buzzing when on battery power BE550

[Anonymous user]

I just purchased a BE550 UPS for my computer and whenever it is on battery power it causes my psu to emit a loud buzzing noise. I have a quality Enermax Modu82+525w psu. Any tips? I have a BE450 on my wife's computer and on my server (Atom based) and neither cause problems when on battery power. I'm about ready to return it 😞

[BillP]

Yeah, unfortunately I've heard of this issue mostly related to Enermax PSUs. I guess they're extra picky with the power they receive. In my experience, the only way to eliminate that buzzing is to go with a pure sine wave UPS model. Smallest is the SUA750.

[Techie_apc]

Back-UPS products output a step approximation of a sine wave when the unit is On Battery. It appears that the Power supplies which are in question do not like the stepped approximation to a sine wave. In this situation, you will need to go for a UPS which outputs pure sine wave when on battery mode as well. Any one of the APC Smart UPS Series UPSs can be used to power your Computers as they output pure sine wave on battery mode. Click on the below link to browse the APC Smart UPS products.
http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=165&ISOCountryCode=US

[Anonymous user]

I'm going to return the unit I have and start saving for a smart, pure-sine wave unit. I see a few discount websites that sell refurbished units, any that are good or any reason to stay away from them?

[Anonymous user]

thanks to all who posted. I just ordered a SMT750.

[Techie_apc]

You are welcome!

We hope that it serves your needs. Have a nice day!

:)

[Anonymous user]

well I just received my SMT750 and went to install the PowerChute software, put in the disc installed the software and it wouldn't let me login to the web setup, so I called was on the phone with Victor for 45min... he was no help. had me uninstall and reinstall only to hang up on me when he couldn't figure out what was wrong. After doing a bit of my own research I see that the latest version doesn't work with Windows 7, but 8.0.1 does...http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/ASTE-6Z5QEV_R15_EN.pdf So I uninstalled again, and downloaded the correct version. (CD had 8.5.1) but it won't install because it says the uninstall is still running and tells me to reboot and try again.... 4 cycles later I can verify the program is uninstalled yet 8.0.1 will not install. I'm about ready to return this unit, return the other two APC UPS I have here, as well as sell the APC power conditioner I have on my stereo and purchase a different brand. This is absolutely disgusting service!

[Anonymous user]

I can tell he has a bad feeling, as does APC advertise Smart-UPS series are required for active PFC units?

I'm on europe and I can tell you they are required everywhere I go, as their power efficiency is higher.

Putting up infos for end-purchasers that Smart-UPS are required for european customers or high-end customers on the states should be posted (typical active PFC buyers).

As far as the Windows (TM) problem, I don't upgrade to anything past XP. Maybe Windows 7 in a few years. Vista? Give me a break... That might be your problem..

Message was edited by: smooth_power

[Anonymous user]

how is the OS the problem? Vista is nicer than XP and Win 7 wins hands down. But that's not the point.


I rolled back to the previous nights backup (nightly backups on my WHS are a lifesaver!) and then reinstalled got it working on my own. Must have been a bad install that wasn't allowing the uninstall and reinstall to work either. The thing that got me ticked off is that the tech support guy had my call back number and didn't call back when he hung up... which to me means he meant to hang up after he didn't know what was wrong. This is just plain bad customer service and shouldn't be allowed to happen. It will certainly make me rethink having so many APC products in my home.

Message was edited by: soloz2

[Anonymous user]

Writing as if, the computer was running Vista, and warning off the stuff, although I've heard good things about Windows 7. However, I keep equipment about two-years behind in OS upgrade cycles, let everyone else beta-test, not I. Thanks from me for being a Microsoft (TM) Beta Tester. :^0 One way to avoid the Vista fiasco.


Glad you got the issue resolved, I agree at least: if there are telephone support issues this does not bode well for a group of people who had been known for quality. Doesn't make any sense to have quality in one area then drop the ball in another. If this was the only tech you've had experience with as an agent for APC, who 'fell through the cracks' then yours is another issue related to the tech.

[Anonymous user]

Well, I was running Vista about 2months after it came out and shortly thereafter installed it on all my machines. Even from the very beginning the only problem I had with things not working was dodgy drivers for my sound card for the first couple months, no other problems whatsoever. Vista was quite a bit more stable than XP IMO. I never had to worry about it being much of a system hog as I've always had at least 4Gb RAM and decently fast processors. I will admit that Win 7 is much better overall and the driver support was there on launch, and yes, it does run faster even on my quad core 8Gb RAM desktop :D. I actually have a dual boot Vista Home Premium x64 and Win7 Pro x64, but have completely switched to Win7 for everything. I probably haven't booted my Vista partition for over a month now. If your machine can handle Win 7 I highly recommend you upgrade.

Well, I think this issue is sorted, the only thing I need to decide is if I want to RMA my psu since Enermax said I should, I pulled the plug with my new Smart UPS and while it buzzes, my PSU seems perfectly fine. I may splurge for Seasonic's new X-650 😄

[Anonymous user]

I should have responded sooner, but forgot. I was able to restore my PC and get the latest version of PCBE to work with Windows 7 x64. Having a WHS run nightly backups of all my computers is invaluable. It must have been a bad original install that caused the other reinstall/fixes to not work either.

[Techie_apc]

Hi Soloz,

I completely understand what you are going through. The PCBE version 8.0.1 will not work with the SMT750 as this unit uses a different communication protocol(i.e.,Micro link). Unfortunately, the PCBE version 8.5.1 which is compatible with the SMT750 does not support Windows 7 OS according to the compatibility chart. However, I am sure that the PCBE version will be released by APC in the near future to support Windows 7 OS.

You can use the Windows 7 inbuilt USB native support or Power Options to shutdown your Computer gracefully during power failure via the USB cable until the supported PCBE version is available.

[Techie_apc]

thanks for the update. we are glad that you were able to get the software work on your system.

have a nice day!

[Anonymous user]

I just purchased a BE550 UPS for my computer and whenever it is on battery power it causes my psu to emit a loud buzzing noise. I have a quality Enermax Modu82+525w psu. Any tips? I have a BE450 on my wife's computer and on my server (Atom based) and neither cause problems when on battery power. I'm about ready to return it 😞

[Erasmus_apc · Accepted solution]

Is your EnerMax PSU an active-PFC design? Is the other computer also active-PFC? You would need to check the mfg. specs for the PSU's to find this out. Generally the Back-UPS range of products is not recommended for use with such PSU's and devices. The Back-UPS products output a stepped approximation to a pure sine wave for their on battery output and this is the primary issue with active-PFC devices and other sensitive equipment (other than computers).