Way OT, about back up power supplies

JC
Posted By
Jane_Carter
Nov 7, 2003
Views
256
Replies
10
Status
Closed
I have a Tripplite UPS, and it does supply smooooooth power to the computer, but here is a question that nobody seems to know.

When the power goes off here, the battery back up will last plenty long enough to quit my programs and shut down the computer properly, but what would happen if I was outdoors(as I am a lot) and was not here to shut it down?
Would it just quit, sort of like unplugging the Mac, or would the battery exhaust slowly and give the computer a nasty reduced voltage. In other words, would it get less and less power like a brownout?

Thanks, Jane
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BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 7, 2003
Jane, I don’t know about the Tripplite, but if my imac is asleep (which it is if I’m not using it for any length of time), my APC UPS will last a very long time. We had a power outage in the middle of the night the other day and three hours later when I got up we had no power but the imac was still peacefully asleep and I was able to wake it up and shut it down.

I suppose it would vary by manufacturer, how much power your computer pulls, etc.
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 7, 2003
Forgot to say mine is supposed to provide power to keep running for 13 minutes if the computer is active. Never pushed it to find out.
JC
Jane_Carter
Nov 7, 2003
Hi Barbara, I think my UPS would last about 10 minutes. I only have my G4 and the Viewsonic monitor into it, oh I do have my router in it too.

Unfortunatly my G4 won’t go into sleep mode, as I put a serial port thingie into it, so I could use my ‘antique’ CD burner and an extra old zip drive. Only the monitor goes into sleep mode. When I try to put it into sleep, it has a strange message explaining why it won’t work.

It kind of makes me nervous now, as I do go out a lot, and leave the Mac on from about 7 am to about 9 pm.
I hate to turn it off when I walk the dog or go to the grocery.

My brother’s area has many more power outages and fluctuations than we do, and he never shuts off his iMac
and he doesn’t have a UPS. And my husband just unplugs his iMac when he gets mad at it. The little things seem to be indestructible!

Thanks, Jane
BG
Byron_Gale
Nov 7, 2003
Jane,

I can’t speak for how it works on a Mac, but many UPSs (even the little cheapies I’ve purchased) come with software which can be loaded on a PC, and a cable to connect the UPS to the PC, just for the purpose of an "unattended shut-down".

When the power fails, the UPS talks to the PC and initiates a graceful shut-down before the unit is completely exhausted.

I’ve never configured my UPS to do this, so I can’t give you first-hand observations, but I thought I’d mention the capability in the event it was helpful.

Byron
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 7, 2003
HI, Byron. Yes, the software is available for macs, too, but I don’t really trust it, myself. It would tempt me to leave the computer up when I shouldn’t.

The little things seem to be indestructible!

Jane, as far as the new imacs go, I must say there is a bit of prom-queen factor. Mine is certainly much more beautiful than any computer I’ve ever owned, but it is fussy, fussy, fussy about power. with our variable power levels here it wouldn’t even start when I plugged it directly into the wall.
JC
Jane_Carter
Nov 7, 2003
Just found that the UPS software that can take of the situation when no human is around, is not available for Macs with OS 9.
I will continue to use mine, as the power here can be variable during high winds, and Cape Cod gets its share of wind. And just hope that if I wasn’t here, that it would shut off correctly.
Jane
KW
Kyle_White
Nov 7, 2003
One of the biggest things about doing a proper shutdown, on any OS, is that you may have applications with files still open, that won’t get closed properly. If you close the files you’ve been working on when you get up from the computer for any length of time, then the probability of headaches is reduced. You can reduce it further by shutting down your active applications. That way you won’t have apps with open prefs files or caches and the like.

My Mom is on an eMac with a dumb UPS (no software control) and she hasn’t had any snags….yet (knock on wood). It’s been a couple of years, on power that goes "thump" routinely.

Kyle
JC
Jane_Carter
Nov 7, 2003
Hi Kyle, You make me feel a lot more confident! I was out raking the yard for hours today. And our power is pretty good when there isn’t any wind.
If the UPS just switches off, that would be fine, that wouldn’t hurt the Macs. I usually just have iTunes, PSE, Netscape, and one or 2 others running, but from now on, if I will be out for more than an hour, I will quit all my programs or save what I am working on.
Speaking of electricity,
here is our power plant, its on the East end of the Cape Cod canal, <http://www.pbase.com/image/23067653>
We love to walk along the right of ways under the wires. Thanks everybody, for all the advice, now I will not worry when outdoors. Jane
PD
Pete_D
Nov 8, 2003
Jane,

A few houses in that scene and it could be from the movie "Neighbors" with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd 🙂

Pete
JC
Jane_Carter
Nov 8, 2003
Yeah! and add a few ticks and there we have it.
Spent the evening de-ticking the dog. We are the wood tick arachnid capital of the world. <http://www.pbase.com/image/2530832>
At least right now, till we get a freeze.
Jane

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