No Vista x64 support for APC PowerChute Personal Edition 2.1

I use APC (American Power Conversion Corporation) UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) products for all of my home computers. I consider a UPS device an essential component for a home computer. So I was happy to note that APC finally released PowerChute Personal Edition Version 2.1 for "Windows Vista."

I quickly downloaded it (23.6 MB) and immediately attempted to install it on my Vista Ultimate x64 (RTM Build 6000) system (Blackbird).

The installation went through the normal process of the "InstallShield Wizard (R) extracting the files needed to install APC PowerChute Personal Edition on my computer."

The installation then went through the normal process of "preparing the InstallShield (R) Wizard to guide me through the rest of the setup process."

I was feeling good at this point. I was looking forward to finally having my Vista Ultimate x64 computer fully protected by my APC Back-UPS XS 1500 in case of power failure and/or brown-outs.

My optimism was premature.

I was greeted with the following message: "You are attempting to install software that is intended for Microsoft (R) Windows (R) Vista."

I immediately fired off an email to ACP Support to report the problem. I was actually surprised to receive a response during the weekend. I wasn't expecting one until the middle of the work week at best. Kudos to APC for good customer service.

However, I was not entirely surprised by their response: "Please note the version PowerChute Personal Edition version 2.1 can be used only with Windows Vista operating system. It cannot be used with Windows Vista Ultimate x64. As of now we do not have a software for Vista Ultimate x64. We are working on a solution, but do not have an expected release date at this time. I am sorry for any inconvenience."

I guess that's that.