Power outages & your computer
Last updated: March 8, 2004
With Winter snowstorms on the way and Spring thunderstorms following that,
Automation Services would like to bring you up-to-date on what to do with the
computers during power outages.
- If the power flickers, the computers may automatically reboot. This is fine
....let them boot up and then log in as usual.
- If the power goes out for several minutes....turn OFF all computers, including
PAC and staff machines. Wait till the power is back on, turn the computers back
on and let them boot up as usual.
- If the power has been out for more than 45 minutes....turn OFF all computers,
including PAC and staff machines. Notify Eric or Veronica as soon as
possible (using the pager number only if after hours). When the power does return...DO NOT turn on the
computers until at least 15 minutes have past.
-
Why, you ask? The server at each facility has a large, external
backup battery attached to it.
This battery only has enough juice to last for roughly 45 minutes.
After that time, it will shut down the server and then turn itself
off. Once the power comes back on, it can take 15 minutes for the server to
boot up. Until the server is completely rebooted, the computers will not work
properly. You must wait this length of time (15 minutes) BEFORE
turning on the computers or you WILL NOT get any services
(the computer won't boot up correctly or log in). If you turn on the
computers too soon, you will see several error messages. These indicate
that the server did not finish booting up. If the power comes back on,
you have waited 15 minutes and still get error messages
while booting the computers, you should call (or page as necessary) Eric or
Veronica right away.
- One final note: SAVE your documents early and often. If you are working on a
document and the power goes out, chances are you will lose everything up until the
last time you clicked on the SAVE button. If you haven't saved any of the document,
then you most likely will lose the whole thing!
If you have any questions, please call Eric at x5114 or Veronica
at x5110.