23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a Computer's Lifesaver, January 22, 2005
This review is from: Belkin F6H375-USB 6-Outlet Battery Backup with Surge Protection (Electronics)
I brought this battery back up surge protector for my small business because we are located in a city that has occasional electrical problems. The battery backup feature has already saved our computer from shutting off twice during a power outage, which gave us the opportunity to save any work we were doing on the computer. You get about 15 minutes of battery power which will give you plenty of time to save your work. You will need one of these per computer.
*update
After owning this product for about a year an a half it has given in. The battery has worn down and no longer can hold a charge. I guess either I will purchase a new unit or look into replacing the battery. I may look into investing in a more expensive unit if it would last longer than a couple of years.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good budget protection, July 5, 2006
This review is from: Belkin F6H375-USB 6-Outlet Battery Backup with Surge Protection (Electronics)
A few years ago, I moved into a neighborhood with power problems. Seemingly randomly, our power will switch off and back on, or brown out for a second or less. Several times, this caused my computer to shut down unexpectedly. I knew I had to get an uninterruptible power supply or risk a much more costly loss.
I chose the Belkin 375VA battery backup primarily because it is an entry-level model. I don't need a lot of uptime on the battery, just enough to survive a couple seconds of power interruption or shut the system down in case the outage is longer. At the same time, my computers are on unattended at times, and I wanted a battery backup with USB support so that the battery could shut my machines off in case I wasn't around. This Belkin UPS does exactly what I need.
The retail box has much more information than is on this product page. The 375VA model is intended only for entry-level computers with small monitors. It has an expected battery lifetime of 2-3 years. I was a little disappointed by both of those stats, though three years is about how often I replace PCs, so it just becomes another component to replace at that time.
Personally, I find the four backed-up outlets to be more of a hinderance than an asset. I don't want anything else stealing battery lifetime, but that leaves me with only two extra surge-protected outlets. Any unprotected equipment can still let a surge pass to your computer's peripheral ports. The built-in phone line protection is a nice touch, however.
The backup has a built-in test mode, where you can turn on your equipment, press the test button, and verify the battery's operation. In this mode, my machines kept running, even though my monitors are larger than the box says I should run on it. Since then, they've run through a couple brownouts with no problems.
Automatic shutdown software is included, though I found that I didn't really need to install it under Windows XP home edition. Windows considers the UPS to be any other battery, similar to how laptops can run on either battery or mains power. I set windows to shut itself down when the battery starts to drain, and this also appears to work just fine.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
piece of junk, lousy service, October 28, 2005
This review is from: Belkin F6H375-USB 6-Outlet Battery Backup with Surge Protection (Electronics)
I bought this UPS and immediately got an orange light indicating "UPS fault." Belkin said it was defective but would not pay for return shipping, which is quite costly for this bulky item. They were extremely rude and argumentative. I will never buy anything from them again.
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