PowerChute Personal Edition v2.1 for Vista - Problems

[Anonymous user]

This was posted in another forum several months ago, and I will post it back here since I have this problem. I just bought the APC model below 2 days ago.

APC model: Back-UPS XS 900

There are a few things on my installation of this software that seem to be bugs/flaws in the software:

- Logging of power events, self-tests and possibly other information is not persisted correctly and reports None Recorded despite the fact that it was recorded earlier.
- Under Configuration -> Runtime settings, the Keep my computer on as long as possible option does not seem to work and instead shuts down the computer immediately when the battery is used.
- The mainserv.exe process consistently takes a large chunk of processor resources for an unknown reason and doesn't let go (always > 50% CPU usage).

The third one (mainserv.exe) is the most annoying. After a power surge (when the battery kicks in for just a second due to a quick drop), the utility tells me everything is fine. When I check task manager, this is when it is using high amount of CPU for no reason. It never seems to stop either. Anyone else experience this with Vista? This is on Vista Home Premium (x86). Im running an ASUS M2N32-SLI mobo, Athlon 64 X2 4600+, w/ 2GB Corsair DDR2 RAM, and a Geforce 7600GT.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for the heads up, smarchet. I will give it a try, and report back to this thread with whether or not it made any difference. 🙂

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

This is an issue we are seeing with the mainserve.exe taking up a majority of the CPU Usage. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling and making sure that the data collection to APC is unchecked? Are you using version 2.1? You may want to call into APC Technical Support, 800-890-4272, so our representatives can gather some information about your system to help find out what is causing this issue.

Thanks.

[Anonymous user]

I just installed PowerChute 2.1.0 on a Vista Home Premium system with the BX1500 (XS1500) UPS. Initially, mainserv.exe was taking 50% CPU usage. Finding this thread, I uninstalled, rebooted and then reinstalled 2.1.0 and now it appears to be running normally.

Edited for spelling.

Message was edited by: speedlever

[Anonymous user]

Speedlover, try unplugging your UPS from the power outlet, and let your computer run on battery for just a second (simulate a surge pretty much). Then check task manager and see if its taking up 50% again. This is when it occurs, during a surge.. only an uninstall and then a reinstall solves the problem. Please let us know.

[Anonymous user]

I downloaded version 2.1.1 and it seems to work for me. I did a power outage simulation and it continued to work fine. Make sure to download version 2.1.1, as version 2.1.0 does NOT work. Be careful -- the link on the main download page points to the version 2.1.0 which isn't the one you want.

[Anonymous user]

I observe the same three problems as cirial. I have to believe that these are bugs.

When I turned off the computer overnight and restarted it in the morning, mainserve.exe was no longer taking up 50% of the CPU. So the observations about uninstalling/reinstalling the software may be misleading. The CPU usage may have gone down simply because nothing has triggered it yet,and not because you reinstalled the software.

Regards, Bob

Oh, and add one more problem. When you try to fill out a comment or support request using the program's support interface, it hangs the program when you try to send it. Don't know whether my comments got there or not.

[Anonymous user]

Hello Robert,

Thanks for the information. We are currently trying to gather as much information from our customers about their system configurations to rectify the Vista mainserve.exe issue. If you have time, please call into APC (800-890-4272) and let one of our support representatives know about your problem, so we can have you fill out a specific Software Escalation sheet. The more information gathered, the quicker we will be able to solve this problem. Thanks again for the info.

[BillP]

APC has just released PowerChute Personal Edition 2.1.1. This version is meant to address the high CPU utilization issue. It is currently available at:
http://www.apcc.com/tools/download

[Anonymous user]

As agriesti has stated, the 50% resource issue seems to be resolved. I pulled the plug a few times on my unit with Task Manager open to see if it would do it again, but it works great now 🙂 Just make sure you get 2.1.1

[Anonymous user]

This issue still exists with Windows XP, cpu usage of mainserv.exe increases to %100 after every battery intervention and powerchute fails to shutdown the computer. When I uninstalled powerchute there was no problem, windows could perfectly shutdown with its own ups management but I really want to use powerchute's functions (and really don't want to hear those 3 beeps), is there a solution to this problem?

[BillP]

hi regemege,

You've tried 2.1.1 and it's still using high CPU? When you ran the install, there is an option to send periodic power information to APC. Make sure when you install it that this is unchecked. If you can't get into the GUI, there is no way (using that machine) that you can turn off the beeps or change the point at which the UPS goes to battery. If you have a different system such as XP or another Vista system that does not have this issue, you can install PCPE there and turn off the beeping or change the power parameters (sensitivity, transfer voltage) and those changes are made on the UPS itself and will stay with the unit even after you uninstall the software and connect it to another computer. The only option that would not get brought over is the option to silence the beeping between certain hours or while the computer is hibernating.

Vista does have a native power options applet in control panel and you can use that for shutdown but not for UPS configuration.

[Anonymous user]

Yes to all. I was on the phone this morning with APC customer support, and they sent me a software escolation document to fill out and send back. He took down all my information and gave me a case number. Hopefully this issue gets resolved soon in a new version. Thanks.

[Anonymous user]

This was posted in another forum several months ago, and I will post it back here since I have this problem. I just bought the APC model below 2 days ago.

APC model: Back-UPS XS 900

There are a few things on my installation of this software that seem to be bugs/flaws in the software:

- Logging of power events, self-tests and possibly other information is not persisted correctly and reports None Recorded despite the fact that it was recorded earlier.
- Under Configuration -> Runtime settings, the Keep my computer on as long as possible option does not seem to work and instead shuts down the computer immediately when the battery is used.
- The mainserv.exe process consistently takes a large chunk of processor resources for an unknown reason and doesn't let go (always > 50% CPU usage).

The third one (mainserv.exe) is the most annoying. After a power surge (when the battery kicks in for just a second due to a quick drop), the utility tells me everything is fine. When I check task manager, this is when it is using high amount of CPU for no reason. It never seems to stop either. Anyone else experience this with Vista? This is on Vista Home Premium (x86). Im running an ASUS M2N32-SLI mobo, Athlon 64 X2 4600+, w/ 2GB Corsair DDR2 RAM, and a Geforce 7600GT.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous user]

I have been having this problem since ver. 2.1, So this may be a vista x64 problem? Basicly, the runtime seems to work correctly, but if you try to pring up the gui application, it crashes every time with the following error.

Faulting application PowerChute.exe, version 2.1.1.0, time stamp 0x469f96fe, faulting module PowerChute.exe, version 2.1.1.0, time stamp 0x469f96fe, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0009fc49, process id 0x1038, application start time 0x01c8009d53323aec.


vista Ultimate x64
Back-UPS XS 1200
AMD 4600 x2 x64
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro SLI
3 gigs kingston ram

[Anonymous user]

I'm having the same problem as you! I've been searching all over for a fix for this but I can't find anything. My event log info is as follows:

Faulting application PowerChute.exe, version 2.1.1.0, time stamp 0x469f96fe, faulting module PowerChute.exe, version 2.1.1.0, time stamp 0x469f96fe, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0009fc49, process id 0x1790, application start time 0x01c84b4e0a58d0fe.

Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit
Back-UPS ES 750 or Model #BE750G
2 GB RAM

Thanks for whoever can solve this!

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Tom,

I won't be able to post screenshots until Monday after 12pm EST, as that's when I get back in to test on the Vista machine, but I will provide them. You may want to open the ticket prior to that, so the escalation ball gets rolling before I get in.

[BillP]

Have you tried running in XP SP2 Compatibility mode? It solved the problem for the PCBE Console on Vista Ultimate.

[Anonymous user]

Bump! It's been awhile and no one has posted an answer. What's up?

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Hello,

I would make sure everything's up to date, try to run it in XP Compatibility Mode (and make sure within that, properties are checked for the compatibility mode within that as well), and if that doesn't work, I would contact Technical Support to get an official ticket open. We'll probably ask for a Software form to be filled out so that the problem can be researched by the correct people.

[Anonymous user]

I just ran in XP SP2 compatability mode and it didn't work. I also tried using the Run as Admin option and that didn't do anything either. When you said "(and make sure within that, properties are checked for the compatibility mode within that as well)" what exactly does that mean? Can you give me a step by step list of what I need to do to try the 2nd thing you posted. I have Vista Premium in case that helps any.

I may end up opening a ticket with APC afterall.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks KMP. I submitted a ticket just now.

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Here are the screenshots. Notice the compatibility mode for all users on the second screen. Make sure the program is set to run in XP SP2 mode for that too.

[Anonymous user]

KMP, I thought that's what you were talking about. I tried doing that as well a few times and that didn't help any. I received a reply from India's help desk and they suggested I uninstall and reinstall the software, which I did with no effect. So now I'm waiting another day to hear back from them.

Anyone else have any ideas?

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Once I get my internal email application up and running I can email you over the registry keys. Or, if you can update your incident, ask them for the registry keys. Wipe the software completely clean of any instance of PowerChute, and then start from scratch after a reboot.

[Anonymous user]

I am going to jump in here. I have a new Intel Core 2 Quad system with a Q6600 processor and 3 Gig of RAM. Under PowerChute Personal Edition 2.1, I was always seeing 25% of my CPU dedicated to mainserv.exe . I was also getting a warning from my computer's HP maintenance software that the cores were degraded during their monthly tests, as well as Diskeeper engineers having to go into the system and modify the Registry so that it would grab resources at a higher level of use then it normally would for it's automatic background defragmentation.

I have just downloaded and installed v2.1.1 and so far the system is running 3-5% CPU usage compared with the previous 28-31% CPU usage (per Windows Task Manager). So far I have not needed to unplug the backup from the wall, so perhaps the software update fixed the issue. If it reappears I will update this thread.

Message was edited by: john181818

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

John,

2.1.1 of PCPE was designed to fix that initial issue of CPU utilization.

[Anonymous user]

It looks as if it did, at least so far. I just re-ran the system tests that I alluded to (PC-Doctor) and the multicore tests on the four cores all passed. I'll keep an eye on the system to see if the problem reoccurs, but so far it is fine.

Thanks.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi dfeifer

I would suggest calling in to APC directly on this issue. I believe we'd need more information and get resolution quicker if the issue was handled that way.

I do know that usually an error code of 0005 is an access violation but I'm not 100% sure why it's happening. It is possible there is a conflict with something else running on this system or, if this was an upgrade from XP and PCPE was never removed, it may be possible that remnants of the older install are still present.

I also think that since this thread was about a high CPU issue, it would be better to at least begin a new thread dedicated to this new issue.