We normally run 5 PCs here, one Netbook (11.4), two "desktop replacement laptops (also 11.4) and two semi-antique laptops.
One of the old ones does fine as a print server (mint), and that’s about all that one’s good for. The other is just barely OK for running XP for infrequent access to old legacy MS software. The two modern laptops are/were our primary PCs (11.4).
OK, here’s the problem. The wife’s PC died in late November (PM chip on the MOBO fried), so she’s been stuck with the netbook. Now my PC failed to boot the last two mornings without a lot of trial and error (BIOS beep codes indicate GPU failure). Of course, as some of you know, we live on an island, a small island, a very small island in fact. We don’t plan to go “off island” 'til April, so I won’t have a chance to buy new hardware 'til then, and I gotta find a way to nurse the one remaining “real PC” in the mean time. The old PCs just aren’t up to the kind of work I need to do.
My first thought was “just don’t shut it off”. Not practical, as 4 hour+ power failures are a regular occurence here (about 2-4 per week), and this lappy’s
battery is only good for about two hours. So, I’m thinking of leaving it an and setting up the Power Management to put the PC to Sleep/“Suspend to RAM” with about a ten minute idle time out to extend the battery life as long as possible if/when the power goes out. (Hibernation is out of the question, as it would power down the GPU which might be disasterous.) I know how to do the setup OK, but I’m hoping one or more of you forum readers can offer some feedback regarding how much power I’ll save vs. leaving the PC running. I could test it of course, but I might never get the PC restarted if I do, so I’m hoping someone out there already knows the answer.
And, of course, if you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it.
Thanx,
(Backups used to be weekly, but now they’re done daily)
One would think so, however it’s not that simple. I can easily place an order and purchase the computer, however getting it here is another matter altogether. The usual two options are to have it delivered on the open deck of a freight boat or have it shipped to a freight forwarder and have it flown here in a small plane that comes in once a week. Experience has shown the items shipped the first way often arrive soaked in salt water, ok for lumber etc., but not too good for computers. We’ve also learned (the hard way) that Items shipped the second way are handled very roughly at several points along the way, kinda hard on HDDs. Furthermore both of those options are very expensive. The third alternative is to try an hook up with a traveler who’s coming this way anyhow and is willing to carry in a computer for me. That’ll be my only option if I get desperate (i.e. if the present PC goes completely belly up), but it won’t be easy to find a willing traveler on short notice. We know a few folks coming here as tourists, but not for six weeks or so at least. I’ll ask one of them if I have to, but not unless it’s unavoidable, as it’ll be pretty inconvenient for them (extra carry on means having to take out the computer for airport security and customs, 3 times total), and I don’t want my new PC manhandled as checked baggage if I can avoid it.
Could you purchase a small UPS on the island? With the power grid that likely to
fail, they should be a common accessory. With the UPS plugged into the mains,
and the laptop plugged into the UPS, you should get 2 to 3 hours of time before
the laptop’s battery even starts getting used.
Funny you should suggest that. I’d planned to get a couple of UPSs anyhow ever since the hurricane back in August, but there were none available on the island until now. I just now got a call from a friend who runs a little electronics repair business at the other end of the island (a great business where brown outs and power spikes are a daily occurrence), he just got two and is holding them for me to pick up on Monday. He hasn’t even priced them yet and doesn’t yet know what capacity they are, but I won’t really care so long as they’re not really outrageously big or expensive.
I’d guess that most of your troubles are due to inadequate landline power. Is it earthed?
I use ups in all my desktops, and the laptops power supplies are usually connected to them, except when out of home/office, of course.
Note that most consumer ups are not of the continuous supply type - these are the real good and expensive ones, used mostly on critical-mission hardware. The “common” ups just forward the input power to it’s output, and when the input fails (or goes below a certain voltage) it kicks in the battery, usually with a square wave form instead of a real sinusoidal one. Here I can find ups with 300W (not enough for a good desktop), 600W (better) and 1000+W (very expensive). I usually go for the 600W capacity units.
Also note that because of the wave form it is essential that you connect the ups input to the voltage regulator (stabilizer?) and not otherwise, i.e., NEVER plug the stabilizer input in the ups output, as this will create havoc with the waveform that reach the computer.
So in your case I’d use a power line filter (surge protector) connected to a stabilizer connected to an ups connected to your computer(s). If your power installation is not earthed at least make sure that phase and neutral are in the correct socket pins. You may also consider using an isolated stabilizer instead of the cheaper common nucleus transformer type, although those eat more power and are more expensive.
On 2012-01-09 01:06, brunomcl wrote:
> You may also consider using an
> isolated stabilizer instead of the cheaper common nucleus transformer
> type, but those eat more power and are more expensive.
What is an “stabilizer”? I try to find the term in the wikipedia and fail
to see a suitable entry.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
