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power problems?

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by julie

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This is mainly a question. I have a client that is having what appears to be power loss. Not off/on type power loss but that the system itself is not getting enough power from the wall outlet. I have tried 3 different systems, different configurations and the same errors occur. Email locking is the first sign and then he looses time..but only if the computer is on. If he reboots the time is correct. Anyone got any suggestions as to how I can possibly resolve this short of rewiring the guys house?

5 replies

by alee100

I would try putting on a quality UPS (un-interuptible power supply). It also acts as a surge protector and cleans the power.

by rzan

I have seen this problem many times throughout my career. Use a good UPS like the ones from APC, which have power conditioning built in. If the outlet voltage is too high or too low, power conditioning will step it up or down to the correct voltage required by your equipment. Also, APC has a monitoring software called Powerchute which attaches to the server through the serial port to automate shutdown of the server in the event of a total power loss. You can also set it up to page your beeper if there is a power outage. You also have a log of activity you can review with the Powerchute. The server clock slows down because the power company cuts back on their generators thus dropping the normal 60Hz AC current to about 55HZ or less. This decrease in the AC frequency is enough to cause the crystal in the PC clock to slow down to a noticable amount. Power conditioning will fix this.

by bearded_wonder

A good UPS is always a good idea (make sure it conditions the power). If nothing else, the good ones come with logging so that you can see what is coming through the wall.
BUT, don't overlook the basics- check for voltage between the neutral and ground connectors at the outlet, ideally there should be zero volts. Anything more than a couple tenths of a volt indicates a problem with the circuit, (usually an overload condition, but sometimes a ground connection issue). Before you call the electrician look for other devices on the circuit and unplug them one at a time, if the neutral-ground voltages drops youv'e found something to relocate to another location.
Good Luck.

by damaskk

Another thing that I can suggest you is that you can take a Multimetter and test the voltage from wall outlet. If the voltage is about 110V then UPS might not be your problem. A CMOS battery might be faulty inside your workstation. To test this you can replace that PC with another one and see how is goes or you can open that PC and use Multimetter to test if CMOS battery has the correct volage.

Hope that helps

damaskk@hotmail.com

by kievhiker

A machine that locks up when fed power from an older hot/return outlet has a grounding problem, ie, the ground is floating. Solutions would be to use a model computer that works well on older outlets. these include COMPAQS, GREEN POWER SUPPLIES, GATEWAYS and PACKARD-BELLS. MODELS that exhibit locking up include DELLS and HP's and ATI power supplies. ALL this info comes from experimenting, but it is a short list to get something that will work, or find out what won't, in general.

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