UPS (power, not shiping!)
 

what do you guys think of these?
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...101-221-01.JPG

i was DJing last weekend and blew a breaker 3 times (homeowners fault :evil: ) causing my external hard drive to lose power. i know this is bad and i don't want to damage it. at the very least i need to have power long enough to properly disconect the hard drive and power it down. I don't know anything about UPS's, so what do you think?

The Belkin is a nice unit, I like their software. APC is the industy standard but, their software is a pain, Windows 2k and above can talk to the APC with out any extra software.

software should be an issur with me, i think. i'm not planing on using it on my acutal computer, just the external hard drive... the computer is a laptop and if power goes out the battery takes over. and i'm only wanting it so when i DJ if i blow a breaker or someone accidently unplugs the cord i don't have my hard drive crash on me.

so, really it sould just be plug it in (charged up of course) and i'm protected.

Looks like a nice unit.

I have a APC RS1000 that has served me very well for the last 4 years without a problem. Soon, this will be relegated to entertainment center use and I'll buy a new one for my computer system. In my computer configuration, the RS1000 would keep my entire system (21" Dell monitor, 650watt PS, wireless router, cable modem, and 5.1 surround sound) running for 20+ minutes in the event of a power failure. It would then shut down the computer if the power was still out.

My parents have an APC unit similar to the one pictured in your post on each one of their desktops in their office. It'll keep either of the desktops runnin' for around 8 minutes before it'll automatically shut off the desktop. If you're there, it's enough time to save everything.

I would have to say that if you are considering purchasing one, run the laptop and the HD on it. It'll just prolong the life of your power supply for the laptop and ofcourse, keep the HD from getting wasted. For the two of them, you're probably lookin' at 20+ minutes worth of backup power. For a blown breaker, you wouldn't even have to unplug or shutdown anything.

I have had my Belkin UPS for about3 years. It has been wonderful. No problems with it, the battery never needed maintence.