PowerChute Serial Shutdown, v1.0 - Problems with it...

[Pleasantville_InfoTech]

Hello..

I noticed the verbiage on the Powerchute web page that it was being retired and to use "PowerChute Serial Shutdown, v1.0" instead. I downloaded and installed it on a desktop here and ran smack into two different problems.

1. The desktop I installed it on has a APC UPS providing power and has a number of 'Events' as indicated on the front panel of the UPS. Yet when I look at the log entries within this new app there is absolutely nothing listed! WHY didn't the new Powerchute software read the event data from the UPS so a complete history can be displayed?!

2. The new Powerchute program puts an entry in the 'Windows Startup List' named 'Program'! I found that and immediately thought that the computer had been infected with a virus payload. Ran a disk scan which came up clean and then started poking around some more. After adding the column header of 'Command Line' to the 'Startup Apps' tab of the Windows Task Manager I came to find out that 'Program' was actually the new Powerchute program that I just installed! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that this application that is put into the Startup Apps list on a Windows platform be changed such that the NAME of the process is "Powerchute" or something along those lines so that we have a better understanding about what that process is about!

While not a problem for our environment, I will admit that I am not a fan of having a new, unique to the Powerchute app, of a login creds only for this program. Would be much better to check the username logged in and see if that is part of the administrators group and grant access accordingly.

My thanks for your time and help on this!

Paul

[BillP]

@Pleasantville_InfoTech 

PowerChute puts event entries in the system Event Viewer > System log > Application. Check to verify the entries are present for PowerChute. If entries are present, check your web browser and verify that Java scripts are allowed. See Schneider Electric FAQ FA400494 https://www.se.com/us/en/faqs/FA400494/

When you say you see program! in the start list, are you speaking of the start list in the task manager? If so there should be no entry for PowerChute Serial Shutdown in the list.

Below is from Windows 10

When PowerChute is installed, it is installed as a Service and the service is set to start with the system. You will find it in the task manger under services. APCPBEAgent. And yes, I know it should be APCPCSAgent. That will corrected in a future release. 

You will see an entry is the Start Menu 

And a link on the desktop. 

[Pleasantville_InfoTech]

BillP..

My thanks for the info you provided.

Regarding where to find UPS events, a couple of things. 

- Where is the documentation about the UPS events being logged to the System Event Log? I filtered 18K entries looking for APCBEAgent  and found none. There should be documentation about searching event logs for source of APCBEAgent  or event ID of 1000. On the initial startup of the Serial Shutdown app, does it log past events from the UPS device into the system event log OR only newly generated ones?

- Regarding JavaScript, it is enabled within Chrome. When I click on 'Logging' and pick any of the 3 options, there are entries displayed. Just nothing about the events that occurred prior to the installation of Serial Shutdown.

- Regarding the 'Program' entry in the 'Startup Apps' list as displayed by the Task Manager on a Windows 11 box that had the 'Powerchute Personal Edition' installed on it previously, I find the startup entry is for the 'Personal Edition' which was uninstalled before installing the Serial Shutdown app. There is no longer a folder under the 'Program Files(x86)' folder for APC. It is now under 'Program Files' and for the Serial Shutdown version of the app. There should be some cleanup of that startup task for the old 'Personal Edition' done somehow, just to be tidy. Add it as a 'housekeeping' task when installing the Serial Shutdown version?

- I find it curious on my W11 box that the list of apps in the 'Start' menu does not have a 'Powerchute Serial Shutdown' folder. Just an entry for the app itself. It would be helpful if there was such a folder and within that folder to have a link to a documentation file that has info about what to search for in the System event log and checking for Javascript enablement among other related topics that I do not know of.

My thanks for your help!

Paul

[BillP]

@Pleasantville_InfoTech 

The entries for the event viewer are listed in Schneider Electric FAQ FA228995. I have attached a copy of the PDF. 

Events that happened prior to the software's installation will not be available. 

As for the clean up that has been noted.

The information concerning Java scripts is listed in the earlier referenced FAQ and in the installation guide on page 3.  I have attached a copy. 

[Pleasantville_InfoTech · Accepted solution]

BillP

My thanks for the new info.

I read through FAQ FA228995 and found that the PDF mentioned Powerchute Business Edition and to look in the Application event log, not System as you mentioned.

      The following is a complete list of all events created by Powerchute Business Edition that will be

       logged in the Windows Event Viewer.  Open the event viewer and go to Windows Logs – Application

If the Serial Shutdown version uses the same event codes but a different event log, that should be noted in the FAQ document.

If would also help to have the event source name(s) included in that list so we can filter down by source name instead of needing to put in the 70 event codes listed in the FAQ.

My thanks for your help on this!

Paul