Difference between revisions of "Frequently Asked Questions General Software Questions"

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(Created page with "__TOC__ == What do you do if there is a software problem? == Software bugs and problems range from simple problems easily reproducible to difficult problems that cannot be r...")
 
(Treatment of "." and "," as Decimal Separators. Why are numbers copied from our serial devices into Excel not handled correctly in Europe?)
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Other software packages may have similar options.  Another workaround is to temporarily change your regional settings (in the Windows control panel), to set the decimal and thousands separators to "." and "," respectively, then put them back after importing. Your software may require a restart after changing the settings, to get it to notice they have changed.
 
Other software packages may have similar options.  Another workaround is to temporarily change your regional settings (in the Windows control panel), to set the decimal and thousands separators to "." and "," respectively, then put them back after importing. Your software may require a restart after changing the settings, to get it to notice they have changed.
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== Profiler and offset did not work on a ER125? ==
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The problem was fixed due regional variations in using a "." or "," as a decimal separator, e.g. in numbers like "3.14159".  We are guessing your computer was set to use Portuguese (Brazil) settings, which use a comma, but communications with the ER125 always uses a dot.  The C4D App was using your OS's settings, which meant it couldn't understand the number.  This new version forces the software to internally always use a "." in numbers when communicating with the hardware.
  
 
== PowerChom Error codes ==
 
== PowerChom Error codes ==

Revision as of 12:39, 26 July 2017

What do you do if there is a software problem?

Software bugs and problems range from simple problems easily reproducible to difficult problems that cannot be reproduced. Before we can react to a software problem we need a minimum amount of information:

  • Software name and version used
  • Hardware used and serial number
  • Operating system version
  • Description of problem

When a problem requires accurate capture of events leading up to the error condition we have the following tool available:


eRRS Software

The eRRS Software (eDAQ Remote Reporting Software) is used to send software log files and system information to eDAQ support staff. Please get a customer to use this software only when requested by eDAQ Sydney, by downloading it and emailing the software to the customer.


Treatment of "." and "," as Decimal Separators. Why are numbers copied from our serial devices into Excel not handled correctly in Europe?

This applies to all our serial devices, including the EPU35x isoPods, EPU452 MF isoPod, and the ER815/ER825 C4D detector.

Serial devices made at eDAQ use a dot "." as a decimal separator, however in European countries a comma "," is often used. This can cause problems when importing or copy and pasting data into programs like Excel. This is because Excel will use the computer's regional settings to see how to interpret numbers, which is different to how eDAQ devices are representing them.

We cannot change our software easily to accommodate this difference in decimal point usage within our firmware. Typically customer provided application software, such as LabVIEW, will be able to use the appropriate separators.

For Excel, the solution to this is when either importing a file, or using the "text to columns" feature, go to the third page of the import Wizard, click "Advanced", then specify a decimal separator of ".".

If you don't see this Wizard when loading a ".txt" file, then create a new workbook/sheet, then use the Data > From Text ribbon button to import the ".txt" file.

Other software packages may have similar options. Another workaround is to temporarily change your regional settings (in the Windows control panel), to set the decimal and thousands separators to "." and "," respectively, then put them back after importing. Your software may require a restart after changing the settings, to get it to notice they have changed.

Profiler and offset did not work on a ER125?

The problem was fixed due regional variations in using a "." or "," as a decimal separator, e.g. in numbers like "3.14159". We are guessing your computer was set to use Portuguese (Brazil) settings, which use a comma, but communications with the ER125 always uses a dot. The C4D App was using your OS's settings, which meant it couldn't understand the number. This new version forces the software to internally always use a "." in numbers when communicating with the hardware.

PowerChom Error codes

When a PowerChrom system stops or crashes unexpectedly, a cryptic error message is often generated. This can be caused by:

  • Hardware error
  • Software error
  • Operating system action - for example an update
  • Other software application


List of error messages:

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.

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


Where can I find a driver for my eDAQ hardware?

The drivers are on the installation software thumb drives and CDs that are sent from eDAQ. When you install the software, the driver will be copied onto the computer.

The drivers are also found on the installation file when you download the software from the eDAQ website


How can I run eDAQ software on Mac hardware

MacOS software development was halted in July 2009. Mac OS Lion (Max OS10.7), released in 2011, no longer includes the 'Rosetta' function which enables old eDAQ Mac software to run. Latest Windows versions of the software can be run on Mac OSX computers based on Intel processors using Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 with a suitable virtual machine software such as VMware Fusion or Parallels.