Users that have a UPS but no data backup

[John Doe]

I wonder how many users are sold an Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS) but don't have a backup of important files from their hard
drive.

They need a UPS to save a tiny amount of data at risk from a rare
prolonged power outage, but risk losing everything on their hard
drive due to simple hardware failure without keeping a backup.

Hopefully it's a very small percentage, but IMO would be cool to
know.

 

[John Doe]

Next time somebody comes in here crying about losing data, hopefully
I can remember to ask.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

I wonder how many users are sold an Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS) but don't have a backup of important files from their hard
drive.

They need a UPS to save a tiny amount of data at risk from a rare
prolonged power outage, but risk losing everything on their hard
drive due to simple hardware failure without keeping a backup.

Cargo cult data protection?

And many people who have a UPS assume its battery is OK because the
automatic self test says so, but that test applies only a light load
and will usually pass a battery even if it can provide only 60 seconds
of backup power.

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> someone

I wonder how many users are sold an Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS) but don't have a backup of important files from their hard
drive.

They need a UPS to save a tiny amount of data at risk from a rare
prolonged power outage, but risk losing everything on their hard
drive due to simple hardware failure without keeping a backup.

Hopefully it's a very small percentage, but IMO would be cool to
know.

A UPS is useful for a lot more than rare prolonged power outages. I'm a
lot more concerned about a UPS covering me through short outages and
blown breakers.

 

[John Doe]

A UPS is useful for a lot more than rare prolonged power
outages. I'm a lot more concerned about a UPS covering me
through short outages and blown breakers.

By "prolonged", of course I don't mean "days" or "weeks". I mean
anything that a voltage regulator won't handle, anything that does
more than make your lights blink, your speakers pop, and/or or
causes your computer to reboot.

People who have regular power outages that a UPS is good for
should consult an electrician, and use smoke alarms and have fire
extinguishers handy.

Anyway... If low-tech users know what a UPS is good for, they
should definitely know enough to back up important files from
their hard drive. The question is, what percentage of UPS owners
do not even know that much.

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> someone

By "prolonged", of course I don't mean "days" or "weeks". I mean
anything that a voltage regulator won't handle, anything that does
more than make your lights blink, your speakers pop, and/or or
causes your computer to reboot.

I wouldn't call a 3 second outage a "prolonged power outage"

People who have regular power outages that a UPS is good for
should consult an electrician, and use smoke alarms and have fire
extinguishers handy.

In an ideal world, yes. In practice, all it takes here is someone to
plug in the vacuum into the wrong plug while the water cooler kicks in.

We've already had an electrician out to certify the place after an
unrelated electrical fault.

 

[John Doe]

Maybe I'm a little jaded but I see more than my share that are
clueless w/r/t backup. Some with UPS, some without.

Some of those people come here to cry about having lost all of
their data. That happens periodically. It's a great reminder.

But setting up a backup procedure and following it seems to be
beyond the ability of most computer users I deal with. One today
who has an automatic backup to CD on Saturday mornings hasn't
burned a CD since April. Tried last week but the CD burner has
a problem burning DVD+Rs. At least his automatic to a internal
data hard drive is still working. Another from this week hasn't
done a DVD for about a year. But since the external USB drive
is working he isn't interested in taking his POS system down
long enough to fix the problem.

And then there is the backup of data from the hard drive that
somehow gets changed to sending files to some other place on the
same hard drive instead of a CD/whatever.

 

[Rhaspun]

I wonder how many users are sold an Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS) but don't have a backup of important files from their hard
drive.

They need a UPS to save a tiny amount of data at risk from a rare
prolonged power outage, but risk losing everything on their hard
drive due to simple hardware failure without keeping a backup.

Hopefully it's a very small percentage, but IMO would be cool to
know.

It's not just to keep the computer running. But it protects the
equipment with a steady power source. I've always had UPS over the
years and I don't have problems with my computers. The oldest hard
drive that I had die on me was almost 8 years old.

 

[John Doe]

It's not just to keep the computer running.

That's how they sell it.

But it protects the equipment with a steady power source. I've
always had UPS over the years and I don't have problems with my
computers. The oldest hard drive that I had die on me was almost
8 years old.

If you want a steady power source, try a voltage regulator (line
conditioner). And you won't have to mess with a battery.

 

[GMAN]

It's not just to keep the computer running. But it protects the
equipment with a steady power source. I've always had UPS over the
years and I don't have problems with my computers. The oldest hard
drive that I had die on me was almost 8 years old.

I still have a few SCSI hard drives that i have been running on my Atari ST
for almost 25 years

 

[John Doe]

AHahaa....So do I. I have a box of 10 gig drives in my garage
next to all my old Atari stuff. I also use a UPS and a PANAMAX
voltage conditioner on most everything I feel valuable.

Why not use a real line conditioner that includes voltage regulation,
and get rid of the battery?
--

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

Why not use a real line conditioner that includes voltage regulation,
and get rid of the battery?
--

Because not all of us have "Four Nines" power?

And as for "line conditioning", that IS part of a GOOD UPS, not the
<$200 crap you get at Staples.

--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[John Doe]

John Doe wrote:

Because not all of us have "Four Nines" power?

That's a straw man.

And as for "line conditioning", that IS part of a GOOD UPS, not
the <$200 crap you get at Staples.

Or you can spend less than that and get a voltage regulator (line
conditioner) that smooths out ordinary house power.

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> someone

Why not use a real line conditioner that includes voltage regulation,
and get rid of the battery?

Because a decent UPS takes care of that problem, plus short outages. A
voltage regulator only regulates voltage.

 

[John Doe]

Because a decent UPS takes care of that problem, plus short
outages.

That is assuming the poster needs a UPS. Besides, this thread is
about people who do not know enough to have a data backup. They
aren't spending a lot of money on a UPS.
--

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From: DevilsPGD <Still-Just-A-Rat-In-A-Cage crazyhat.net>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Subject: Re: Users that have a UPS but no data backup
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:36:45 -0800
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[Loren Pechtel]

A UPS is useful for a lot more than rare prolonged power outages. I'm a
lot more concerned about a UPS covering me through short outages and
blown breakers.

Yeah, the big threat is the blink, not the long outage.

 

[John Doe]

Yeah, the big threat is the blink, not the long outage.

But a voltage regulator (line conditioner) is better than a UPS
for that.

--

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> someone

But a voltage regulator (line conditioner) is better than a UPS
for that.

For a fraction of a second outage, it will do a similar job. For
computers there isn't really a "better", PSUs are extremely effective at
converting noisy power into clean DC for internal use.

However, a voltage regulator won't help you in a 1-3 second outage
whereas a UPS will.

 

[John Doe]

In message <4eecd0a8$0$32067$c3e8da3$40d4fd75 news.astraweb.com>


For a fraction of a second outage, it will do a similar job. For
computers there isn't really a "better", PSUs are extremely
effective at converting noisy power into clean DC for internal
use.

However, a voltage regulator won't help you in a 1-3 second
outage whereas a UPS will.

A voltage regulator helps ensure that the power to your computer
is either on or off. That helps, regardless. The next question is
whether or not you really need protection from anything other than
blips/blinks. The vast majority of users will never lose
significant data that their UPS could conceivably have helped
protect. Being able to run your computer on battery power is cool.
That's why they sold it to you.

--

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From: DevilsPGD <Still-Just-A-Rat-In-A-Cage crazyhat.net>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Subject: Re: Users that have a UPS but no data backup
Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:11:02 -0700
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<ghi6c7hqt45648cavjooqplh0c8r88hjfp 4ax.com>

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> someone

A voltage regulator helps ensure that the power to your computer
is either on or off. That helps, regardless.

Would two voltage regulators in a row be better?

Yes I'm trolling... But PSUs already include voltage regulation
circuitry, putting an external one in front of an internal one falls
into the "is cool... That's why they sold it to you" category in most
cases, at least as far as the computer itself is concerned.

The next question is
whether or not you really need protection from anything other than
blips/blinks. The vast majority of users will never lose
significant data that their UPS could conceivably have helped
protect.

I'm not worried about data loss, but it is nice to avoid the annoyance
of an unexpected reboot and some data loss.

Being able to run your computer on battery power is cool.

That it is.