RE: Software

From: Inge, K. Leigh (kai0@CDC.GOV)
Date: Tue Jun 15 1999 - 15:19:51 EST


Just thought I'd add my two cents....

First, I agree with the absolute necessity of rebuilding the Mac desktop on
a regular basis.  I decided to rebuild the desktop if I haven't personally
done it in a week...even if someone else may have done so.

Second, I used to have the "crashing on aquisition" problem with our
FACsort/MAC setup.  It only happened to me occasionally, so it took a
co-worker to keep at the problem.  Several things were done, which seem to
help, including adding memory and some of the other suggestions I have been
reading on this list.

However, one change finally seemed to solve the problem, and I haven't read
a reply about it here, so I thought I'd pass it along.  It seems that the
reason my co-worker had more problems than I did was because she always
collected on an aquisition-to-analysis document, while I usually would
collect on an aquisition-only document.  Supposedly, this left data
"hanging", so in the way of the Macintosh, the computer would periodically
get confused (or angry) and just crash/freeze.  It turns out that you can
create a document as a "stationary pad" (whatever that means) and it
eliminates this problem.

You do get a warning each time you open it, that it IS a "stationary pad",
but just say "OK" and it runs fine.  As far as I know, none of us have had
crashes during aquisition since we all started doing this.  Before anyone
asks, I am afraid I do not remember how to make a document a "stationary
pad" one, but as I recall it was not complicated. I am sure BD technical
support could let anyone know.

I hope this helps.

Leigh Inge

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Dennis Broud 301-594-5879 FAX 301-594-3037
> [SMTP:BROUDD@CDER.FDA.GOV]
> Sent:	Monday, June 14, 1999 2:30 PM
> To:	Cytometry Mailing List
> Subject:	RE: Software
> 
> 
> While I can't say that my experience with Cellquest has been without
> faults, I
> can say that when I have called BD in San Jose, they have been more than
> helpful in helping me to solve problems.  My experience goes back now at
> least
> 7 years and includes LysisII and the old network software that went with
> it,
> as well as early Cellquest through Cellquest version 3.1f
> 
> Many of these problems were not Lysis II or Cellquest problems at all, but
> were really Hewlett Packard or MacIntosh problems relating to operating
> systems, incorrect allocation of memory, and lots of other things.  Quite
> frankly they've never failed to be helpful.  I can remember some very long
> sessions on the phone trying to get FACSNET to work, and recovering files
> from
> my old Consort 32 when a casual user stored a file with no name in one of
> more
> of the directories on the harddrive. (Hint, this is messy, cause you can't
> see
> the names of any files in that directory in Lysis II, you have to go to
> the
> operating system level (Request) and move the files, and that screwed up
> directory can't be used unless you reformat the hard drive).  BD talked me
> through all of that when I was a realy neophyte user.
> 
> Many casual and some not so casual users of MAC's fail to do the routine
> computer maintenance that the MAC users manual calls for.  Things like
> rebuilding the desktop for instance, or using a software package like
> Norton
> Disc Doctor to optimize (defrag) the hard drive and fix faulty icons and
> extensions, etc can in the long run save a great deal of time.
> 
> I would hope my collegues give BD a call about their software problems
> before
> they jump on the internet.  I know that if I really think I've got one I
> can't
> solve, I call them first.
> 
> Dennis Broud
> 
> "The opinions stated above are the authors own, and should not be
> construed as
> U.S. Government endorsement of a specific vendor, nor used in any
> publication
> to indicate endorsement by the U. S. government or any of its agencies.
> 
> 
> 
> 



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