[homedlan] Homed LAN Newsletter: Power Problems
- From: "Kenneth Gray" <tech@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <homedlan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 10:20:55 -0700
HOMED LAN
Keeping information running smoothly
http://www.homedlan.com
tech@xxxxxxxxxxxx
19 May 2002
Introduction
Power Problems: article
Power tips: 5 suggestions
Quick Tip
Download: something I found
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INTRODUCTION:
Welcome and thank you for subscribing to my little publication. The primary
goal of this publication is to present some simple maintenance tips so
computer ownership can be as pleasurable as possible. Networking tips and
bits of information that I stumble across online also are presented.
In future mailings, you will have new information on our website delivered
directly to your mailbox. The mailings will also contain bits of information
that will not be published on the site. I will strive to keep the articles
short, to the point, in simple terminology, while maintaining reasonable
depth.
Articles, suggestions, or other types of contact are welcome. Please feel
free to E-Mail me at tech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Power Problems
Some of the best known but misunderstood issues when dealing with computers
are power concerns. There are a lot of system performance issues that are
created due to misinformation or ignorance of power requirements and
protections that should be in place. By the end of this article, there
should be a better understanding of different causes of power issues and how
they affect your system.
First, there is no means to improve inadequate power sources! If a circuit
does not supply enough amperage or voltage to effectively power your
equipment, there is no hardware means to improve the situation. An
Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), Line Conditioner, Backup Power Supply
(BPS), or any other hardware will not increase amperage or voltage. In a
business environment, it is suggested that only four computers be connected
to a fifteen amp electrical circuit.
When setting up a computer system, try to set it up on a circuit that does
not have heavy power drawing equipment on the line. Refrigerators, portable
heaters, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, printers, are just a few power
users that can affect a circuit?s purity. Keeping your computer systems on a
clean circuit can drastically improve its reliability and life span. The
transformers and capacitors within a computer power supply can help offset
short moderate power fluctuations, but frequent low power levels cause the
components to overheat shortening the life of the power supply.
Symptoms that can suggest chronic power problems include:
* Lights flicker or vary in intensity
* Frequent or regular errors between network nodes
* Computer stalls, crashes, or reboots for no reason
* Frequent component errors
* Frequent drive errors
* Display flickers or waves
* Frequent write errors
The above are only a few symptoms of power problems and do not guaranty the
presence of power problems, but do alert of a possible existence. Once a
clean circuit is used, the next considerations when dealing with power is
protecting against blackouts, brownouts, surges and spikes.
In the summer of 2001, Californians? learned the term blackouts thoroughly.
Blackouts are the total loss of power, which of course immediately shuts
down computer systems. In most cases the only damage that will be done is
the loss of unsaved work. For home computers this loss is usually
meaningless, while in a business environment not only is valuable data lost
but also so is the labor spent creating the data. Getting into the habit of
routinely backing up work will help limit data and production loss. The use
of backup power supplies and uninterruptible power supplies is highly
recommend for systems that contain important data.
Brownouts, a sag in voltage, are much more dangerous to data and hardware.
Questionable electrical wiring or excessive loads on the AC circuit normally
cause brownouts. High voltage users, air conditioners, coffee pots, fan
motors, space heater, and so on, draw so much power that the available
voltage level drops in the circuit. PC power supplies are designed to
somewhat handle voltage changes, however when power levels fall below system
requirements sporadic system failures begin to occur.
The PC?s power supply responds to low voltages by drawing excessive current,
serious under voltage will cause unusual overheating that damages the power
supply. If a system shows signs of sporadic read write failures or other
errors, try to plug into another circuit to see if that corrects the
problems. A UPS can prevent errors caused by brownout, because computer
systems are run from the UPS. However, a UPS cannot prevent problems caused
by overloaded circuits, for in that case its batteries never have the chance
to receive an adequate charge.
Surges and spikes are very well known and most people have a surge
protector inline to protect against them. Surges usually last longer than
one second and are voltage rises in the circuit: 140 Volts or more. A spike
is a large blast of voltage that occurs in a very short period of time.
Lightening strikes and high-voltage switching (machinery, floresant
lighting, drill presses, grinders) will cause voltage spikes of up to 1200
volts.
Power related computer issues occur at a much higher rate than many people
realize. A system that I had to troubleshoot had been to several computer
technicians?. This computer could not create or read floppy disks that could
be shared among other computers in the network. Save a file onto disk and it
could read it with no problem, but take it to another system and the system
would show it as a bad disk. I was going to just toss in another disk drive,
when I learned that the system is on its third drive in a very short period
of time.
I tested the outlet and found that its readings were well below the 120
Volts (VOM jumping between around 60 to 110Vac). If I remember correctly the
UPS was pumping just under 90Vac: Remember, nothing can help a bad or
overloaded circuit and these conditions can damage both the UPS and computer
system. I set up the system onto another circuit and everything tested out
fine. I informed them of the potential damages if circuit problems were not
addressed, and advised getting an electrician to install a new circuit (or
two).
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Power Tips
1. Do not allow power cords to coil, this can increase voltage to the
appliance.
2. At least use surge protection, UPS would be better.
3. Do not daisy chain computer systems: more than one system per outlet.
4. Do not run systems on same circuit as drills, heaters, or other heavy
power users.
5. Preferably keep only four systems per dedicated circuit.
QUICK TIP: Screen Capturing
Hitting Print Screen on your keyboard will capture the contents of your
monitor into memory. Open a graphics editor, such as paint, and paste as new
image and there is your screen.
If you need to capture only a dialog box, such as an error message, click on
it and hit Alt and the print screen key at the same time. Paste into your
editor and there it is.
This is especially useful when writing training documents. It allows your
readers to see an image of the windows, or dialog boxes, you are describing.
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Kenneth W. Gray
Sales, Service, Support
AK Gray Computer Services
tech@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://homedlan.com
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