When was the last time you tested your computer’s battery backup unit?

You *do* have a battery backup on your computer don’t you?

WHY DO I NEED A BATTERY BACKUP UNIT?
Battery backups do two very important tasks for your computer and networking equipment (router, broadband modem, etc.).

1st they do the obvious, which is keeping the power up should there be power failure, but the other thing they do (and this is, I think, the most import task) is to keep the power steady during dips.

I can’t tell you how many blown systems we’ve seen in our shop that were caused by dips in power and not outright surges or power outages.  Do the lights in your house or office ever flicker for a few moments like they aren’t getting enough juice?  That right there will fry your computer in a jiffy.

So what happens is the voltage dips and the power supply in the computer is working as hard as it can to supply the right amount of power and keeps trying and trying to supply power but he’s not getting enough juice from the outlet then *poof*.  Dead computer.  We’ve seen everything from a fried power supply to charred system board to dead hard drive to smoking RAM chips to ‘ghost’ problems like random lockups, blue-screens and general computer naughtiness.

A good battery backup unit will keep the voltage steady so that in those cases of power dips your computer never has to know there was an issue.  It can be a little secret between you and the battery backup unit.

We generally use APC battery backup units for ourselves and our clients, with the 1000VA being the smallest unit used in production.  We’ll use the 1000VA, 1300VA and 1500VA units, which range in price from $150 to $200 at most retailers.  APC does offer a 3-year warranty, and our only complaint with them is that they want you to pay for shipping if a unit fails.

GOSH, I’VE HAD MY BATTERY BACKUP FOR A LONG TIME – HOW DO I KNOW IT’S STILL GOOD?
You could always just pull the plug from the wall and cross your fingers and pray that your computer stays up, but we wouldn’t recommend doing that!

We test ours by 1st powering off all the equipment plugged into the battery backup, then unplugging the battery backup from the wall, then turning on the computer and monitor.

Most of the new battery backup units have a digital readout on the front panel which will show your the remaining charge of the battery.  You want to look to see if after starting up your computer on battery only power the remaining battery indicator begins to rapidly go down.  That seems to be the most common issue with older battery backup units.

You should test your battery backup at least twice a year to make sure it is ready to go to work for you when the power dips or fails.  The time to find out your battery backup unit is bad is not when you actually have an outage!

We welcome any feedback, and as always if you have any questions don’t hesitate to give us a shout!

Web www.scurlocksystems.com and www.ssaremote.com

Scurlock Systems and Associates LLC

866.665.1750 | 972.633.1111

Scurlock Systems is located in Plano, Texas and provides both remote computer service and computer repair in Plano, Dallas, Richardson, Allen and surrounding areas.