Help with the smart ups 3000 xlm

[Anonymous user]

Hello People !

Our Company got the APC smart ups 3000 xlm from an customer and now we want to use it for ourselves.

The Only let down is, that they dont know the passwords anymore .

So we tried several methods of resetting the UPS :

- simply pressing the reset button for 30 seconds, twice in a few seconds, 20 seconds and then after two seconds a second time...and many more found on forums, without success.

- we connected it via serial to numerous laptops , pcs and servers in hope to get access via putty, then reset it, use apc/apc login in order to change the passwort to our liking.....without any success.

- i wrote a lot of mails to apc support and called them numerous times and they still told me things that i already tried.

i´m losing my patience with that dang apc , i just want to reset it so we can use it properly.

What i managed to achieve was access as device manager with the login device/apc, but other then the voltage output, i can change nothing.

And please believe me when i say i tried every login that i found on the web...apc/apc, admin/apc, apc/blank, administrator/apc and many more, all without sucess.

Do you guys have any idea how else i can tackle the problem?

thank you guys in advance !

[BillP]

As I mentioned before, the AP9617 does not support any resetting by holding down the reset button. Only AP9630/31 does so that is why you did not see anything happening when doing that.

I am glad you got it working though.

[Anonymous user]

Hello People !

Our Company got the APC smart ups 3000 xlm from an customer and now we want to use it for ourselves.

The Only let down is, that they dont know the passwords anymore .

So we tried several methods of resetting the UPS :

- simply pressing the reset button for 30 seconds, twice in a few seconds, 20 seconds and then after two seconds a second time...and many more found on forums, without success.

- we connected it via serial to numerous laptops , pcs and servers in hope to get access via putty, then reset it, use apc/apc login in order to change the passwort to our liking.....without any success.

- i wrote a lot of mails to apc support and called them numerous times and they still told me things that i already tried.

i´m losing my patience with that dang apc , i just want to reset it so we can use it properly.

What i managed to achieve was access as device manager with the login device/apc, but other then the voltage output, i can change nothing.

And please believe me when i say i tried every login that i found on the web...apc/apc, admin/apc, apc/blank, administrator/apc and many more, all without sucess.

Do you guys have any idea how else i can tackle the problem?

thank you guys in advance !

[BillP]

Hi - do you know what model of Network Management Card is in this UPS? The model should be printed on the faceplate, near the pinhole reset button you've been using. It should be AP9619 or AP9631. This will determine what are options are to reset just the password or if AP9631, reset the whole card without having to log in.

If it is AP9619, you will need the APC serial cable (part # 940-0024 or 940-1524) to get in and the password or all the settings cannot be reset (password or any settings) without doing so. Sounds like you have a cable that works already? Or how are you accessing it via device/apc account (serial, web, etc?)

If AP9631, you can press and hold the reset button for 20+ seconds to wipe ALL the settings. The status LED (next to the check mark or X should pulse green if you're doing it right and successfully making contact with the button. It will change to orange when you can let go of the button to finish the process. You can also log in to this card too and just reset the password.

Here is our procedure for both model cards on resetting just the password. Network Management Card Password Reset Procedure | FAQs | US

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for the Answer !

The NMC is a AP9617, the support lady told me it is one of the first generation from that specific UPS.

The device/login via serial worked, but as i said, i can only change voltage output and nothing more and i cant access it via hyperterminal or putty, where it is said a login prompt would appear, then i should reset and then enter apc/apc. But i cant establish a proper serial connection at all, Putty does not react to the

• Bits per second       9600 (2400 does not work either)
  
• Data Bits                8
• Parity                     None
• Stop bits                1
• Flow Control            None 
  

All the other login things i tried have not worked.either.

And even the Holding the reset button method to wipe all does not work.

i tried numerous times and still i cant access voa apc/apc login.

I tried everything in the FAQ without sucess

[BillP · Accepted solution]

AP9617 doesn't allow you to erase anything by holding the reset button, only AP9630/31 allow you to so that is not worthwhile to try unfortunately.

I am a little confused. So you're able to connect via a serial cable connection at one point via device/apc via hyperterminal or putty ("The device/login via serial worked") but later to do the password reset procedure, you're not able to get a hyperterminal or putty serial connection ("i cant access it via hyperterminal or putty...But i cant establish a proper serial connection at all")? If it works to log in, then it should work for the password reset procedure and you can use whatever that same tool is that works for the device user log in for the password reset procedure.

For this case, you should set your hyperterminal or putty up at 9600 or whatever baud rate is working (the default is 2400 so someone must've changed it if you're telling me 9600 works for the device log in) and make sure you get the username/password prompt but don't try to log in. Then, you press the pinhole reset button once, press it a second time (almost immediately) when the status LED starts flashing green and orange rapidly from the first press and then you have 30 seconds to get back to hyperterminal/putty to log in and use apc/apc which then allows you access to go into the System, User Manager menu to set a new administrator username and password. The card can be a little slow so after you do the pinhole reset button pushes, I recommend you periodically hit enter a few times on the keyboard every few seconds as to not experience a delay/lag when the card finally finishes booting and starts responding and provides you the username/password prompt where apc/apc will be expected. The prompt does not pop up by itself and you need to press enter serveral times to envoke it.

The only reason I can foresee that this is not working is that the reset button is missing or damaged from the PCB board (which you can pull it out and double check) or the process is being done incorrectly. If you see that when you press the pinhole reset button and the status LED responds immediately with flashing/green orange rapidly, then it is likely just the timing part that is not being done correctly.

[Anonymous user]

My Co-Worker said, the Cable was removed by someone but should be there.

Its best we go into further detail tomorrow when i´m at work and can check the things myself.

But when the cable is indeed there, i have to remove the cable underneath the serial port in order to get the serial port working?

And what does this braindead state exactly mean? is it just neccesary to enable the serial port again or does it have an other use?

[Anonymous user]

i´m sorry, english is not my native language but i try the best i can 😃

i´m able to connect to the network management card when i enter the ip adress 192.168.100.9 in the firefox searchbar and then press enter. A login window appears which allows me to access it via device/apc.

The Putty method does not work with any settings i enter. I´m always stuck on a black screen with nothing happening, i press enter multiple times as read in some forum but that doesnt help, no login window appears.

The LEDS on the Reset pin are flashing properly  but i cant do the reset. As i said before, i tried multiple methods from varias posts including the 20 second one you told me, but still nothing  : /

[BillP]

Oh ok, so web works, serial cable connection does not. First step - is it the APC serial cable? It should have a part number engraved on one of the DB-9 connectors. You need to have the APC serial cable. Look to see if either end of the cable says 940-0024 or 940-1524 on it. Let's start there to verify we have the correct cable

[Anonymous user]

I cant take a picture right now because i´m not at work.

But the cable comes directly from the UPS, has written APC on it and no other cable is used.

The other cable and the following shutdown was just a test at the beginning.

We directly plug the APC UPS Serial cable into the laptop, PC or Server we want to use Putty on, there is no cable in between or anything.

So the cable does not seem to be the problem.

Entering the found values in putty does not open a failure window like when other values are put in....simpy nothing happens.

[Anonymous user]

the cable is fixed on the UPS itself, so i guess it is the right one?

i´m not at work right now so i cant check directly but as i said, its a black serial cable

coming directly out of the UPS with no possibility to disconnect it.

there is another serial port, but using that will shutdown  the UPS

[BillP]

We'll have to check it out. Can you take a picture?

The cable I am talking about is technically removable but since it's a serial cable, it could have been screwed in with the thumbscrews and seem like it is secured with no possibility of disconnecting. It should be removable though. It is a good chance it is the right cable because a non-APC cable has a different pinout and could cause the UPS to turn off if connected. Here is the image of the back of your UPS below. I selected the serial port in the image where this particular cable should be connected to access the AP9617. The RJ-45 under it is for USB so we want to make sure it is not some cable connected to that port with a serial connector.

If this is not what you see, let me know and feel free to refer to this diagram, or like I said, provide a picture if it is easier.

[BillP]

Yes, i know you're not at work now. I mean whenever you get a chance.

Something is wrong though somewhere - I am just trying to narrow it down. I don't feel 100% comfortable yet that you have the correct cable connected without verifying the part number written on it. We have many different serial cables and most of them are black. If you can verify the cable part number, then I'd feel better personally about ruling the cable out.

I understand there is nothing between the serial cable and laptop (perhaps you meant to clarify there is no USB to serial adapter).

If the cable is the wrong part number, this would be a problem.

Other things would be COM port (which I assume you verified and tried all available in hyperterminal or putty), baud rate (which 2400 is default), 9600 is supported which I know you tried as well as 19200, 38400, and 57600 bps so you could also try those, just for kicks).

Another idea I thought of won't work when I just tried it. I was thinking we could try to get the config.ini file which has a value in it that tells you the baud rate but the device level user isn't allowed to download it.

[BillP]

OK, so that is indeed the wrong port and likely the wrong cable!

I am glad we checked. As you can see in my image, it is connected below the port I selected in the image was was referring to. You should be using that DB-9 labeled "UPS MONITORING PORT."

You're going to need to remove that cable (which should be able to be unclipped like a standard network cable since it uses RJ-45). This UPS, when USB is connected (which is what that port is really for with use of AP9827 cable (Buy UPS Communications Cable Simple Signalling - USB to RJ45 - Technical Specifications and Informat...) "kills" the serial port. You're going to need to reset the UPS when we find the right cable (Buy UPS Communications Cable Smart Signalling - Technical Specifications and Information | APC) by doing a braindead which I can walk you through. Essentially, you'll need to turn the UPS off, unplug it from the wall, then press and hold the "off (o)" button for a few seconds for it to discharge it's capacitors and become "braindead." Then, with the correct cable connected to the correct DB-9 port, the UPS should respond properly over serial.

[Anonymous user]

So here is the UPS Backside . A Co-worker sent it to me. I also asked him about the cable number, i hope he will sent it soon too.

[BillP]

Oh I see. Yes, let's discuss tomorrow.

And yes, you're correct. You need to have the cable/connection underneath removed because it does disable the serial port. This UPS does not support the two connections at the same time since one is for serial and one is for USB. And the braindead resets the UPS communication in general and yes, effectively re-enables the serial port.

[Anonymous user]

Good morning !

sorry i couldnt write yesterday, but we checked further with the ups.

I did the braindead thing and so on as you told me, but i tried it with a different cable. I guess it has to be this specific one ? AP9400-0024C, Smart Signal Cable 19.25.9006 940-0024

[BillP]

Yes, it has to be the APC specific cable because it has a special pin-out, 940-0024 is the part number (any letter revision - C, D, E, etc) or the 15 foot version, 940-1524. What cable did you try?