HTPC Not Auto Turning On after Power Surge

[normychas]

So this is kind of an odd question and im not sure if this belongs in a hardware section but my problem is this.

When a power outage occurs (which is not entirely uncommon in my area of Northern Virginia). My surge protector seems to do its job and protects all of my gear. Nothing breaks and all of my components are fine but for some reason when the power comes back on my HTPC doesn't automatically go back on. This may sound like no big deal but if the power blips for a few seconds while i'm out this results in me missing all of the shows I am trying to record. Does anobody know if it is possible to change this setting and if it is possible does anybody know if it is advisable to do so? I had issues in the past where i think i fried a memory slot because my power kept flipping on and off but perhaps this was an unrelated event. I have even considered getting a UPS but dont know if that would help since at the end of the battery cycle on the UPS I seem to encounter the same possibility for issues.

[STC]

If your bios supports it, see if there is a power on after power failure feature (or similar wordage) usually somewhere in the power management settings.

Either that or buy a UPS for the HTPC. Something that will give you a good 30-45 minutes of runtime. I recommend a managed APC UPS.

A UPS would be the best solution IMO depending on the length of the outage of course. You'd also have a clean shutdown in the event of the battery running down to low levels. You can configure your cutoff point in the UPS PM software. You will need a free USB port.

[normychas]

for the UPS what kind of power will i need for that 30-45 minutes of power?

[normychas]

any UPS you recommend specifically?

[STC]

That depends on your hardware configuration, but the higher the VA UPS, the better. Budgetary constraints prevailing.
I have a 1300VA Backup XS APC UPS for my HTPC (also feeds my TV and amp but if there is a power outage whilst I’m watching, I turn off the TV and amp) which can last up to 40 minutes just feeding the HTPC before performing a clean shutdown.

[normychas]

yeah i dont need nor can i afford something that could keep my tv and receiver going past a few minutes. I just want time to get stuff shutdown safely. You can see that i have an core i3 in my setup but im sure the power on my system is mostly likely pretty crazy.

[STC]

I never intend to use the UPS to run on battery powering the TV and amp. I have it powering all components for protection.
Brown outs are common here. Way worse than surges.

[blueiedgod]

I second UPS option. Some of the lower wattage UPS's are about the same price as good surge protectors. And I have been told by APC that Surge protectors have limited life, after so many surges the part inside that is responsible for the protection is no longer functioning, and the surge protector become just another power strip.

I have 1500VA running the HTPC, and a 1000VA for the TV. I don't care so much if the TV goes down first, but, I want to keep HTPC on for as long as possible. I also have a 1000VA unit on the FIOS ONT box. The back up battery on the FIOS box only providers power to the phone circuit, but not TV nor internet.

If the power is out for more than 15-20 minutes, and I am home, I just get the generator going. The higher powered APC UPS's are actually capable of cleaning generator feed, which is another benefit of a UPS as opposed to the surge protector.