Protect Your
MacSurge!It's not just the name of a soft drink; it's a real
danger to your computer equipment. Electricity, the very thing that powers your computer,
can also destroy it. A power surge, a spike, a noisy
circuit, a brown out, a power failure - any of these can
damage your motherboard, corrupt your data, or otherwise
damage you Mac and its peripherals. The Easy StuffIf you don't already have your computer and everything
attached to it protected with a high quality surge
protector, buy one after you read this article. A single
lightning strike in the neighborhood or a car knocking down
a power pole and causing a short can take out your equipment
faster than you can blink. A good surge protector is the minimum protection you
want. It should filter noise (look for EMI and RFI
filtering), surges (brief voltage increases), and spikes
(instantaneous voltage increases). If you have a modem or
are on a network, it should also provide line protection for
your phone or network cabling. Everything connected to the computer should be protected
- otherwise a massive spike can move between peripherals
over network, SCSI, phone, or printer cables and damage
otherwise protected hardware. You don't want that to happen. Some newer designs, such as the APC Network Surge
Station, not only provide protection and plenty of outlets,
but are also designed to handle power bricks (AC to DC
transformers used by PowerBooks, many printers, several
modems, and some other peripherals) without blocking other
outlets. Clever, very clever. (And don't forget, your TV and stereo should also be
protected.) Remember, a basic power strip, even one with EMI and RFI
filtering, provides no surge protection. Be sure to check
for surge and spike protection. And the best even offer
guaranteed protection against surge damage, sometimes up to
$25,000. - A very close lightning strike can get through almost
any surge protector. The insured surge strip or UPS is a
great idea.
Incoming PowerBe sure your power is coming from a properly wired
grounded outlet. Again, the better surge protectors (e.g.,
APC) check for faulty
wiring. If your wiring is faulty, you'll get power but not
have full protection. Contact a qualified electrician if your wiring needs to
be upgraded. Beyond SurgesGood surge protection is a start, but it does nothing for
summer brownouts or for power outages. To address this
problem, you want an uninteruptible power supply or UPS. A properly chosen UPS will give you several minutes to
finish your task, save your work, and properly shut down
your equipment. Some more expensive ones even have software
that let the UPS shut down your computer after reserve power
reaches a certain level. The first rule of the UPS: you can never have too much
standy power. When in doubt, buy more capacity, never less.
After all, you may add another peripheral to your
system. There are several types of power supplies, but the two
important categories are plain and protected. A plain UPS
just provides power, but no surge protection. You'd need to
buy a surge protector and place it between the wall outlet
and the UPS. (I've seen one case where a plain UPS came in
for service - a lightning strike had completely obliterated
the battery.) Better power supplies offer the same filtering and
protection as the surge protectors discussed above. And some
(e.g., APC) also let you
know if you're plugged into a properly wired outlet. (I've
been a big fan of APC and an APC user for ten years. There
are many good UPS companies on the market, but APC has a
great reputation and an extensive product line.
Recommended.) How Much Power?Just how much power do you need? Most hardware is rated
in watts, while the UPS is generally rated in VA (volt
amps). To convert watts to VA, multiply by 1.4. This is
the minimum you need, providing about five minutes of
reserve power. Ideally, you'll choose a UPS with a higher power reserve,
perhaps offering 10 minutes or more before you need to shut
down your computer. I suggest you get at least one-third
more VA than the minimum your system requires. This will
provide an additional 3-5 minutes. Of course, if you can afford a bigger UPS, go for it.
Doubling the minimum required VA for your system doesn't
just double runtime, it can quadruple it, providing about 20
minutes before you need to shut things down. Some computer equipment is nicely marked in amps, which
makes calculation easy. Just multiply voltage (typically 120
in the U.S. and Canada) by amps to get VA. But wattage
ratings are more common - and sometimes hard to find. I've done some research on Macintosh models, monitors,
printers, and peripherals, but the list is far from
exhaustive. Still, it's easier than scrounging for owner's
manuals. - Macintosh Computers
| Monitors | Peripherals
| Printers
Remember that not all items need to be powered when the
lights go off. If you don't mind resending a print job,
either don't attach your printer to the UPS or turn it off
when the power goes out. Same goes for modems and sometimes
even monitors (especially on servers). But be sure
anything not powered by the UPS is protected by a surge
strip on the same circuite - otherwise a surge could come
over any wire connecting your components. (APC
now has UPS models with surge protected outlets that do no
connect to the backup battery. Great idea!) Links- Mystery
crashes solved, Marc Zeedar, Less Tangible, Mac
Opinion, 2001.04.25. "Odd that power problems never
occurred to me as the reason for the crashes - I just
assumed the ancient PowerMac was behaving
irascibly...."
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