Dear Tyler,
Without wishing to prejudice any authoritative reply by the folks in
Bremen, may I put in my tuppence worth on this subject?
(1) Re crashes, one of my pet theories is this might be a problem linked
to the OS. I'm running my PCs on either WinNT or Win2k-Pro and don't
experience half the problems other users seem to have. Perhaps this is a
WinXP problem?
(2) Re Anti-Virus software, I'd suspect this comes pre-installed on the
PCs and its down to the supplier "de jour" if you get McAfee or Norton.
That said, I've seen problems caused by AV software on other proprietary
IRMS software packages not just Finnigan's, down to the point of the
plain ridiculous.
Example: as we know, AV software doesn't search for "a" virus but for
certain source code strings that have been chosen as unique identifiers
for a particular virus.
The data acquisition software of my AP2003 machines (note to the
sensitive souls at GVI: this is not a slur against one of your products)
generates such strings on a regular basis by mere chance when saving raw
data files onto the hard drive. In other words, on am isolated, not
networked PC that has been scanned and shown to be virus free, AV
software all of a sudden finds a virus in a raw data file that has just
been created a few minutes ago.
Consequently, I disable my AV software package (irrespective of make)
when running IRMS software and scan my IRMS PCs when the IRMS software
is not running.
Even if it wouldn't be for the aforementioned software quirk, I don't
run any AV software package while running IRMS (or MS) software since
the latter require regular handshakes to display real-time beams (or
TIC) on the screen, even when not running samples. All it takes is for
another piece of software asking for CPU / data bus / Interrupt
attention at the same time when the mass spec software wants to talk to
the mass spec firmware.
I suspect you can decrease the risk /chance of this happening by
decreasing the frequency with which Isodat records data points, say from
every 125ms (8 point/s) to 1 s (1 point/s) but even that won't prevent
the occasional crash, not to mention the impact on the quality of the
peak data.
Best wishes,
Wolfram
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stable Isotope Geochemistry
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tyler B Coplen
> Sent: 19 October 2004 19:37
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: ISODAT 2.0 Query & four questions
>
>
> Dear Alexander,
>
> I think many Thermo Electron instrument users feel that they
> have wandered far too long in the desert without guidance.
>
> It would be most helpful if you or someone from Bremen would
> kindly provide information to ISOGEOCHEM to answer the
> following four questions.
>
> 1. What are the primary reasons that an office installation
> of ISODAT 2.0 will crash--an example of which is that
> described by Ian Bull? Specifically, what should users do to
> prevent ISODAT 2.0 crashes?
>
> 2. Do both office and instrument installations of ISODAT 2.0
> with SP 1.41 run under Microsoft Windows XP with SP 2? If
> not, will they do so under SP 1.42? If so, when will SP 1.42
> be available?
>
> 3. Most users should be using antivirus software with ISODAT
> 2.0. However, when we have had any problems with the
> instrument installation of ISODAT 2.0, U.S. Thermo technical
> support personnel have advised us to go bare and either
> disable or uninstall antivirus software. Is this correct?
>
> 4. We saw recently on ISOGEOCHEM that Gilles St-Jean pointed
> out the problems in using McAfee antivirus software with
> ISODAT 2.0, yet McAfee antivirus software was provided to us
> by Thermo Electron in a recent procurement. Which antivirus
> software package does Thermo Electron recommended for use
> with ISODAT 2.0?
>
> Thank you in advance for your answers,
>
> Tyler Coplen
> U.S. Geological Survey
> 431 National Center
> Reston, VA 20192
> 1 703-648-5862
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
> Alexander Paul
> Duhr To:
> [log in to unmask]
> <aduhr@THERMOFINN cc:
> IGANMAT.DE> Subject:
> Delta loosing signal - Statement from Bremen
> Sent by: Stable
> Isotope
> Geochemistry
> <[log in to unmask]
> UVM.EDU>
>
>
> 03/04/2002 11:36
> AM
> Please respond to
> Stable Isotope
> Geochemistry
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Isotopers,
>
> This is to assure everybody on the list that the problem of
> "losing signal for one cup during one run" has been noticed
> and will be solved immediately.
>
> The phenomenon was reported recently by a user controlling
> his Delta+XL with IsoDat"old". This together with the recent
> reportings on the Isogeochem listserver led us to the
> conclusion that the problem has to be sought in the mass
> spectrometer controller itself - it is not a problem of the
> IsoDat software may it be old or new.
>
> I hereby like to encourage all users who face this problem
> not to hit the reply button but to contact our local service
> manager Peter Haubold at [log in to unmask] or me
> via email in order to find an appropriate solution. Please
> state Service Number and date of purchase in your email.
>
> with best regards
>
> Alexander Duhr
> ThermoFinniganMAT GmbH
> Bremen
> Germany
>
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