Thread: Strange UPS behavior

So I have an APC UPS that I've posted about before. It's less than 6 months old and I have not had a power outtage since installing it where the PC was on. The power has gone out a couple times but everything was off.

It's done this twice now, check it out.

I was chatting on Skype with my sister in England and all of a sudden, the UPS has this long beep and everything powers down. PC, monitor, everything plugged into the UPS - just turned off.

So I crawl under the desk, UPS still beeping (one long been), and hit the power button to shut it off and kill the beep.

I let it sit a few moments and turn it back on (the UPS). My PC starts powering up automatically, gets through post but not to the Windows Screen and then the UPS shuts off again - one long beep and everything goes kaput.

The Router and Modem were plugged into the non-battery slots on the UPS (Surge Protection Only) and their power lights remained on.

I did the same thing again, this time waiting longer - probably 3-4 minutes. Try again, same result - PC starts turning on, then the long beep and nothing.

The 3rd time, I swapped some plugs around. I took the box and monitor out of the Battery Backup plugs and put them in the Surge Only plugs and put the router and modem and speakers in the battery plugs - turned it on and the PC booted normally.

I did not install the software from APC - I figured it was bloat-ware I could do without. The PC is seldom on when I'm not home so I dont need a piece of sofware shutting my PC down when the power goes out.

Any ideas?

stupid question the ups is plugged in right? try another plug, or check the ups' battery level before and after the beeps

It is plugged in, and I have not tried a different plug.

It did this a couple months ago but after letting it rest a while, it worked again.

This time, I tried the plug swaps on the UPS itself and it worked.

How would I check the battery? It's got a status light that has never been anything but green.

Originally Posted by bbhos

If the ups doesn't have a battery level indicator on the outside you are probably going to have to install the APC software and check from your computer. The other advantage of the APC software (from memory haven't run APC ups's in a long time) is that you can run a test and recondition to see if there is a problem with the UPS.

yep, also check the user manual the beeps often have a significant purpose.