Back-Up 650 not connecting to PC

[Anonymous user]

Ok, so my MoBo does not have a serial port on the back so to connect my Back-Up 650 to my pc i need a serial to USB adapter (witch i have).
The problem is when i connect it to my PC the PC detects the Adapter but not the APC itself.
Please Help.
Thanks.

[Anonymous user]

What is the brand and model of the serial converter and the actual model # on the UPS(should be on the label at the back)?
What COM port # is assigned to the serial port on the converter?

[Anonymous user]

The serial converter is made by dynex. The modle number is: BK650MC and im not sure what the COM# is.
Thanks for the comment.

Message was edited by: eberbs

[Anonymous user]

How do you know the UPS is not being detected? For this UPS you must use the 940-0020C cable and although using a serial to USB cable as well, it is not officially supported by APC. However, using you configuration, you should be installing Powerchute Business Edition as this UPS is not compatible with Powerchute Personal Edition. When installing the software the UPS will not auto-detect as this is a simple signlaing UPS and cable. You have to manually tell the software the com port you are communicating on and the type of UPS you are connected to, in your case a Back-UPS. Let me know how this works out for you.

[Anonymous user]

Seems to me the problem is that the generic USB-serial converter he's using only supports Rx and Tx, but doesn't offer full serial port emulation.

Message was edited by: KVAr

[Anonymous user]

Thanks again for the commments.
i am trying what you said right now.

[Anonymous user]

Your UPS is a simple signalling UPS, so it will definately not be automatically detected by your computer with or without the USB to serial adapter.

What Operating system are you using? If you are using Windows XP or 2000, I would suggest not using PowerChute at all, and just using the built in UPS support in Windows. It will do all the same stuff (except event logging), it is already installed, and its a lot easier to configure.

Steps for configuring the Native service are found here:
http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=TXDfnklh&p_lva=681&p_faqid=25...

Please keep in mind that the UPS will give you surge protection and battery backup regardless of any software. The software provides graceful unattended shutdown incase the power goes out for an extended period of time, and you are not around to shut your computer down yourself.

Also, APC does not test software with any USB/Serial adapters so this may or not work.

[Anonymous user]

Im running Vista so it is completly different. and Vista help like that?

[Anonymous user]

Yeah, Vista does have the Native UPS support for serial UPSs so you would have to use PowerChute Business Edition for graceful shutdown of your UPS. The steps for installing the software are below. Again, we are assuming that your USB to serial adapter will work with the UPS.


PowerChute Business Edition has 3 parts (Agent, Server, and Console), and all 3 will need to be installed.

Agent Installation:
- Make sure 940-0024 serial cable is connected to both the UPS and the computer.
- Run the installation file you downloaded, and choose to install the Basic version (as oposed to purchasing the Deluxe version)
- Follow the installations instructions as they are presented to you, and choose to automatically search for your UPS when asked. Your UPS should be discovered. If not then there is a communication problem. Perhaps try a different serial port on your computer.
- Specify a username and password when prompted.


Server Installation (1st half):
- Follow the prompts until you are asked to specify a username and password.
- If you want this Server to be able to communicate/manage the Agent you just installed (you do), you will need to make sure that you use the same exact username and password here as you did for the Agent portion of the software.

Creating a Configuration Profile (2nd half of Server Installation)
- Assuming that you are only installing the software temporarily to disable the beeping, I would recommend choosing 'Broadcast Messages' as your notification method
- Choose a 'Specific Address' for your messages, and type "127.0.0.1" (without the quotes) as the target address. This tells PowerChute that all notification messages (for power outages and other events) should just be sent to the computer with the Server installed.
- Click Next on the remaining windows until you get to the "Device List Discovery" window.
- If your Agent was installed with the same username and password as the Server you just installed, you should see it listed in the left window. Click it, the click "Add -->", and it should move to the right Window.
- Click Apply, and the Agent should be added succesfully


Console Installation:
- Follow the 1 or 2 prompts to install the Console
- Run it when it finishes


To access the PowerChute Business Software you need to run the console. If you chose to run the console after the install then it should be asking you for a username, password, and address of the Server portion of the software. Enter the username and password you specified earlier, and enter the IP address of the computer where the server was insalled. If thats the same computer with the console, you can enter the IP address of that computer, or 127.0.0.1.

[Anonymous user]

I tryed that and it cannot find the UPS. Just to clear things up, the serial connection is on the back of the UPS not my computer, my MOBO has no serial ports.

Message was edited by: eberbs

[Anonymous user]

Your Back-UPS 650 isd a simple signaling UPS. It will not be discovered or found automatically by your computer or PowerChute software. I mistakenly provided you instructions for an installation with a Smart Signaling UPS. Follow the steps above, except, instaed of letting the software search for your UPS, you will need to specify which COM port your UPS is connected to. Your USB to serial adapter should be creating a COM port on your system. You can typically see what cCOM port number it creates by looking in your device manager.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Ok, so my MoBo does not have a serial port on the back so to connect my Back-Up 650 to my pc i need a serial to USB adapter (witch i have).
The problem is when i connect it to my PC the PC detects the Adapter but not the APC itself.
Please Help.
Thanks.