how many of you use a UPS ?

i have used one for 2 yrs and it's saved my system, and data a number of times. a UPS ( uninterrupted power supply ) will save your PC if you get a power cut. they have an internal battery which charges up from the mains electricity and if you get a power cut, there's enough power in the ups to keep your PC going for 20 minutes so you have time to save your work on your PC then shut it down normally. it's also got an event data base, so if there is a power cut, it logs the time and date of the cut, and for how long the power cut lasts. it's connected through your modem, so when the power comes back on it logs the time. it'll save your system from damage caused by power spikes in the mains as well.

I only have a laptop and can use it with or without it being plugged in, so I guess yes, but you were asking about PCs and I don't have one

I've worked in computers since leaving school, both in a support and development environment. I've never once used a UPS and have never once wished that I had.

A waste of money for almost all average home users. I can only presume that Scotland must have a poor power grid if it's saved your data a number of times in only two years.

in january this year, we had 3 power cuts in one day. my daughter lives just up the road from me and she phoned the next day to say her PC would not boot up. i had a look at it, and it would'nt even do a POST. the ram had blown, so i fitted new ram and it booted up no probs. since then she's got a UPS, it cost her £50 to replace the ram chips, a lesson well learned !!

I don't use a ups but I do use a power surge protector mainly because 2 yrs ago we had a spike which took out my hard drive - that wasn't the problem - the problem was that I had all my photo's stored on it and - yes you guessed it - I hadn't a back up. Now I back up my docs once a month and have a decent power surge protector.

belkin guaranatee they'll recover any lost data due to a failure of thier equipment. if they can't, they will compensate you up to £50.000 for loss of data. this could be a big help to all you folks out there who run businesses from your home PC !

How much do they cost Nero? Is it a hardware/software solution? Does it save your files/settings etc automatically then safely shutdown?

If so, sounds like a good idea, as PC's hate being being switched off without being shut-down properly.

Hardware.

No. It gives you the time to do it yourself. The ones we used to install would make an almighty screaming sound when there was a power cut, to let you know that it was time to save files, etc.

Or so the rumour goes. We used to turn our office computers off at the switch all the time as we were too eager to get home at night to sit waiting. (And that was on a support desk!) I don't recall a single person ever coming in to a dead or corrupted computer. I'm sure it does happen but it's so rare.

I can see the advantage for mission-critical computers, such as the ones we used to install for businesses. But for typical home users? I'm far from convinced.

you'll get a belkin for about £120, but shop around. try PC WORLD, that's where i got mine.

what happens is you plug into the mains, it has 4 sockets like the ones on your walls, for output. all the sockets are surge protected, so you plug your PC in one of them, monitor in another, modem, and so on. if there's a mains power cut, the UPS kicks in , in a millisecond preventing your PC from crashing. you then have a warning buzzer from the ups, a message comes up on your monitor telling you you have 15 mins to save your work, then shut down . it's powered by it's own internal battery, which trickle charges from the mains, so even if your not using your PC, leave the UPS connected to the mains. there's also a button on it to do a self test, press it and the message comes up " battery ok ".

PS: if you're into tech stuff, it also has a graph which records voltage levels from the mains, and logs the time and date of any power cut you may have, and the duration of the cut, handy if you want to sue your power supplier for any damage caused to anything in your home.

I use a MASTERPLUG 8 WAY SURGE PROTECTOR

2m cable.
Fitted with 8 child resistant sockets.
Neon power on and surge indicators.
Up to 13,500 max amp electrical spike protection.