Difference between revisions of "Frequently Asked Questions PowerChrom"

Revision as of 20:35, 10 August 2017

You can learn more about PowerChrom software by looking at the videos, application notes and manuals.

I am new to PowerChrom software. Where can I get started?

Have a look at this three minute video which shows a simple analysis. You can find more quick videos here. The application notes show how to connect some chromatography instruments to the PowerChrom hardware. Full details about the PowerChrom software and hardware can be found in our manuals. You can see research papers published using PowerChrom software by visiting this page and clicking the Applications tab.

Calibration Document; A customer asked how calibration is performed in PowerChrom.

The obvious answer is the PowerChrom Manual which describes the calibration procedure.

A video teaching about calibrations is available at https://www.edaq.com/wiki/Method_and_Calibration_Tables

A sample calibration file: File:Calibration is performed in PowerChrom.zip

Why can I see steps in my data instead of getting smooth curves?

It is likely that you have chosen a recording range which is too big and you are seeing digitization. If your peaks are only a few millivolts high, and you have left the default 10 volt range, you will see stepped peaks; the signal and areas will be inaccurate. You should select a recording range slightly higher than the largest signal you will record. Have a look at the Basics of Data Acquisition application note.

Why am I getting a noisy signal? / Why is there noise in my data?

There can be many reasons why you are getting noise. Have a look at this application note.

PowerChrom Software Error Codes

When a PowerChrom system stops or crashes unexpectedly, a cryptic error message is often generated. This can be caused by a hardware error, software error, operating system action - for example an update, or a different software application running on the computer. These error messages are not always useful in identifying a fault and the eRRS Software (eDAQ Remote Reporting Software) is much more useful in identifying problems. The full list of error codes can be found here Full List of PowerChrom Software Error Codes.

See below. There are two sets of error codes, so depending on where/when it occurred, it might be one thing or another.

Maybe

dsMustUseFCBAccessors = 119, /* FCBSPtr and FSFCBLen are invalid - must use FSM FCB accessor functions */

dsVMBadBackingStore = 113, /*Error occurred while reading or writing the VM backing-store file*/

or

eParamErr = 113; { Bad parameter error }

eRestarted = 119; { Application wasn't recognised }

The full error lists are:

 dsNoFPU                       = 90,   /*an FPU instruction was executed and the machine doesnÕt have one*/
 dsNoPatch                     = 98,   /*Can't patch for particular Model Mac*/
 dsBadPatch                    = 99,   /*Can't load patch resource*/
 dsParityErr                   = 101,  /*memory parity error*/
 dsOldSystem                   = 102,  /*System is too old for this ROM*/
 ds32BitMode                   = 103,  /*booting in 32-bit on a 24-bit sys*/
 dsNeedToWriteBootBlocks       = 104,  /*need to write new boot blocks*/
 dsNotEnoughRAMToBoot          = 105,  /*must have at least 1.5MB of RAM to boot 7.0*/
 dsBufPtrTooLow                = 106,  /*bufPtr moved too far during boot*/
 dsVMDeferredFuncTableFull     = 112,  /*VM's DeferUserFn table is full*/
 dsVMBadBackingStore           = 113,  /*Error occurred while reading or writing the VM backing-store file*/
 dsCantHoldSystemHeap          = 114,  /*Unable to hold the system heap during boot*/
 dsSystemRequiresPowerPC       = 116,  /*Startup disk requires PowerPC*/
 dsGibblyMovedToDisabledFolder = 117,  /* For debug builds only, signals that active gibbly was disabled during boot. */
 dsUnBootableSystem            = 118,  /* Active system file will not boot on this system because it was designed only to boot from a CD. */
 dsMustUseFCBAccessors         = 119,  /* FCBSPtr and FSFCBLen are invalid - must use FSM FCB accessor functions */
 dsMacOSROMVersionTooOld       = 120,  /* The version of the "Mac OS ROM" file is too old to be used with the installed version of system software */
 dsLostConnectionToNetworkDisk = 121,  /* Lost communication with Netboot server */
 dsRAMDiskTooBig               = 122,  /* The RAM disk is too big to boot safely; will be turned off */
 dsWriteToSupervisorStackGuardPage = 128, /*the supervisor stack overflowed into its guard page */
 dsReinsert                    = 30,   /*request user to reinsert off-line volume*/
 shutDownAlert                 = 42,   /*handled like a shutdown error*/
 dsShutDownOrRestart           = 20000, /*user choice between ShutDown and Restart*/
 dsSwitchOffOrRestart          = 20001, /*user choice between switching off and Restart*/
 dsForcedQuit                  = 20002, /*allow the user to ExitToShell, return if Cancel*/
 dsRemoveDisk                  = 20003, /*request user to remove disk from manual eject drive*/
 dsDirtyDisk                   = 20004, /*request user to return a manually-ejected dirty disk*/
 dsShutDownOrResume            = 20109, /*allow user to return to Finder or ShutDown*/
 dsSCSIWarn                    = 20010, /*Portable SCSI adapter warning.*/
 dsMBSysError                  = 29200, /*Media Bay replace warning.*/
 dsMBFlpySysError              = 29201, /*Media Bay, floppy replace warning.*/
 dsMBATASysError               = 29202, /*Media Bay, ATA replace warning.*/
 dsMBATAPISysError             = 29203, /*Media Bay, ATAPI replace warning...*/
 dsMBExternFlpySysError        = 29204, /*Media Bay, external floppy drive reconnect warning*/
 dsPCCardATASysError           = 29205 /*PCCard has been ejected while still in use. */

     kMajorVersion     = 1;     { Required major patch level for this interface code }
     kNWarnings     = 4;     { # of warning records: enough to bore the user }
     kMaxConnected   = 10;     { Maximum simultaneous connections, not widely used so could remove restriction if we cared! }
     kInitialTimeOut = 30;  { Red Bear application timeout in seconds; we have to
                                 communicate with it at least this often }

     eQFull         = 112;    { Queue-full error code }
     eParamErr      = 113;    { Bad parameter error }
     eIntfBad       = 114;    { Interface bad }
     eTimeOut       = 115;    { Something timed out }
     eUpdateProblem = 116;    { Updating process got unexpected response }
     eMissingClass  = 117;    { Class needed for updating wasn't there }
     eClassLimit    = 118;
     eRestarted     = 119;    { Application wasn't recognised }
     eNotImplemented= 120;
     eBadContext    = 121;
     eNoSuchUnit    = 122;
     eNoEcho        = 123;    { Didn't echo: check patchlevel }
     eTruncHeader   = 130;    { AppleTalk protocol problems }
     eWriteTrunc    = 131;
     eSyncLost      = 132;
     eRetarded_s     = 133;  { Enabler/MacLab too old for this code }
     eAdvanced      = 134;     { Enabler or MacLab version too new for ths code }
     e6502Based     = 135;     { Maclab isn't an s-series }
     //eNoEnabler_s   = 136;     { No enabler found and MacLab not up to date }
     eWrongUSBDriver= 137;  { Wrong USB driver version }
     eUSBGoneAway     = 138;     { USB MacLab has gone away }
     //eNoEnabler_20  = 139;     { No enabler found and MacLab not up to date }

     eNoEnabler        = 900;
     eNoEnabler_s         = eNoEnabler + kEnablerKind_68k;    // No enabler found and MacLab not up to date
     eNoEnabler_Last     = eNoEnabler + kEnablerKind_Last;    // No enabler found and MacLab not up to date