MASsoft and ESPsoft set up (concluded)
The "specific problem" information represents experience setting up communications between a Hiden instrument and a PC.
It is possible, however, that your problem resists a listed solution.....
If none of the "specific problem" information helps ..... If all else fails consider re-installing Windows. The safest way to do this, if you have enough disk space, is to install Windows in a different folder, ie \WIN instead of \WINDOWS. SETUP on the installation disks will say that it has found a copy of Windows installed in the WINDOWS folder. Change the folder to WIN and install as normal. NOTE Programs in the Program Files folder may be overwritten by the installation. IMPORTANT Back up any important files before re-installing Windows If you wish to revert to the previous version in WINDOWS run setup again and repeat the process in reverse. Windows NT allows you to select which version you boot up. If you do not have enough disk space then delete the WINDOWS folder before re-installing. Be sure that you have noted the screen driver used any any other special device drivers (eg the CDROM, display, sound and network card drivers) and are sure that you have the disks with these drivers on before you do so. If you have upgrade disks you will have to re-install your old version of Windows before you install the current version If you have any Service Packs installed you will have to re-install these. Once you have installed Windows you can start re-installing your applications, one by one, to see if these are causing a problem. Although these programs will still be present in the Program Files folder they will need re-installing because their DLL files will not be installed in the new Windows System folder and their registry or INI file entries will not be present. When you are satisfied with new version you can delete the old WINDOWS directories Re-installing Windows may be the only way to fix corrupted device drivers, as installing Windows over the top of a previous version will only replace the device driver if it is out of date. Re-installation has fixed problems such as COM1: and COM2: being permenantly unavailable.
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Some notes on crashes. Remember that when the PC loses communication or crashes the MSIU will carry on operating until its data buffer is full. This may be ok if the MSIU is running process control trips, but usually it is not. When you re-start MASsoft and re-start the scan, MASsoft will send a command to delete all scans in the MSIU which will stop the scan and data tasks. Usually this is successful and operation can continue. Occasionally it fails, leaving devices locked, and then you must reset the MSIU. Following a PC crash it is best to reset the MSIU before re-starting MASsoft. Reset the MSIU either by using the reset button on the rear of the large (6U or 7U ) MSIU or by switching the MSIU off for 5s. If you are using Event Sequences the event sequence will not be stopped if the PC crashes before the end of the scan. This can result in MASsoft modifying events while the sequence is still running, which will produce error messages and might crash the MSIU. You may also end up with the same Event Sequence running twice simultaneously. Remember that there are two ends to the network link, the PC and the MSIU, and that either may crash. Restarting MASsoft, restarting Windows or re-booting the PC does NOT reset the MSIU. If you want to find out if the MSIU has crashed connect a PC to the MSIU via RS232 and use Terminal in the Hiden Applications group from Windows. If you can not escape from MASsoft to run Terminal then re-boot the PC, which will not affect the MSIU. Type HELP. If Terminal displays HHEELLPP (i.e. double character echo) as you type and an error message when you press Return then the MSIU has crashed. Don't forget to disconnect any test RS232 cable afterwards.
SYMPTOM HideNet will not communicate with a crashed MSIU.
SOLUTION If a PC crashes while communicating with an MSIU via the LAN, no other PC can communicate with the MSIU until either the crashed PC is re-booted, MASsoft restarted and exited or the MSIU is reset. This does not apply to RS232 links. It is quite acceptable to use RS232 link to check the operation of an MSIU at the same time as the MSIU is communicating via Ethernet. If the MSIU is acquiring data, restrict yourself to using enquiry functions like lget & pget. Don't alter any values used in scanning, and don't forget to disconnect the RS232 cable afterwards. If you type help followed by Return, you will get a list of commands available.
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If you still have problems. If you have any other problems please contact your local Hiden representative.
Please give as much information as possible.
Written notes made at the time the problem occurred are most useful. Note at what stage of installation or execution the problem occured. Note the sequence of Menus and commands used and the exact error message given by any dialogue boxes. Is the problem reproducible? How often does it occur? Were any other programs in use at the time? A copy or print out of the HIDEN.INI SYSTEM.INI and PROTOCOL.INI files in the WINDOWS folder can be useful. Likewise for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Please give details of your PC (manufacturer, model, CPU , expansion bus type ISA/EISA/PCI/VESA and RAM size) and any expansion cards used.
  
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