Need Advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ronnie
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Ronnie

Electrical storm last night cut power for about half a second, then it came
back on. Luckily, I had disconnected my entire system from the wall
socket.
Specifically, what piece of equipment do I need to protect my computer in
these cases when I may not be home to disconnect it from the wall
socket ?? TIA
 
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| Electrical storm last night cut power for about half a second, then it came
| back on. Luckily, I had disconnected my entire system from the wall
| socket.
| Specifically, what piece of equipment do I need to protect my computer in
| these cases when I may not be home to disconnect it from the wall
| socket ?? TIA
 
http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=172

http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=67

http://www.apcc.com/solutions/index.cfm?segmentID=1

For even more data protection you can get a UPS. These units come in
all kinds of price range and all kinds of capacity. A lower price unit
would typically provide about 15 minutes of emergency power to allow you
to shutdown the computer system and prevent data loss or disk corruption
that can be caused by power outages. Most of these units also serve as
surge arrestors.

John
 
Electrical storm last night cut power for about half a second, then it came
back on. Luckily, I had disconnected my entire system from the wall
socket.
Specifically, what piece of equipment do I need to protect my computer in
these cases when I may not be home to disconnect it from the wall
socket ?? TIA
Click to expand...

Anything that has an electrical connection that also connects to the
computer should be protected - including phone lines, monitors, speakers
(powered), USB Ports (external), Web Cams, etc...

You also need to make sure that the outlet you connect the UPS to is
properly grounded and has a quality connection to a proper ground.
 
Anything that has an electrical connection that also connects to the
computer should be protected - including phone lines, monitors, speakers
(powered), USB Ports (external), Web Cams, etc...

You also need to make sure that the outlet you connect the UPS to is
properly grounded and has a quality connection to a proper ground.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the responses.
 
One answer, assuming you don't need to access your home-based computer from
afar, is to unplug it when you are away. Also unplug modems and routers.
 
Ronnie said:
Electrical storm last night cut power for about half a second, then
it came back on. Luckily, I had disconnected my entire system from
the wall socket.
Specifically, what piece of equipment do I need to protect my
computer in these cases when I may not be home to disconnect it from
the wall
socket ??
Click to expand...


That depends on what you mean by "protect." There are two distinctly
different issues relating to electrical storms:

1. Sudden loss of power. This is like your yanking the plug from the wall
while the computer is running. If data is being written to the hard drive
when power is lost, corruption of the drive can result. Worst case, this
could make the drive unbootable, and require a clean reinstallation of
Windows.

You can install a UPS to protect against this. An inexpensive UPS (Universal
Power System) keeps the system running though a relatively brief power
outage (typically in the neighborhood of 15 minutes to half an hour). A UPS
capable of this usually under $100US or so. Because these are inexpensive, I
recommend them for almost everyone.

Note, however, that the purpose of the UPS is not really to let you continue
running through a power outage. It's to give you time to perform an orderly
shutdown if power is lost. A UPS that can keep you running through a power
outage of an hour or more will cost significantly more than $100, and is
probably well out of the reach of most home users.

2. Severe power surges, caused by a lightning strike hitting the power line
or telephone/cable line near your home. This is the greater danger, since it
can not only cause data loss, but can physically damage, or even destroy,
your computer. These surges can be many thousands of volts, much greater
than the kinds of surges that a surge protector or UPS will protect against.
For this reason, the *only* real protection against this is disconnection of
the power line and internet connection.

My own practice is to use a UPS on all of my machines to protect against the
first situation, but also to physically disconnect both power and taelephone
connections whenever there are electrical storms about or, even if there are
no storms about, if I will be away from home for more than a few hours.
 
To protect your computer from power blackouts you will need a computer surge
protector like nps that connect your modem and your computer
 
Ronnie said:
Electrical storm last night cut power for about half a second, then it
came
back on. Luckily, I had disconnected my entire system from the wall
socket.
Specifically, what piece of equipment do I need to protect my computer in
these cases when I may not be home to disconnect it from the wall
socket ?? TIA
Click to expand...

I unplug everything from the electrical power and from my Internet
connection before leaving the house for any extended period.
 
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