Need KISS principle applied to my UPS headache.

[Anonymous user]

It sure is a nice shiny black thing sitting on my desk. It's not doing a single thing I want it to. "It" is a Back-UPS XS 1300 less than a week old.

     I do believe I've followed all the instructions accurately during set up. I even took out the surge protector between the UPS and the wall outlet. I downloaded and installed the software. The LCD screen looks and acts normal.

     When I yank the plug out of the wall (expensive simulation of a power failure) my computer instantly reboots, losing all data I may have had open. Many beeps and flashings and clickings follow until I plug the unit back in. Meanwhile the computer attempts to boot, dies, attempts to boot, dies, attempts to boot, dies....

     Hey. I know, I'll run the self diagnostic test.... Well... I've never got past the first five seconds, that's when the computer reboots, lots of clicking... dies, reboots, dies.... (see above).

     I live in a small town and power failures are the norm not the exception. Last night there was yet another one. Lasted about an hour. Sure would have been nice to have the chance to save the stuff I was working on. But not even I can click "Save" in the 0.8 microseconds before the computer went black and the flashy clicking started.

     The battery is fully charged (it is reported), I have a theoretical run time of 11 minutes with the load I have on the UPS (it is reported - same source by the way). Am I proceeding from a false assumption? I had thought that having a UPS would mean that the mains voltage could stop dead and I would sit here in complete ignorance because my computer and monitors and modem would continue to run as if nothing at all had happened (for those 11 minutes anyway).

     Lysdexia suffer from I sometimes. So it is entirely possible (some would say likely) that I have missed something really obvious and simple on the journey from excitedly opening the box like a little boy on Christmas morning to sitting here frustrated beyond even the powerful drugs I take to quell. (Note tears smearing the print on your screen.)

     Is there a simple answer? Something like "You're not holding your mouth right." Any leads in the right direction will garner my eternal indebtedness. I've already tried "Contact Us" on the Schneider website. That failed too (not responding - Windoze is searching for a solution to your problem and will get back to you if it finds one - has anyone on the planet ever been gotten back to from Microsoft? Ah, well that's a whole other forum isn't it.)

     Unless I can get this lovely and very artistically designed black box functioning I have few options, I already own several boat anchors. Thank you whoever you are.

Greg.

[voidstar_apc]

Is the computer a Dell XPS 9000?

[Anonymous user]

Mr. Battman:

     Thank you for your response. I've never seen so many people jump in with assistance before.

     Okay, m a y b e Schneider Electric could get a contractor to take a boo at the documentation they ship. I did find the plethora of categories, subcategories, redirected outlets, dominant, Power saving, Master, Controlled, Subservient, Surged and Subdivided outlets on the rear of what is rather a small box to be, mildly put, a bit overwhelming.

     One must keep in mind that the average user has only 256 to the fifteen power neural connections to decipher these instructions with. I'm thinking the instructions that came with it are much like the Bible, we are working with a translation of an interpretation of a non-sequential compilation of a dead language. With pictograms tossed in for the fun of it. And I was reading the English version!

     So, like any of you would, right about the part where it got to configuring the "Power Saving Master & Controlled outlets" I noticed that there was a cloud visible out my window that looked remarkably like a bunny. It went downhill from there. I did the best I could, I don't have a particularly complex computer system, it said to plug the computer into the outlet marked "Master" and so I did. I plugged my two monitors into (I think) UPS outlets. I plugged my modem into Surge protected.

     I avoided the software for controlling the various outlets like the plague. I think the batteries are good, the software says they are and when the unit attempts to keep my computer running they are supplying power.

     When triggered the UPS does its four beep thing as it should. It does it over and over again rapidly however, it never has time to make it to the pause between groups of beeps before it's kick-started again. I feel the UPS is doing the best it can to keep the system up and running but it seems to be getting feedback from the computer that makes it's brain hurt. The small LCD screen runs though a gamut of flashing on and off and wild numbers similar to your typical Grand Mal.

     A power failure seems to trigger a feedback loop of about 5 seconds duration that repeats endlessly, or would if I didn't fairly soon plug it back into the mains.

     1) The computer goes dead, just like you pulled its plug.

     2) I know the UPS has kicked in within microseconds because my monitors do not seem to lose power, only signal. They therefore flick instantly to sleep mode.

     3) The UPS emits mucho beepo and the LCD display attempts to show what's happening, but I don't think it can keep up in real time to what is occurring.

     4) Within the first second of power interruption the computer attempts to reboot. Just like the power blip you get when your neighbours drunk son comes home at three in the morning and backs Dad's car into the telephone pole in the alley beside his garage. This lasts about half a second, and now go to number one again. There is no exit line.

     5) Restoring power, by plugging back into the mains, results in the computer continuing with the boot process "Start Windoze Normally?" And all becomes quiet and normal for the usual 23 minutes it takes my Dell computer to fully boot up, present all the stupid "Register Now?" boxes that just never ever ever go away no matter what option you choose ever, I have software from companies that don't exist anymore still asking me to register. Oh Lord I miss Shareware and Open Source and programs that were written full and complete and done and didn't contact the Mothership every hour for updates and Platinum Subscriber Editions. Can you tell me when it became mandatory to charge for an upgrade because a programmer ficksed a spelling mistake on line 193,028 of his code? Crikey, don't get me started....

     Running the downloaded software Self Test gives the same result. (Without the social commentary)

And for my final Jerry Springer Thought ™, I truly simply want this UPS to work. That's all. I want to yank that cord out of the wall and see the photoshopped selfie philosophical dissertation for my next TED Talk still up there on the screen. Thank you Battman for any advice (and to answer your private inquiry, no, Dell has specifically engineered their machines to not be flushable, burial is preferred) you may have.

     I remain faithfully yours, Greg.

[Anonymous user]

I'm wondering if there might be some issue with where things are plugged in - this ups according to the documentation has four different types of outlets on its rear panel . On one side are ups protected outlets which include a "Master Outlet", ...one the other side are " Controlled By Master" non-ups protected outlets that shut down if anything plugged into the "Master Outlet" is shut off...and there are also non-controlled "Surge Protected Only Outlets" that will also lose power if the ups is unplugged.

Or, maybe you just have a weak/faulty battery out of the box and the ups is crashing when it is unplugged and tries to switches to battery under load. WHat do the UPS Leds/Display show when you unplug the ups while your PC is plugged in ?

[Anonymous user]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am staggered! Someone who understands me! As an aside, my VIC 20 never gave me these kinds of problems.

     Yes indeed Mr. Star, Void, The tall overpriced box on my desk is surely a genuine Dell Studio XPS 435T/9000! It may be nearing the end of its life but it doesn't know it yet.

     Last night (because I have no life) I traced/troubleshotted the whole electrical path from the wall to the UPS to the computer. I even dragged out my thingy that told me the wall receptacle was correctly wired & grounded and behaving. I stared REAL hard at the back of the UPS to ensure that everything was plugged into the place it should be plugged into. I had tea. I polished some brass, some people chew their fingernails, I polish brass, you should see how much brass I have. You should see how shiny it is!

     It is a long drive back to the store to return the fancy battery box and I don't really want to do that. They always balk at paying for my gas and mileage.

     Anyway all my promises of daily dusting, keeping its plastic black and shiny, vacuuming the fluff out of its vents regularly were to no avail. My UPS still craters if the power blips. Honestly, it wouldn't be so bad if it just failed, but it fails so spectacularly, the LCD panel on the front displays voltages that haven't even been discovered by science yet. This morning there were Higg's bosons all over the floor. And I'm not sure it's healthy for my Dell 'computer' to attempt re-booting 12 times in 9 seconds. Faux Sine waves aside.

     Really, by now all I want to know is if this UPS unit will ever work with this computer so that I have the option of returning it before too much time goes by. I hate it when stores get all whiny. I tend to agree with Angela that this sounds like a compatibility problem. From all the research I've just done on Schneider Electric it's evident they know what they are making and they are making it well.

     And Dell is certainly producing the best computers on the planet. Ha ha h hahahhh hhah hah I kill me sometimes.

     Is my solution to go to the computer store and purchase a non-diesel computer power supply? Incidentally, the UPS tells me that the batteries are only about half utilized and that I can easily add a refrigerator, com satellite uplink, Saturn V guidance system and 2 Lava Lamps without overly taxing them. I think I'm babbling now. Happens a lot.

     The new Star Trek movie was great. But Simon Pegg as Scotty? Ha, off topic again. I await hearing from you Sir Voidstar, I'm all giggly and can't sit still. I think I'll go mix a bag of cement in readiness for your star on my walk of fame.

     Sincerely, Greg.

[voidstar_apc]

Is my solution to go to the computer store and purchase a non-diesel computer power supply.

I'd go with the new power supply unit option. The one Dell put in the XPS 9000 is notorious for not working with cheap UPSes of any brand, and a new PSU is cheaper than a sine wave UPS. The person on this Tom's Hardware post went with a Corsair TX650 but I'm sure just about any PSU compatible with your computer will do.

[Anonymous user]

     Oh Shirley you jest! Dxll (name changed to avoid embarrassing truths) would never put anything less than bleeding edge components into its "Komputerz." As I found out seconds after I pulled the side off mine after getting it. I think I shall pop up the road and find myself a good robust power supply this very afternoon. Besides the DVD drive is kicking the bucket too, and all the fans make noise now, and, in the final analysis, I really need to get out of this chair.

Greg.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

It sure is a nice shiny black thing sitting on my desk. It's not doing a single thing I want it to. "It" is a Back-UPS XS 1300 less than a week old.

     I do believe I've followed all the instructions accurately during set up. I even took out the surge protector between the UPS and the wall outlet. I downloaded and installed the software. The LCD screen looks and acts normal.

     When I yank the plug out of the wall (expensive simulation of a power failure) my computer instantly reboots, losing all data I may have had open. Many beeps and flashings and clickings follow until I plug the unit back in. Meanwhile the computer attempts to boot, dies, attempts to boot, dies, attempts to boot, dies....

     Hey. I know, I'll run the self diagnostic test.... Well... I've never got past the first five seconds, that's when the computer reboots, lots of clicking... dies, reboots, dies.... (see above).

     I live in a small town and power failures are the norm not the exception. Last night there was yet another one. Lasted about an hour. Sure would have been nice to have the chance to save the stuff I was working on. But not even I can click "Save" in the 0.8 microseconds before the computer went black and the flashy clicking started.

     The battery is fully charged (it is reported), I have a theoretical run time of 11 minutes with the load I have on the UPS (it is reported - same source by the way). Am I proceeding from a false assumption? I had thought that having a UPS would mean that the mains voltage could stop dead and I would sit here in complete ignorance because my computer and monitors and modem would continue to run as if nothing at all had happened (for those 11 minutes anyway).

     Lysdexia suffer from I sometimes. So it is entirely possible (some would say likely) that I have missed something really obvious and simple on the journey from excitedly opening the box like a little boy on Christmas morning to sitting here frustrated beyond even the powerful drugs I take to quell. (Note tears smearing the print on your screen.)

     Is there a simple answer? Something like "You're not holding your mouth right." Any leads in the right direction will garner my eternal indebtedness. I've already tried "Contact Us" on the Schneider website. That failed too (not responding - Windoze is searching for a solution to your problem and will get back to you if it finds one - has anyone on the planet ever been gotten back to from Microsoft? Ah, well that's a whole other forum isn't it.)

     Unless I can get this lovely and very artistically designed black box functioning I have few options, I already own several boat anchors. Thank you whoever you are.

Greg.