Chromatography Forum

Hi all,

We have Waters 2690 HPLC system running with Millennium and the PC is Pentium 3 running Windows NT. No USB, no CD rom buring.

The computer is going to die and we have problem to backup data because it has no USB port or CD burner.

Hence we are thinking change a PC which runs Windows Xp. The problem is Windows Xp cannot support Millennium but support Empower. However, in turn, Empower is not support Waters 2690 HPLC.

If we upgrade 2690 to 2695, change the PC running Windows Xp and install Empower. Is that all we need to do? What else (hardware/software) we need to upgrade?

And, do you know the approx. cost for upgrading 2690 to 2695?

Thanks in advance.

If you buy a service contract, the 2690-->2695 upgrade will probably be covered.
Upgrading a LAC/E (assuming you have a pre-model 9 LAC/E) is a flat rate, I think ~$3500 USD. If you have a full height BUS/LACE card in the old PC, your upgrade may cost more as this card will not fit into a new LAC/E. you also have the option of upgrading the 2690 to a E2695 for an additional fee. This would be cheaper than buying a new BUS/LACE card 9which are no longer being made).

All that said - let's look at your detector. If it is a 2487 or other model that has no ethernet connectivity, you will not be able to upgrade it to work with a strictly ethernet LAC/E.

Cheapest, long lasting upgrade would therefore probably be to replace the LAC/E, do an upgrade/service contract combo on the 2690 to make it a E2695 and replace the detector.

Your Waters rep can provide more detailed information, but I can tell you it will not be inexpensive.

Upgrading 2690 to 2695?

If I remember correctly, that cost also about $3000-3500.

Summing the cost for new LACE/E cards, upgrading 2690 to 2695, replacing detectors and upgrading from Millenium to Empower will cost much more than NI USB-GPIB cards and switch to Chromeleon.

Thanks for your input.

Today I found that the 2690 has IEEE port only, no ethernet port. And our detectors are either 2487 dual wavelength or 996/2996 PDA. They are all connected by IEEE now.

Regarding to LAC/E card, does it mean the interface card inside the computer? Is it possible to buy a PCI-IEEE interface card or USB-IEEE cable? I am afraid our old PC (Pentium 3) is using a ISA-IEEE interface card and it cannot be used anymore.

By the way, do we need to change the mainboard/control board inside the 2690 HPLC system?

Hi,
If I remember correctly, if you are running Empower, you must use Waters (very expensive) hardware in your PC for the communication with the LC. No third party IEEE488 (=GPIB) can be used. An upgrade from 2690 to 2690 includes a firmware upgrade that in its turn requires replacement of the (very expensive) degasser! Don't ask me why.

You can cut some costs on the LACE cards but going with an aftermarket refurbished option from U.S. Electric - https://us-elec.com/product/pci-buslac- ... face-card/