Chromelon 6.80 bugs?

[Chrom_Admin]

Hi together,
we have Chromeleon 6.80 (Build 2212) running with some Agilent 1100 HPLC and Agilent 6890.. We got a client/server environment with Win XP running on the IPCs (Win Server 2003 SR1 on the TS) and CITRIX Presentation Server running in a GMP enviroment. We have some problems with our system:
a) we have often exactly the same retention time in multiple injections (up to the fifth digt)
b) we've got connect problems to different timebases with no special reason (the only workaround is to restart the IPC)
c) after a "blank" run Chromeleon forget to inject, all following samples "unknowns" are not injected
d) when running "Manual Aquisition" in the panel (HPLC 1100) it's not always possible to stop it properly, the time is running on and the "blue" button is grey...

Does anybody else do have similar problems?
Or a proper "workaround"?
DIONEX tries to help, but they claim that we are the only ones...

Thanks so far..

[unmgvar]

Hi Chrom_Admin,

can you give more details? i can't claim to be more help then the Dionex people but i will try.

for A) unless those 5 digit chromatogram do not align with one each other when overlaid, then it only means that your overall system was very stable. i can't see a problem there.

for the other points we would need to go also over your instrument audit trail.
what type of communication errors do you get for B? do you have local clients on your IPC's. maybe it is the network at fault there and not the communication between the hplc to the IPC.

after the blank do you get an abort or does it indefitnely continues the blank run? do you get an audit trail message?

by manual acquisiton you mean that you activated an acquisistion via the panel and not via a sequence? if so do all other button like stop flow, hold and continue also go grey? if they do then check as well what is the status of the user toward the instrument. is it in a monitor only mode?

Do some of those behavior happen with specific users or not. seems a weird question for now but it might be an option as well. i had that in the past. some users have "bad carma" because they are computer non-friendly" and they do all kind of weird stuff that nobody thought possible even in the worst nightmare.

[Chrom_Admin]

Hi unmgvar,

A) we have old (unstable) HPLC-methods and do normally (with the old data system) have a drift or shift in retention times! If you have e.g. a retention time 20.34556 min 5 times, thats a little freaky
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Confused
We adjust the data rate ("step") to 20 Hz and nothing really changes!
B) we get NO message in the audit trail! We don't have clients on our IPC. Our network is very stable / state of the art. The strange thing is: we can "ping" the HPLC so the LAN connection is o.k.

C) after the blank run the sequence goes on as nothing had happened, in the Audit Trail we have a normal "Inject" message unless the Injector isn't injecting! So we don't trust the audit trail any more!

Thanks for your reply... DIONEX is working on the problems... I'm interessted if other user have similar problems with the Chromeleon (6.8?) and Agilent HPLC!

[GasMan]

Chrom_Admin,

You say that you can ping the HPLC, so your LAN connection is OK. Be careful. If you ping the IP address of the HPLC and you get a reply does not always mean that everything is correct. If you are working in a large company with many instruments having IP addresses, it is always possible that another piece of equipment has been set up with the same IP address, and it is this equipment that is returning the ping. To be 100% sure, I would remove the LAN cable from the HPLC and then send your ping message. If you do not get a reply, you can then be sure that the IP address that you use is only assigned to the HPLC and your original assumption is then correct, the LAN is OK.

I also spent some time troubleshooting a GC problem only to find that another lab had set up a new GC with the same IP address........

Gasman

[unmgvar]

Chrom_Admin

i would not bother too much about A. if you do the translation 0.01 min is 0.6 secs. we report RT 00.00 min. being more accurate would be like treating our peak as olympic 100 meter dash runners .
also it is possible that something has changed in your lab that is bringing more stability to your method and you have not payed attention to it.

For B's case it possible that something else is also causing connection problems. check if your IPC and/or data server have any type of updaters that are automatics. they could potentiallhy cause com. problems. anyway all O/S updates and antivirus updates should be scheduled by IT to specific low work load times of your labs and the labs must be notified about those times. on week ends is generally best.

hope this helps

regarding C with the fake inject response, i did manage to create such a bug myself with a dionex instrument. i played around too much with the PGM and made a key change in the setting of my autosampler ASI 100. i switched the InjectMode from normal to mix. because it was saved in the memory of the sampler it did not matter that i used another PGM after that because i did not reset the samper back.
i would "force reset" the default setting of the samplers of the instruments where you get this problem and inject with a new PGM to see if it makes a change.

[Chrom_Admin]

Hi GasMan,

thanks for the reply , but we checked all this things already... The ping is defenetly from the "disconnected" HPLC system , so the TCP/IP prtocol is working.

[Chrom_Admin]

Hi unmgvar,

A) we have an explanation for the "ret.time" subject: Chromeleon is calculating the RT "only" from the highest datapoint, where other software (ChemStation / Empower) determine the peak apex by a quadratic equation... so you get a higher rsd in the second caise!

B) we have (GMP environment) fixed patch days (at the weekend) for our OS and check each new patch before. all Server / Client system are "identically", this thing hasn't change after a patch or update.

C) i checked the sampler configuration... we don't have "inject mode" command for our agilent 1100 to change (or something similar), this problem occures with different PGM in different SEQ, so there seems to be no relation with the PGM, DIONEX is working on a driver update (they confirm the driver problem..)

thanks a lot
Chrom_Admin