Having Problems With Your UPS and the HP MediaSmart Server?

Tue, Mar 25, 2008 | Terry Walsh

I was interested to see this support post up at HP.com regarding the use of Uninterruptable Power Supplies with the HP MediaSmart Server:

HP MediaSmart Server - Uninterruptible Power Supply is not Supported

The Media Smart Server does not support active Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Using the USB cable to allow the UPS to communicate with the MediaSmart Server, can cause a wide range of false errors. Using the UPS in a passive mode (USB cable not attached) does npt (sic) appear to cause any false error reporting.

I was interested mainly because I do have a UPS linked to my HP MediaSmart Server via USB for the last few months and have not had any issues whatsoever. I got in touch with the HP MediaSmart team to find out a little more. Here’s what they told me:

Windows Home Server is based on Windows Server 2003 technologies. HP has found that some Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) that require a software driver that is not Windows 2003 WHQL certified can cause some issues with the Windows Home Server Operating System. These software drivers may cause a variety of problems with Windows Home Server such as continual re-booting. HP recommends that users with Uninterruptible Power Systems use them in a passive mode with the USB cable not connected.

So, have any of you guys had a problem using a USB linked UPS with the HP MediaSmart Server? If so, let us know (then go beat up the manufacturer to get their drivers certified).

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Terry Walsh - who has written 648 posts on We Got Served.

Hi - I'm Terry and I'm the Owner of We Got Served. The site's been covering everything to do with Windows Home Server since February 2007. I live in Silverstone, UK with my wife and when I'm not working on We Got Served, I have a career as an Innovation Consultant to contend with.

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12 Comments For This Post

Michael Cecil Says:
March 25th, 2008 at 11:38 pm

I have my main server on a big UPS and just plugged the WHS into that as well. The monitoring cable goes to the main server though so I guess if the UPS goes down it won’t be able to warn the WHS first.

Lee H Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 1:44 am

Hey Terry,

I have my MediaSmart plugged into a APC UPS and I’ve got the USB cable attached - in fact this evening we actually had a power outage for 3.5 hours and it seems that everything behaved. I have seen spontanious reboots but I am sure that this was more related to the Canon printer and shoddy drivers that I had attached. Since uninstalling I’ve not seen anything in the event log anyway…
So I moved over here to Canada and now have to contend with power loss more than I did in Northants… its much more frequent anyway

Lee

Rob Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 5:52 am

I’ve got an APC UPS attached via USB to my HP MediaSmart Server and it would shutdown immediately during a power outage. Had to install the PowerChute software on the server before it would actually stay running during a power outage. Seemed strange to me since I’ve read so much online about how it should work with the default 2003 Server drivers. Never did any further investigation since it works fine with the PowerChute software installed.
+Rob

Terry Walsh Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am

Hi Lee

Hope you’re settling in well, mate - yes, more power outages, but you are now living in a house the size of my village, so there’s an upside

Terry

Steve Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

I’ve got mine plugged into a APC UPS via USB and do not get spontaneous reboots (other than the usual software update reboots). I know we had a power outtage overnight and when I checked on the server it was down. I don’t know if it was due to itself shutting down cleanly or the UPS running out of juice though. I do hear the UPS click off now and again during the day and the server stays running.

Richard C Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

I have my HP MSS connected to a APC UPS via USB. We have not had any power shortage in our area so far, since WHS installation. However, occasionally I have WHS remote connection warning, and all my home computers cannot surf the net. By disconnecting the router and reconnecting it to my modem solves the problem. I believe it is the router issue and not the UPS. I could be wrong.

Sam Wallace Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

I have a HP MediaSmart Server and that is plugged into an APC UPS in passive mode. Living in Florida, we experience regular weather related power outages so UPS is mandatory and I have used UPS tethered with USB (active mode) and UPS in passive mode for every machine and system I have ever used. I have never had a single problem … until I set up the HP MediaSmart Server! Often a power outage causes the MSS to shut down. It does not restart. This is even thought unit is plugged into battery side of UPS. I just ordered a replacement UPS on the theory that battery is weak. I am interested in finding if anyone else has had similar problems.

Robert Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 6:05 pm

I have an APC UPS plugged into my media smart and have not seen any issues. But I also know that support for APC UPS’s has been hardcoded into Windows for a long time.

I did a test where I pulled the plug on the UPS and everything seemed fine, I didn’t force the Mediasmart into a shutdown, though it is set-up to shutdown when the battery on the UPS reaches a critical level. Have been meaning to do a full blown test.

I bought a “pro/business” grade UPS, so I don’t know if that would make a difference

Al Jr. Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

I have had no issues at this time with APC UPS’s on WHS.
Model # (UPS ES 500)
As an IT engineer, I have had issues for years with Sever 2003 and Small Business Server and APC’s Power Chute software.
The work-around has been simply to use the hardcoded program built into Windows (Control Panel > Power Options).
I had some power spikes and brownouts since the install a few months ago and have not seen any issues at this time.
I am sure there is a good reason why HP says it is not supported, but I have not had any of the symptoms they claim while in (Active Mode).

Maybe the issues occur after time on old, worn-down batteries?

Lee H Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

Yeah, just to clarify, I am using the windows drivers for my APC UPS and use windows to configure as mentioned by Al Jr. I can definately confirm WHS did not shut down the other day during our outage and has behaved perfectly since uninstalling the printer I had attached (which required Canons drivers as windows didnt have them inbuilt).
This is the UPS I use:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SUA1500JB&total_watts=50

Rosy Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

We have found a much information on power cuts. But what to do for a prevention. With the regular power failures so many damages are to be done. To avoid such damages through online we have gathered some important information on uninterruptible power supplies

Michael Says:
May 26th, 2008 at 4:45 am

I just set up a Tripp Lite from Costco. WHS supported it without any additional drivers. I am able to see everything from the Power option in the control panel. Testing it out, everything looks and works great.

Michael Cecil Says:
March 25th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I have my main server on a big UPS and just plugged the WHS into that as well. The monitoring cable goes to the main server though so I guess if the UPS goes down it won’t be able to warn the WHS first.
Lee H Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Hey Terry,

I have my MediaSmart plugged into a APC UPS and I’ve got the USB cable attached - in fact this evening we actually had a power outage for 3.5 hours and it seems that everything behaved. I have seen spontanious reboots but I am sure that this was more related to the Canon printer and shoddy drivers that I had attached. Since uninstalling I’ve not seen anything in the event log anyway…
So I moved over here to Canada and now have to contend with power loss more than I did in Northants… its much more frequent anyway

Lee
Rob Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I’ve got an APC UPS attached via USB to my HP MediaSmart Server and it would shutdown immediately during a power outage. Had to install the PowerChute software on the server before it would actually stay running during a power outage. Seemed strange to me since I’ve read so much online about how it should work with the default 2003 Server drivers. Never did any further investigation since it works fine with the PowerChute software installed.
+Rob
Terry Walsh Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Hi Lee

Hope you’re settling in well, mate - yes, more power outages, but you are now living in a house the size of my village, so there’s an upside

Terry
Steve Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I’ve got mine plugged into a APC UPS via USB and do not get spontaneous reboots (other than the usual software update reboots). I know we had a power outtage overnight and when I checked on the server it was down. I don’t know if it was due to itself shutting down cleanly or the UPS running out of juice though. I do hear the UPS click off now and again during the day and the server stays running.
Richard C Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I have my HP MSS connected to a APC UPS via USB. We have not had any power shortage in our area so far, since WHS installation. However, occasionally I have WHS remote connection warning, and all my home computers cannot surf the net. By disconnecting the router and reconnecting it to my modem solves the problem. I believe it is the router issue and not the UPS. I could be wrong.
Sam Wallace Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I have a HP MediaSmart Server and that is plugged into an APC UPS in passive mode. Living in Florida, we experience regular weather related power outages so UPS is mandatory and I have used UPS tethered with USB (active mode) and UPS in passive mode for every machine and system I have ever used. I have never had a single problem … until I set up the HP MediaSmart Server! Often a power outage causes the MSS to shut down. It does not restart. This is even thought unit is plugged into battery side of UPS. I just ordered a replacement UPS on the theory that battery is weak. I am interested in finding if anyone else has had similar problems.
Robert Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I have an APC UPS plugged into my media smart and have not seen any issues. But I also know that support for APC UPS’s has been hardcoded into Windows for a long time.

I did a test where I pulled the plug on the UPS and everything seemed fine, I didn’t force the Mediasmart into a shutdown, though it is set-up to shutdown when the battery on the UPS reaches a critical level. Have been meaning to do a full blown test.

I bought a “pro/business” grade UPS, so I don’t know if that would make a difference
Al Jr. Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I have had no issues at this time with APC UPS’s on WHS.
Model # (UPS ES 500)
As an IT engineer, I have had issues for years with Sever 2003 and Small Business Server and APC’s Power Chute software.
The work-around has been simply to use the hardcoded program built into Windows (Control Panel > Power Options).
I had some power spikes and brownouts since the install a few months ago and have not seen any issues at this time.
I am sure there is a good reason why HP says it is not supported, but I have not had any of the symptoms they claim while in (Active Mode).

Maybe the issues occur after time on old, worn-down batteries?
Lee H Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Yeah, just to clarify, I am using the windows drivers for my APC UPS and use windows to configure as mentioned by Al Jr. I can definately confirm WHS did not shut down the other day during our outage and has behaved perfectly since uninstalling the printer I had attached (which required Canons drivers as windows didnt have them inbuilt).
This is the UPS I use:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SUA1500JB&total_watts=50
Rosy Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
We have found a much information on power cuts. But what to do for a prevention. With the regular power failures so many damages are to be done. To avoid such damages through online we have gathered some important information on uninterruptible power supplies
Michael Says:
May 26th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I just set up a Tripp Lite from Costco. WHS supported it without any additional drivers. I am able to see everything from the Power option in the control panel. Testing it out, everything looks and works great.

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