I built a PC for one of our work locations, and while it boots perfectly in the office, it fails to pass POST when plugged into the battery backup at the designated workstation. The same issue occurs at an adjacent workstation's battery backup, and even when connected directly to the wall outlets at both locations. Strangely, if I bring the PC to a different room, it powers up without any problem. It seems to be an outlet issue, but other identical PCs work just fine in those outlets. What could be going on?
3 Answers
Try connecting the battery backup that isn't working to an outlet that you know the PC boots from. This will help determine whether there’s a wiring fault at the station. If it turns out there are no faults according to facilities, then it might be worth sending it back to IT for a different power supply. But just a heads up, this seems like a wiring issue. Get facilities to do a basic check and see if they can help provide a higher quality PSU swap if needed.
It sounds like the battery might not have enough capacity to power the PC. Have you made sure the backup is functioning properly?
It doesn't work even when plugged directly into the outlet, but it boots up fine in another room.
I've seen issues like this before, especially with shielded plugs. Sometimes, the metal parts of the live and neutral pins don't connect properly in certain sockets. Check if there's an adapter involved or if the plug itself is seated well in the outlet.
I'll definitely check that out, thanks for the tip!
Unfortunately, I'm part of facilities (felt like Pagliacci saying this)! We haven't seen any faults or fluctuating voltage from the outlet; I've monitored it for a week. I suspect it still might be an issue related to us though. I’ll reach out to IT regarding the PSU, thanks!