . View Related Posts . . View 6 Replies .

Which Ups Power Supply?

I'm looking to purchase a ups power system, but before purchasing i need to make sure the ups will be of the correct va power for my sytem. The only details i can give is that the power supply in my pc states (450w) my system is a desktop pc consisting of a monitor, modem, monitor speakers and the pc itself, i may also wish to add another component to the desktop in the future, given these details could anyone recommend the correct ups power system for my desktop.

Posted On: November 6th, 2008, 10:39 AM . View Related Posts . . View 13 Replies .

Computer Lock Ups

I have a pc that is is locking up for an unexplained reason. The pc was locking up originally before replacing the motherboard, and still is, even with a freshly installed xp. It now has a new antec power supply and i have checked the hard drive for errors. I have even tried different sticks of ram. I tried uninstalling the g4 440mx agp card and used the onboard video with no change. I am stumped. The motherboard is a epox p4800m3i with 1gb ram, p4 2. 4ghz cpu. I have checked the bios for improper settings, but don't see anything wrong. Any ideas? Could the cpu be buggy?

Posted On: March 24th, 2007, 03:15 PM . View Related Posts . . View 6 Replies .

Apc Battery Backup - Ups

Well, lastnight i was doing an impotant 10. 7gb upload and the power goes out, but only for a few minutes. I lost power to my pc and cable modem and lost the upload, which only had about 14 minutes left. Needless to say, it's time i put my equipment on a battery backup, just in case. I walked through cc yesterday (have about $105 in gc's there) and they were supposed to be having a sale on their apc ups line. I am not sure which one to get. What i need is a little help picking the right one. Here is the equipment i currently have:

* Main pc (550wt coolermaster psu, 8600gts, 4gb ram, gigabyte 780g mobo, etc)

* Dell e207wfp 20" lcd

* Cable modem

* Dlink small wireless g router

I would like a ups that has a cable passthrough on it as well, just in case lighting strikes and goes through the cable and spikes my pc. If i do this, will it affect the speeds of the cable internet connection?


Posted On: 07-16-2008, 10:28 AM . View Related Posts . . View 7 Replies .

Match Wattage Of Psu To Ups

I'm looking to replace my 6 year old power strip that has basic surge protection with something a little more robust to protect my new system. I'm not really too concerned about a long battery backup or anything, and i've been looking for something around 100 bucks. My question is about the wattage ratings for the ups, do you need to match the wattage of your psu to the ups (or greater)? I'm more concerned about getting nice clean power than a battery backup, but maybe my psu already does this?

Posted On: February 2nd 2008 . View Related Posts . . View 1 Replies .

Ati Radeon 9800 Xt Lock Ups

I just installed a new motherboard and since then i cannot get my 9800xt to run on the pc. It will freeze within 5 mins for sure. I have run the pc on its onboard video and another video card and it runs perfect for weeks. I have installed the 9800xt into another pc and no problems, it has now ran it for over 3 days, so i know the card is fine. So i am almost positive its some type of setting. I have fdisked and reloaded windows and not installed a single program. It ran the windows install fine with the 9800xt but once it got to windows it locked up within 5 mins. I am not able to even have enough time to install the catalyst driver. If i run it with the onboard video or this other cheap card i can run it for weeks. The pc i tested the 9800xt on is a really slow old pc, with no catalyst drivers, just the windows drivers it installs automatically. I have disabled the onboard video when i have tried to run the 9800xt and that didn't change a thing. The only possible thing is i think that old pc is 4x agp and the one i am trying to get it to run on is 4x/8x and in the bios there is no place to change the agp speed. My setup is. Mainboard: aopen ax4sg
Processor: intel pentium 4 3. 06gb
Memory: 2gb 266ddr
Hard drive: western digital 80gb


Posted On: February 24th 2007 . View Related Posts . . View 9 Replies .

Cyberpower Cp1350avrlcd Ups Driver Problem

I just got a cyber power cp1350avrlcd and after install it and getting everything working fine i found that every time i restart i get the new found hardware window and it says that it cannot install my ups. I installed this ups on my other computer and it went fine and has never come back up. The system that i am having the problem is a dual 285 opteron workstation. Tyan s2895 running windows xp 32 (soon to be 64-bit). I have many other usb things (mouse, keyboard, all in one printer, ipod, and more) and they all work perfect and don't have the new hardware thing come up for them, just this ups. But sense it works on the other computer fine. It works fine, just the wizard that is the problem. Can i keep this from coming up?

Anyways, let me know if any of you have any ideas on how i can keep this from happening because it works great, its just dang windows keeps looking for it on start up.


Posted On: April 4th 2008 . View Related Posts . . View 13 Replies .

Ups Gets Charged Side By Side When Start Pc ?

Is it true that ups gets charged side by side when u start your pc(connected to ups)?

Answer:- yes the ups gets charged when you run your computer. It does not charge simply by plugging it into the wall socket. Which means that the ups must be on for the battery to charge.


Posted On: 1 month ago . View Related Posts . . View 5 Replies .