Is This A Hardware Problem Or Software?

I have 2 computers (Dell Inspiron all-in-one, Windows 10; and Dell Studio 540, Windows 7) They are both plugged into the same power bar. (I am trying to move various stuff from the Studio to the new Inspiron.) It seems that every time the Inspiron goes to sleep, whether by setting or by me putting it to sleep , the Studio shuts off; and most often it shuts off improperly. Where is my problem?

 

How are the two computers connected to each other? From your original post it seems you are directly transferring files from the Studio to the Inspiron.

I have a cable and software that allows me to do the same with an Inspiron laptop and a Latitude laptop. However, I've not put the Inspiron to sleep with the two computers connected and BOTH are plugged into the same power strip. Both laptops multi=boot Win 7, 8.1 and 10.

 

Not sure how your power bar works (I don't like them so never use them) but I know some UPS have a "Master" power plug that, when enabled, sense when the connected device is powered down. And when such an event is sensed, it automatically kills the power to the other plugs.

So, for example, if you plug a computer into the Master plug and shut down the computer, the UPS will automatically power off the monitor and speakers plugged into the other plugs.

The UPS I have with this feature lets me disable this feature so the plug behaves normally.

Maybe your power bar has such a Master plug and can be disabled. If not, you may have to change plugs.

 

Thanks, Digerati. That was my problem. I bought a new simpler power bar that only does what I tell it to.

 

Great! Glad you got it sorted out. Please remember it is important to "gracefully" close (shutdown) Windows before powering off your computer. So always shutdown your computer by going through Windows Start menu, then, if you want to kill power, use your power bar. Never shut off a running computer by simply killing power. That can result in a corrupt drive.

 

That's why I was so concerned about this, because the Studio was abruptly cut off a number of times. I'm surprised it survived.

 

Then it sounds like you really need a good UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). While the primary advantage to a UPS is the AVR, they also prevent sudden power losses to the connected devices. And with the software and interconnecting cable that come with most UPS, the UPS will signal Windows to save all your open documents and "gracefully" shutdown Windows and your computer before the batteries run down completely. In this way, you don't data and you don't subject your drives to potential corruption and data loss.

 

A bit off topic. I love my new UPS. I haven't had a chance to test it. it has 7 plugs all running off the battery.

Todt the electric went off 50 minutes ago. I could safely turn off the computer, monitor and printer. My modem and separate router are fine and I;m able to get on the internet with my laptop. If the battery should run low on this before power is restored, I'll switch to one of the tablets.

 

Wow, 7 battery protected outlets is a lot. Mine has 4 and I have a spider plug in one for all the DC power blocks.

Just remember to NEVER plug a UPS into a surge and spike protector and NEVER plug a surge and spike protector into a UPS. It can confuse the AVR and cause the UPS to switch to battery unnecessarily, or shut down output to protect the connected equipment.

As far as your battery running low, what I do if it seems the outage will be extended is totally power off my computer with the master power switch on the back of the PSU and I power off my monitors. This takes these devices out of stand by mode and totally off. Then the full UPS is dedicated to running my modem and wireless router which use little power. My network was able to stay alive for over 4 hours so I still had access to the Internet with my notebook and cell phone over wifi.

BTW, I also have an UPS on my home theater system, garage door opener, and even the electric blanket (at least in the winter).

 

Power was out for 10 1/2 hours.
The UPS started chirping at the 3 hour mark so I shut it off.

I love it. I have all the plugs used.
2 computers
1 monitor
1 modem
1 router
1 print server (old Centronics)
1 printer

If the power would only have been off 3 hours, the print server would have worked.

As it was, my husband turned on his netbook early this morning and stole the print server's IP.
It took me 1 1/2 hours to reconfigure it.
It is very, very old software. It only works on Win 2K and older. If that computer dies, I'm sunk.
My new router doesn't even see the device. The old one did and I could configure the port through the printer.
I have 6 different computers able to print to the printer so I work hard to keep it working.

 

That used to irritate the heck out of me. What you need to do is enter your router's admin menu and assign a static IP address to the print server. In my Netgear router, the feature is called "Address Reservation" under the LAN Setup menu.

You pick an IP address, I recommend a high number, way out of the range of your normal devices. For example, Netgear uses, by default, 192.168.1.1 for itself, then starts assigning numbers to connected devices at 192.168.1.2. I assigned 192.168.1.25 to my printer knowing that I will never have connected so many devices that I require more than .2 through .24. So when I have an extended power outage, no matter the order all my computers, cell phone, tablets, TV, Roku, etc. connect, 192.168.1.25 will always be assigned to my Printer.

In this way, I only have to configure my computers one last time using that 192.168.1.25 IP address for my printer.

Look at your attached devices now and find your printer. Then note its MAC address and assign (reserve) a static IP to that MAC address and you will be good to go. Your husband will especially be happy for it - with the full understanding, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

If you have a NAS device, you might assign a static IP address to it too. Your computers and other devices can still use DHCP assigned IP addresses.

 

The routers don't see this old print server. (WRT54GL and NetGear N300)

I have to fire up a Windows 2K computer and work with the old software there. I gave it a permanent IP but the router doesn't see it and if the power goes off for more than 3 hours, the IP is dropped.

 

It has to be there or you would not be able to connect and print to it.

In my router, it would be found under "connected devices". It may not, however, be listed as anything obvious so you may have to find it by eliminating everything else.

If you can print out a status page from the print server, it might show the IP it is currently using too. And on the print server "should" be a label showing the MAC address.

Hmmm, that should not happen at all. Does your router also lose the admin password you assigned to it?

 

Trust me it is not. I can print to it because I set up the IP on the old Windows 2000 computer. When I look at my routing table the IP I assigned to it, it missing. All the other devices: 6 computers, two tablets and a smartphone are shown.

I go to Status, Local Network, DHCP Clients table.
On the old router I saw PS45DADC with the IP address, the MAC address and when the lease expires.
On the newer, but still old Linksys router, there is no entry for the print server.

On the NetGear N300, it appeared for about 5 seconds then disappeared. (I'd have to look up where I found the routing table in that setup). So I was unable to set it up.

I can run this http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html
to see where it is but it never shows up on the routing table. (It also doesn't have a device name in Nirsoft's program but I know from the MAC and the device name Edimax Tech Co that that is my print server connected to the Centronics port of the printer).

 

If you manually assign an IP to a device/client, that is not a DHCP client. DHCP clients get their assigned IPs "dynamically". When you manually assign an IP, that is a "static" or "reserved" IP.

Note too, the print server may need to be up and running to be seen.

Frankly, if you cannot see your print server anywhere, that would really concern me. In terms of network security, no device should be able to connect to your router/network without you being able to see it in your router's tables.

How are you supposed to see if a badguy or nosy neighbor is attached to your network if you cannot see his/her connected device? So it must be in there somewhere. If not, I would be shopping for a new wireless router - today!

 

The print server is always on. It is connected to an UPS

I let the old router assign the IP and I had to always keep moving the printer.

Not many homes and everyone has his own ISP. I also have MAC filtering on, UPnP turned off, Remote access turned off, the IP range is limited to 10 and all my devices use those and I check my logs,

 

You mean physically move it from desk to desk? Should not matter.

The problem is dynamic assigning of IPs. After a power outage, the router typically assigns IPs based on the order in which device connect after power is restored. If the printer comes on first, it may get the first IP. After the next power outage, if a computer connects first, the printer may get the 2nd IP and thus the "port" in the computer's printer setup will then be wrong. Assigning a static IP address prevents this shifting if IP addresses.

 

No. It is attached to a stationary router and 6 computers print to it.

 

You said,

So you mean it's IP assignment. Assigning a static or reserved IP address will mean you only have to set it up one more time in each of those 6 computers, then should never have to set them up again. They should never expire. Even if you have an extended power outage, the printer (or in your case, the print server) should always get that same IP address so you don't have to reconfigure the printer setup on each of those 6 computer.