General
PowerChute Configuration File
PowerChute stores some configuration settings in a file called pcssconfig.ini, located in the Agent directory in the installed PowerChute directory. If the default location was chosen during installation, the pcssconfig.ini file can be found at:
C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Serial Shutdown\agent for Windows systems
It is not recommended to edit the
pcssconfig.ini file directly as this may lead to invalid configurations.
It is also not recommended to delete the
pcssconfig.ini or
pcssconfig_backup.ini files from the installation directory. Deleting these files will result in the PowerChute service not starting, and PowerChute must be uninstalled and re-installed
After you have configured one installation of PowerChute, you can use the pcssconfig.ini file to apply the same configuration to another copy of PowerChute on a different machine.
To apply the settings on the target machine:
1 . Stop the PowerChute service. For more information, see Knowledge Base article
FA360654. 2 . Replace the existing copy of pcssconfig.ini in the Agent directory.
3 . Start the PowerChute service.
Resetting your Username and Password
If you have forgotten the username or password created during installation, you can reset the credentials by using the pcssconfig.ini file:
1 . Open the pcssconfig.ini file with a text editor (e.g. Notepad) and add the following:
[Credentials]
username=
password=
Enter the new username and password directly after the equals sign.
– The username must be between 6 and 128 characters in length.
– The password requires:
• Minimum 8 and maximum 128 characters in length
• 1 upper and lower case letter
• 1 number or special character
• The username cannot be part of the password.
NOTE: The username and password cannot contain double-byte characters.
2 . Save the pcssconfig.ini file.
3 . Restart the APC PBE Agent service. See Knowledge Base article
FA360654. 4 . If the username and password meet the requirements, the [Credentials] section is deleted from the pcssconfig.ini file, and the new credentials are ready to use.
– If the credentials entered in pcssconfig.ini do not meet the requirements, an error is written to the file. Check the file for the error, adjust the credentials accordingly, and restart the Agent service.
5 . Log in to the PowerChute web interface with your new credentials.
Java Update
The Java Update feature enables you to change the Java Development Kit (JDK) used by PowerChute to any other JDK already installed on your system. Follow the steps below to update the Java version used by PowerChute:
PowerChute v1.3 ships with latest version of Adoptium OpenJDK release. You can only update the Java version used with PowerChute to a 64-bit JDK. The Java versions supported by PowerChute are detailed in the
OS Compatibility Chart.
2 . Navigate to the PowerChute installation directory, and create a new folder called “Updates”. If the default installation directory was chosen during installation, this location will be:
– C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Serial Shutdown\Updates for Windows systems
3 . Copy the Java file (tar.gz or zip) downloaded in Step 1 above to the Updates directory.
4 . Navigate to the
Aboutdialog in the PowerChute UI. Under , the downloaded Java file will be listed in a drop-down box in the field.
5 . Select the Java version you want to update PowerChute to use from the drop-down box, and click .
6 . An authentication dialog will appear asking for your PowerChute credentials if you are upgrading the Java version used for the first time. Enter your credentials and click . Upon successful authentication, the Java upgrade process begins.
7 . PowerChute restarts automatically during the Java upgrade process. Wait 3-5 minutes for the Java version to successfully update.
8 . When the PowerChute service restarts, refresh your browser and navigate to the
About dialog. The field will be updated to show the new Java used by PowerChute.
Replace Default PowerChute SSL Certificate
For more information on how to replace the default PowerChute SSL certificate, see the
PowerChute Serial Shutdown Security Handbook.
Third Party Licenses
Third party licenses used in PowerChute Serial Shutdown are available to view in the THIRDPARTYLICENSEREADME.txt file in the Agent directory. If the default location was chosen during installation, this text file can be found at:
• C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Serial Shutdown\agent for Windows systems