Back Up Power Supply

<p>My electricity went out last night and the battery in my old back up power supply died with it (or before), rather than giving me a few minutes to shut down my computer. Fortunately, nothing appears to have been lost or damaged. Any suggestions for a product that would support a 24" iMac and assorted back up hard drives for a few minutes to allow for orderly shut down?</p>

<p>Any manufacturer (like APC or Tripplite) that makes a 1500VA UPS should do you fine. Just remember that all of these devices use sealed lead-acid batteries, and you have to not only do right by them maintenance/replacement-wise, you have to <em>test</em> them periodically.<br /><br />And of course<em>: </em>make backups of your work, and make sure those backups aren't left connected to your computer and network.<em> </em></p>

<p>I use a UPS; though more as a very effective lightning arrestor.</p>

<p>"Auto-Save" is your friend if you are speaking about losing work.</p>

<p>Use APS battery backup and use the auto shutdown software that came with it. The software will detect and properly shutdown the computer faster than you can.</p>

+1 for Matt. Pick up any 1500VA APC or Tripp-Lite UPS that has a USB port to inform your computer

when there's a power outage. Don't bother with installing the CD that comes with the UPS; your iMac

has built-in UPS support and a UPS tab will appear in your Power system preferences once you plug it

in. You'll see options like "Shut down when there is XX minutes of power remaining" or "Shut down

when there is XX% battery remaining".

 

And another +1 regarding maintenance. A UPS is a wear item and requires testing to make sure the

battery is in good shape. YMMV. I have two ten year old 1500VA UPS units that have never had a

battery replacement and two newer 1500VA UPS units that required a battery replacement after 2

years.

 

Here's the latest generation of the Tripp-Lite UPS that I use:

 

* http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=743&txtModelID=3151

 

And the latest generation of the APC UPS that I use:

 

* http://tinyurl.com/yk74sfp

<p>Thanks for the advice--I ordered a Tripplite unit as per Matt's specs, should be here next week. As for battery maintenance, will there be some directions with the new one to tell me what I need to do? Or is there some set of procedures to be followed that would maximize battery life for one of these? My old unit was a refugee from my next door business neighbor, and came without manuals, etc., so I just plugged it in and it has worked fine on the few occasions that I have needed it until a couple of days ago.</p>

<p>I use two APC protectors for my work setup that will keep my workstation running about 2 hours and my internet running for a full 8. APC has a nice selector adviser that takes your equipment and run time needs to recommend what you need. it is here --> http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm If you run multiple monitors I would suggest you only try to power one of them since big LCDs seem to be a huge power hog. Depending on your style you can set the backup power to cut off your computer real fast or give you a while to work if you want to let the power have a chance to come back on (nice you just blow a fuse).</p>

<p>Andrew: yes, the accompanying documentation will spell it all out. The accompanying software will actually aid you in the process. Good luck, and good choice.</p>