AP9630 with SmartUPS 5000 - Garbled Characters

[rustyshackleford_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 5/11/2016

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Hello,

We recently moved our SmartUPS 5000 (with an AP9630 NMC2) to our new location. I need to connect to it to update the IP address, as it is still configured for the old space on a subnet that no longer exists.

When I try to connect to it using PuTTY, or any other terminal emulator, I get strange garbled characters. I can tell it's the login prompt, and it will let me login using the default login, but I can't read anything.

I have reset the network card using the reset button, but am still unable to read the characters. 

[voidstar_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 5/12/2016

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That looks like noise on the serial line. A good first step is to move the card to another UPS to see if the problem follows the card, the UPS, or the computer used for configuration. In my case it happened to be the computer -- something on the motherboard failed and it was putting noise into the ground line.

[rustyshackleford_apc · Accepted solution]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 5/12/2016

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Thanks for the reply. That was indeed the problem.

I discovered the culprit was the USB-to-Serial adapter I was using. Once I removed it and connected directly to a serial port on a computer equipped with one, I was able to access the console normally.