I live in a shared house on Oahu with wiring that I know is not up to code. Most outlets seem fine, but the one near my computer has caused about five power-supply failures over the past two or three years. After the third failure, a repair technician suggested using a UPS. The UPS helped at first, but power supplies are still failing even when the computer is connected to its battery-and-surge-protected outlet. I would prefer not to rearrange my entire room, but I will do that if necessary. Is there anything I should check or try before replacing another PSU?
4 Answers
The outlet and wiring should be checked before buying more protective equipment. Use a three-prong receptacle tester to look for a missing ground, reversed hot and neutral, or other obvious wiring faults, but have a licensed electrician diagnose and repair anything questionable. Illegal wiring can be a shock and fire hazard, not just a computer problem. A different properly wired outlet, even with a suitable extension cord temporarily, is safer than continuing to use the suspect one.
Many inexpensive UPS units only switch to battery when the power fails. They do not continuously correct brownouts, overvoltage, or other fluctuations. If the source power is unstable, an online, double-conversion UPS or a properly rated line-interactive UPS with voltage regulation may help. A line conditioner can also stabilize some voltage problems, but none of these should be treated as a substitute for repairing unsafe wiring, and a bad electrical supply can damage the protective equipment too.
The term is usually “online UPS,” not “inline.” It continuously produces the output from the inverter, so there is no transfer delay when the input power changes.
A surge protector only works properly when the grounding system is correct, and it cannot safely compensate for seriously miswired or fluctuating power. Since several PSUs have already failed, stop using that outlet until it is inspected. If other appliances in the house are also behaving strangely, contact the property owner and the electric utility as well as an electrician, because the problem could extend beyond one receptacle.
First confirm that the failures are actually caused by the outlet. Test the suspect receptacle and several others, check whether the UPS reports unusual input voltage, and notice whether lights flicker or dim. Also make sure the replacement power supplies are reputable, correctly rated units rather than low-quality knockoffs. Modern PSUs tolerate a wide input range, so repeated failures could also point to defective units, an overloaded system, or another fault in the computer.
My UPS has a battery-and-surge-protected outlet, but it is a cheaper model. I will arrange for an electrician to inspect the outlet and wiring.