05-08-2006, 05:38 PM
So my 3 year-old APC Back-UPS ES500 has been acting up lately. Three times in the past two months, it spontaneously powered down on its own and started emitting the solid tone alarm. We got woken up by it at 5am this morning; I had to turn the unit off for a bit, then turn it on again without powering on any of the equipment attached to it.
The first time this happened, I turned on my computer (Dual 2GHz PowerMac G5) just a few seconds after powering on the UPS again, and that made the alarm go off again, though the UPS didn't lose power. I had to shut down the computer and turn off the UPS again.
Is this a symptom of a dying battery? Or is something else wrong with my UPS?
I have my G5 tower, 19" LCD, and wireless router hooked up to the UPS portion of the unit. I usually leave my computer on 24/7.
If a new battery ($20-something from APC) fixes it, great. Either way, I am strongly considering an upgrade to my UPS to get more run-time, real AVR, a USB connection, &c. My under-desk space is at a premium, so I would prefer something as compact as possible. I've zeroed in on the APC Back-UPS RS 900VA: anyone got that model, or have any better suggestions in the >$150 price range?
The first time this happened, I turned on my computer (Dual 2GHz PowerMac G5) just a few seconds after powering on the UPS again, and that made the alarm go off again, though the UPS didn't lose power. I had to shut down the computer and turn off the UPS again.
Is this a symptom of a dying battery? Or is something else wrong with my UPS?
I have my G5 tower, 19" LCD, and wireless router hooked up to the UPS portion of the unit. I usually leave my computer on 24/7.
If a new battery ($20-something from APC) fixes it, great. Either way, I am strongly considering an upgrade to my UPS to get more run-time, real AVR, a USB connection, &c. My under-desk space is at a premium, so I would prefer something as compact as possible. I've zeroed in on the APC Back-UPS RS 900VA: anyone got that model, or have any better suggestions in the >$150 price range?