UPS Warning! Running on Battery Backup Power..?

I just got my first Battery Backup UPS - a Tripplite ECO750UPS. Connects to my Mac Pro with a USB cable to detect when my Mac shuts down or sleeps, in order to go into Eco "power saving" mode & turn off peripherals.
I've noticed a couple times this warning message popping up seemingly randomly - "Warning! Your computer is now running on battery backup power, save & shut down soon." No idea why. This thread - http://discussions.info.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11173663 - offered little help but let me know others are having similar issues.
Running 10.6.4 here, anyone having these problems with previous versions too?
edit: OK I think I have some insight into what is causing this. I know that whenever my air conditioner unit switches on, it causes an electrical dip - the lights noticeably dim for half a second. Each time this has happened ever since I plugged into it, the UPS battery has switched on and the warning has come up on Mac OS. So it's just happening in order to maintain a constant electrical output load.
It's not bad or wrong, it's just a minor annoyance to have the warning come up every time my AC switches on. Is there any way to turn these warnings off?

The hatter wrote:
Your UPS and Mac Pro should not be on the same circuit though.
Your Mac Pro needs 1000VA UPS.
Use the UPS for other equipment in the house or your office, and try to get the A/C on its own circuit. Ideally have an electrician come in, and recommend running a new outlet to your room.
I agree totally with hatter on this. I can share many instances of hd corruption, etc, that were eventually linked back to horrible power sources.
The hundred or so bucks spent to get a dedicated circuit for "computers only" is well worth it in the long run.
Also, please note that many "consumer level" ups don't have voltage monitoring/regulation. They merely trip to battery when it detects a drop.
The higher level ups monitor and regulate voltage to keep any dips from ever reaching the computer.
Be prepared to spend $500 on a good UPS for a prosumer MacPro setup (additional internal drives, large and/or multiple displays, scanners, etc).

Similar Messages

MBPR: Run on battery or power?

I have just got my hands on a brand new Mac Book Pro with Retina display.
My current practise is to run the laptop on the battery, then put it on the charger when it gets either to the end of the day or 10% battery power.
How should I run the MacBook to get the logest battery life?
Should I run the battery flat everytime before I recharge? run it on power all the time?
thanks

There is a lot of misinformation going around about how to handle Lithium-Ion batteries. First, and foremost, do not run the batttery down to shutoff every time. That does nothing good for the battery. Lithium-Ion batteries do not have a memory like the old NiCads and there is no such thing as calibrating a Lithium battery. All that can be calibrated is the charge reporting circuitry.
Next, keeping the MBPr plugged in and running on line power will not harm the battery. Take it off the line periodically, at least monthly, and run the battery down to 50% and then recharge.
The charging circuit will not overcharge the battery, it stops charging when the battery reaches 100% and switches to power-only mode. When the battery charge trickles down to 93-95% the charging circuit kicks in again and tops up the battery.
Studies by independent testers have found that Lithium-Ion batteries discharged to 50% and then recharged will have four to five times the charge cycle life of a battery discharged to shutdwon every time. So partial discharging is a much bettery way to operate your MBPr.

Macbook shutdown without any warning after 40%, when run on battery.

Hello,
My Macbook when run on battery after 40% shuts off without a warning. Is there a way to avoid it? Is there a setting in the battery preferences where I can change to avoid shut down?
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB016-370e-4db1
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0200
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2496
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4276
Health Information:
Cycle count: 142
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 1488
Voltage (mV): 12281
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 45
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: Yes
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 45
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed: No
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: Yes
If you can suggest me with the above problem will be of great help. Thank you in advance.

Same issues here:
- When powering the MB on the battery, the MB can go off suddenly without warning, usually at about 20% but, since it started about 2 months ago, it occurred also at 7%, between 30 and 40% and even 70% once… It occurs every time when on batteries. And every time, if I start the computer again, it will shut down suddenly without warning after a few seconds/minutes. When back on mains, it can be powered on normally. It does not go to sleep, it's a complete and sudden power off without warning.
- The battery at about 173 cycles sees its capacity dwindling way too much (it's been dwindling since day one, but it's going down faster and faster, the graph since November 2007 in MiniBatteryLogger is edificatory). The capacity right now is between 2900 and 3460 depending of the feel of the day. It's been calibrated regularly since day one in July 2007. Note that the capacity dwindled from its original capacity but never went higher than this value even if along the way it recovered sometimes more capacity.
I have tried all the tricks from calibrating a little bit more often, reseted the SMC, even a complete system reinstall (that I wanted to do anyway as I had to get rid of the evil spotlight bug). All this to no avail.
So what? :-/
Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB013-3629-1bbc
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB013
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0200
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3320
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3412
Health Information:
Cycle count: 173
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1
Voltage (mV): 12411
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed: No
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: No

Battery backup warning

I was getting a periodic beep from he FIOS interface. I discovered a red light indicating that the back up battery needed to be replaced. Can you believe that Verizon expected me to replace it. I think the battery backup is a fundamental part of the FIOS interface and Verizon should maintain it. IF Verizon will not maintain the interface to my house, I'll drop FIOS service.
Versizon's service is unacceptable.

This was a known fact throughout the Internet community when getting FiOS service, and I believe asking the techs who install service would give you the same answer that Verizon basically did. The battery backup is only needed if you want to have phone service while the ONT is without power, as keep in mind, TV and Internet will stop working shortly after the ONT loses power.
I don't see what the problem is though, as you cannot expect Verizon to replace the battery all the time, though you may be lucky and be able to get at least one from them. They are what, $20-30 and last for 4 or so years before needing to be replaced due to natural aging? I don't see the battery as a reason to replace FiOS with another product honestly. Verizon was kind enough to provide a battery in the first place, probably to keep in line with their POTS service (Which does run off of battery when the power's out if you're on a remote). The cable company in my area doesn't even provide battery backups, meaning you'll be supplying your own UPS to run their modem and hoping their network is online at the time. Cell phone service cannot be relied on all the time, as keep in mind, it's wireless, and the POTS network while stable, is essentially running on battery power if you're out of a remote, which you're indirectly paying for to replace every X amount of years. Cell phones, you're responsible for the battery and replacements of them when their capacity dimishes.
========
The first to bring me 1Gbps Fiber for $30/m wins!

If you turn your battery backup, does it lose power

I have the newest mac mini and have two external drives and computer, monitor plugged to the UPS batter backup. My apartment is replacing all the electrical outputs in my apartments. I shut everything down and unplugged from the wall. I also turned off the power button on the battery backup. Should I turn it back on? Will it lose battery charge, once I come home and plug the battery back in? Will it have to charge up again before it is usable?

Turn it back on when it has a source of electric power.
Will it lose battery charge, once I come home and plug the battery back in?
Yes, the charge will slowly deplete, if you are not using its battery. That might take a few days depending on the battery's condition.
Will it have to charge up again before it is usable?
Yes.

HP 250 Laptop - When running on battery turns off without warning and won't restart

One month after warranty expires this laptop presents with this problem. It shuts down without warning when running on battery, although the battery has plenty of charge. Following shutdown it won't restart on battery. Plugging in power and restarting it displays a message that the battery is cactus before continuing to boot. When trying to run F2 on startup battery check it simply doesn't progress past the initial screen (1%) and [esc] key does nothing. Need to power off. However, REMOVE the battery, boot the computer, shutdown, REINSTALL the battery, turn on and everything is OK - most recent example showing battery with 95% remaining. Continues to work for a few days until it decides to fail again. Suspect the battery is not at fault here, and in any case can't get a replacement (thanks HP for providing equipment with rare and unusual parts) - one supplier has only two on order which will be delivered some time in September!! Usual third party providers don't provide a replacement for this battery. Have seen a lot of references to this sort of mystery "battery failure - shutdown with warning" but no concrete solution. Have tried different power setting including never hibernate, but these seem unrelated. Open to useful suggestions at this point.

One month after warranty expires this laptop presents with this problem. It shuts down without warning when running on battery, although the battery has plenty of charge. Following shutdown it won't restart on battery. Plugging in power and restarting it displays a message that the battery is cactus before continuing to boot. When trying to run F2 on startup battery check it simply doesn't progress past the initial screen (1%) and [esc] key does nothing. Need to power off. However, REMOVE the battery, boot the computer, shutdown, REINSTALL the battery, turn on and everything is OK - most recent example showing battery with 95% remaining. Continues to work for a few days until it decides to fail again. Suspect the battery is not at fault here, and in any case can't get a replacement (thanks HP for providing equipment with rare and unusual parts) - one supplier has only two on order which will be delivered some time in September!! Usual third party providers don't provide a replacement for this battery. Have seen a lot of references to this sort of mystery "battery failure - shutdown with warning" but no concrete solution. Have tried different power setting including never hibernate, but these seem unrelated. Open to useful suggestions at this point.

PowerbookG4 Runs on Battery But Won't Recognize/Recharge with Power Supply

My 15" 1.67gh Powerbook G4 will run just fine from battery power. The power supply does not charge the battery, though the amber light does turn on when it's connected. The screen power management display acts as if it's unplugged and doesn't recognize the plugged in power supply.
I have another G$ so can recharge the battery, and the power supply cord works fine in that one. I have tried the 5 second reset method (with the power supply and battery out)
This machine was used with an old battery that caused overheating during the summer to the point where the computer turned itself off.
Is the internal power supply fried? Is there a fuse that can be replaced? Is there some kind of other software/firmware procedural fix that I can try?
How much do these cost if I have to have it fixed? Is it worth doing for a computer this old? Can I just buy the part and try to install it? Is there a way to get it properly diagnosed without spending a ton of money?

There are 4 components to the charging circuit: power adapter, DC-in card, battery, and logic board. Unfortunately there is no automated test to determine what is causing any charging issues, so you have to solve it by elimination.
Since you have a working power adapter that will charge the battery on another PowerBook, that's good. And the system runs on battery power alone, so the battery sounds OK. That leaves either the DC-in card or the logic board as suspect. DC-in card would be the less expensive component to change, as they run $75-$95. A replacement logic board can run $300-$400. Those are used parts prices only without labor.
You could take your system to an Apple store, or better yet call them first, to see if they are even still repairing Powerbooks. If yes, see if you can have it sent to the Apple depot for repair (assuming you're in the US). As long as the case isn't banged up, it should run around $350 to have whatever is wrong fixed. If the case is banged up, it can run into the $650 range as they'll replace the case too. Comes back with a 90 day warranty. If they do the repair in the store, the price goes up... a logic board replacement in the store is around $750, as I recall. If you go this route, ensure you have a hard drive backup too before sending it off.

Battery backup/ surge protector and sleep power cycle on my iMac

I have a simple question regarding whether my iMac is going through a power cycle when asleep. The situation: my iMac and various peripherals are powered through an APC battery backup/ surge protector. The iMac is plugged into the master outlet on the battery backup of course.
I have a set of very good computer speakers which are plugged into the outlets controlled by the master outlet; these power down when the master outlet device (the iMac) goes to sleep. The strange thing is that while iMac is asleep I hear the speakes ocassionally power on (the bass cube makes a noise that indicates this). So it seems there is a powering down and on cycle going. Is this normal? Should I change anything in my setup. APC recommends plugging peripherals (like speakers, which they name specifically) into these controlled outlets to save energy.
It may be that I simply need to contact APC to change the threshold sensitiviy, however, it is currently set to medium (the recommended default).
Thanks for your help.

I may have mistated. The APC manual states the following:
"To conserve electricity, configure the Back-UPS to recognize a Master device, such as a desktop computer..., and Controlled peripheral devices, such as a printer, speakers, or a scanner. When the Master device goes into Sleep or Standby mode, or is switched OFF, the Controlled device(s) will be switched off as well, saving electricity."
The thing is that I seem to hear the speaker going on.. (thus they must be also going off) from time to time while the iMac is asleep. Again this may be a question for APC.
Thanks for your help.

Running on backup power message

Hi, for the last week or so I m getting a message that my mac is running on backup power. I have it connected to a standalone UPS which shows that the input is between 113-117. Any suggestions as to the cause of the problem would be appreciated.

Pondini wrote:
You're probably having very short (in the millisecond range) spikes in your utility power (either above or below the limits), much too fast for us mere mortals to see on a display, or notice dimming lights.
Another possibility is an intermittent power connection at the input to the UPS or its connection to a branch circuit, especially if it is a different one from lights or other electrical devices that would otherwise alert you to the problem. Most UPS devices that support messaging to the OS and/or have digital readouts also have audible alarms or some other feature to alert you about this, but not always.
Reviewing the product manual or data sheet will usually help. If not, you can try temporarily connecting a small lamp to an unprotected outlet on the UPS if one is provided, or to the same outlet that the UPS is plugged into. If it flickers or dims, you have a pretty good indication of the source of the messages.

How can i use an external screen on mountain lion when i'm running on battery power?

Hey all:
I just upgraded from snow leopard to Mountain Lion, and i use external screen, keyboard and mouse all the time....
On Mountain Lion it's perfect when the power adaptor is connected as soon as you close the LID your external screen becomes the primary screeen and it's fully functional desktop (no mirroring or extension screen)
But the problem is when i'm in battery power, in snow leopard i used to close my lid my mac goes to sleep then i wake it up using the mouse and immediately open the LID so it doesn't go to sleep again and now i'm running on battery power with a primary external screen.
Any idea how to use an external screen on mountain lion while i'm on battery power? (i know i can use mirroring but i want just 1 primary screen and the laptop screen would be turned off )
Thanks for the help.....
Sherif

Sherif Daniel wrote:
my question is how to use an external display with mountain lion when i'm running on the laptop battery not connecting the ac adaptor?
Thanks again
You can't with the lid closed, that's one of the rules for clamshell mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3131

Hp zv5242qv laptop with windows vista will not run on battery but will run on power adapter

Hello, I have a HP zv5242qv pavilion zv5000 series laptop with windows vista installed. I can run it on the power adapter with and without the battery installed but it will not power up on just the battery, the battery is new and fully charged. When I plug in the power adapter the battery light on the front of the laptop comes o then goes off, anyone have any ideas about my problem ?

Hello,
The situation you describe looks like the unit has problems with the battery, but you say the battery is new and is fully charged.
Then, the issue might be with the system board and maybe there isn't anyhting you can do.
You can try to remove the battery and the ac adapter, and keep the power button pressed for 30 seconds, then connect the ac adapter, turn on the unit, then when in windows put the battery in place, see how it is detected, the power level and restart the PC. See if the unit restarts with the battery in place, if yes, then shutdown the unit.
See what happens and report back.
Thanks,
I work for HP! Please remember to provide and if this helped click ON

My macbook pro 2.0 early 2011 will not go to sleep with the power source connected. only enters sleep mode when running on battery. Someone did this happen, and it could solve?

Alo, my Macbook pro i7 2 GHz Intel Core i7 (early 2011) will not go to sleep with the power source connected. only enters sleep mode when running on battery. Someone did this happen, and it could solve?

There is no output from that command line? Maybe the pid changed.
I'll repeat what I am trying to find out...
1. You do a pmset -g on the terminal.
2. The output from that pmset should have a line that says "sleep 0 (imposed by n)" where n is some number.
3. The ps ax | grep n is supposed to display what the process associated with n is.
It's the output from step 3 that should indicate what is causing you not to sleep.
But speaking of sleep, that's where I am going.

Battery won't charge, but will run on the adapter power.

I've had my MBP for about a month now. The problem I've had for the past few days is that the computer will work completely fine when it's plugged in, however the battery won't charge. Once the adapter gets removed, I get the popup that tells me that I'm on reserve battery power. When I click on the battery icon at the top right of the screen, it tells me that the battery is not charging, but it also tells me that the power source is the power adapter.

You need to take it to an Apple store or AASP and have them run a diagnostic on your battery and power adapter. If either is bad they will replace them, and if it's not the battery or power adapter, then it's probably the logic board.

Why won't my MacBook run on battery and display on the monitor? Runs fine if power cord is plugged in. I have to be plugged in to see the monitor display. Any ideas

Why won't my laptop run on battery and display on the monitor? If it is plugged in to power it works fine but the monitor goes blank if the power cord is removed. Any ideas?

Nothing is wrong. what your're seeing is by design.

PB 1400cs won't run on battery power

I've got a 1400cs, purchased second-hand, and it seems to have a problem running on batteries. Even with a new battery, it doesn't want to run on battery power. `Runs fine on AC power, though!
What could cause this? What are my options for inexpensive repair on this problem?

Keith,
I also have a 1400 with the original battery which will not even run the 'book for a second when I unplug the power adapter, but I don't use the 'book anymore. Surprisingly, the battery level gauge in the menu bar is all red and the Control Strip shows a fully charged battery.
In the menu bar, at least with the OS 8.6 I am running, the red vertical bar or cylinder is a capacity gauge; when all red, the battery is full; as power is consumed, the red starts dropping down and the top is filling with blue. Your gauge indicates a fully charged battery.
The only time you see the lightning bolt is when the battery is charging and you will see it in the menu bar and the Control Strip.
You know the power adapter is connected by the presence of the plug in the Control Strip.
The bars in the Control Strip are all gray when the battery is fully charged and all white when empty.
Remove all power and take a look in the battery bay with a flashlight; gently touch each pin with the eraser-end of a pencil and see if any of the pins is loose or possibly set back beyond the others.
According to Apple service guides, if you have performed the resets and have a known-good battery and power adapter, the only fix is a logic board.
Do you have a 45w power adapter and have you tried another power adapter? You can use the PB1400 or 3400 or any G3 or clamshell iBook adapters.

UPS Warning! Running on Battery Backup Power..?

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