No UPS tab under power options.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Axtel
  • Start date Start date
A

Axtel

I have a APC Back-UP Pro 420 connected serially to a XP machine. The Device
manager recognizes the device and it is enabled, however there is no UPS tab
under the power options utility. APC Powerchute software no longer supports
this UPS and they directed me to set it up using the power options in XP.
 
I think you need to start the UPS service for serial devices. This isn't
needed for USB devices.

Though, it's strange the UPS tab is missing as that's generally present in
both 2003 and XP even if no UPS signal-cable is connected. Could Powerchute
have nobbled it, perhaps by a registry patch?
 
Where do you start the UPS service for serial devices, administrative tools?
I think is was started, Ill have to check again. I remember seing
configuration options there where you can select the manufacture/model and
port. I also remember the "Path to Executable" was C:\Pwrchte\. I am not at
the machine now. On another XP machine here at work I see the path is
"C:\WINDOWS\System32\ups.exe". There is no option there to change it back
unless it is in the registry somewhere.

As far as powerchute bobbling it, I thought of this too. Since I was
messing with powerchute installation, I removed it, used a registry cleaner
to remove leftovers and tried to perform a system restore to the previous
day. The system restore failed to restore to that day, so there is another
problem. Why would it not restore. Ran out of time to further troubleshoot
as I had to come into work.
 
I found the following registry entries regarding UPS on another XP machine.
I will check these out on the problem machine. Is there anyting else to
consider?

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

Administrative Tools
Startup type: Manual
 
Only the "CurrentControlSet" matters, but services are controlled by typing
services.msc into a Run... box

I think you need to set the service to Auto, then press Start. You also need
to set the UPS type (and for that you need the tab...)

As to what's happened to lose the tab, I'm not sure. There are registry
entries to remove the 'power control' applet completely, but none documented
that remove one tab. Any entry that did exist would likely be in one of four
places:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\don't load

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

key, or possibly the equivalent HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key.

Since any entries in here only inhibit actions, it's safe enough to remove
any likely suspects and see what pops-up out of nowhere. If in doubt, export
the section to a .reg file first so you can restore it to how it was.

Since I'm not sure what the entry would look like I can't advise you on what
to look for, that would only be possible on a computer where the tab is
missing.

Some useful info:
http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/ui_panel.html
 
You were right. APC's Powerchute "boogled" the system. I was able to
retrieve the UPS tab under power options by changing the "Path to Executable"
from C:\Pwrchte\ to C:\WINDOWS\System32\ups.exe" using regedit at the
following locations;

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UPS
ImagePath REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\System32\ups.exe

I was unable to change the location using Administrative Tools - Computer
Management - Services- Uninterruptable Power Supply (services.msc ) as this
setting was not editable from there.

Thanks Anteaus!
 
Actually that possibility (That Powerchute had replaced the UPS service with
an identically-named one of its own) never occurred to me. Top marks for
spotting it.
 
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