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The simplest type of UPS to configure is the type that connects to your computer’s USB port. If you have this kind of UPS, plug it into one of the USB ports on your computer—not to a USB hub. When you do that, it installs its driver and changes the Power Options Properties dialog box correctly: It adds an Alarms tab and a Power Meter tab, as shown in Figure 1. It also adds to the Power Schemes tab settings for shutdown times while running on batteries. (Don’t be concerned that the UPS tab has disappeared; it’s only essential for UPS that connect to a standard serial port.)


Figure 1. A USB-interface UPS typically adds a Power Meter tab, with which you can monitor your battery’s charge.

If your computer uses a serial-interface UPS, a UPS tab appears in your Power Options Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 2. You should visit this corner of the power management UI to make sure that your UPS is properly identified and configured. If the UPS tab doesn’t already identify the manufacturer and model of your UPS, click Select. In the ensuing dialog box, you can specify a manufacturer and model as well as the port to which the UPS is connected.


Figure 2. Use the UPS tab to configure and monitor a serial-interface UPS.

To configure the actions taken by your UPS and by Windows XP should your normal power become unavailable, click the Configure button. In the UPS Configuration dialog box, shown in Figure 3, you can specify such things as a program that should run either when the UPS battery is close to exhaustion or when your system has been running on UPS battery power for a specified period of time.


Figure 3. In the UPS Configuration dialog box, you can tell Windows XP what you want it to do when the power is out and the UPS battery is approaching exhaustion.