Yes Paul, unfortunately we can confirm that ISODAT 2.0 occasionally will
not run and that the Version Handler is defective.
Our experiences have been very bad as I document below (I highlighted the
problems for those of you who do not want to read the entire story).
Because of defects in ISODAT 2.0, we have lost 3 to 4 man weeks of work.
We loaded ISODAT 2.0 on a new computer (with Microsoft Windows XP?service
pack 2 was not installed) using an unsolicited CD that we received from
Bremen Thermo-Finnigan and we applied SP 1.43. The software worked very
well for long time. Then, I started to work to set up the mass
spectrometer for compound specific H analysis and to use one of the bellows
on the dual inlet as a reference gas supply for the EA. I used the version
handler 2 or 3 times until one morning it failed. We had all together 9
versions stored since April/11/03. The failure was so bad that I could not
back up any of the version properly. The Acquisition did not work any of
the version from that point. Basically, the computer was unusable as a
mass spectrometer controller.
We obtained another computer (loaded with Microsoft Windows XP without SP
2) and installed ISODAT 2.0 from another CD (dated May xx, 2003). Right
away we got the error message "Cannot find Fibreline". We learned from
Frank Trensch that the fibreline needed to be connected manually to its
driver (Delta 99.inf) and one of our computer support team members did
this. We should have stopped there since it was a sign of trouble. We did
not. After a couple of days of work (recreating the mass spectrometer in
the Configurator and reinstalling methods), we came across other problems:
in the Electron Energy Bar, there was no numerical value and one could not
enter one, and the focusing parameter could not be saved in a file. We
thought that these problems would disappear if we installed various service
packs. We installed SP 1.43 and 2.43, but these problems did not
disappear. So we had to uninstall all of ISODAT 2.0 and begin again. We
installed ISODAT 2.0 from another CD (SP 1.24), created 27/5/2003. This
version came with another Delta Plus XP, not long ago. We loaded an
unsolicited CDs we received from Bremen with ISODAT 2.0 with 1.43 service
pack modified on 5/27/03. The system has been working since noon today so
far.
Kinga Revesz
Chemist, Stable Isotope Laboratory
U.S.Geological Survey
MS 431
Reston, VA 20192
T:703-648-5865
FAX: 703-648-5274
http://www.isotopes.usgs.gov
---------- Forwarded by Tyler B Coplen/WRD/USGS/DOI on 11/30/2004 06:10 PM
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|---------+---------------------------->
| | Paul Eby |
| | <[log in to unmask]> |
| | Sent by: Stable |
| | Isotope |
| | Geochemistry |
| | <[log in to unmask]
| | UVM.EDU> |
| | |
| | |
| | 11/30/2004 03:17 |
| | PM |
| | Please respond to|
| | Stable Isotope |
| | Geochemistry |
| | |
|---------+---------------------------->
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| To: [log in to unmask] |
| cc: |
| Subject: another Isodat issue |
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Listmembers,
Using Isodat, I occasionally run into a problem where Isodat won't run: no
error message, just a second or two of the little hourglass icon and then
nothing (this is with all Isodat modules ie acquisition, instrument
control, workspace etc).
I can always get it to run again using the version handler to restore a
back up, but this is tedious. Have other found this same problem, and
perhaps have an easier solution?
Paradoxically, I've found that backing up the system using the version
handler can sometimes cause this problem in the first place.
Paul Eby
University of Victoria
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