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Hi Mel,


> - When you say updated firmware, do you mean V.33 or V.37?
>
>
Sorry, I will try to find out, but our last system was decommissioned last
year. Basically, I'm talking about the firmware after the LVDS card came
back from Photometrics with its firmware upgraded to run on Win7 32 bit.

- From what I can tell, C-states refers to PCI Express. Does it also apply
> to PCI?
>

I remember quite vividly that disabling the C-states was the last thing I
changed before the system ran smoothly. Before that, we did experience
random freezes during acquisition.


>
> - Is your Windows 7 fully updated? I'm beginning to suspect that the
> Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is at fault and I'm thinking of reinstalling
> Windows with updates disabled. Just wondering if you have it working fully
> updated then I won't bother.
>

Yes, fully updated with SP1.


>
> - Did you ever experience the freezing I'm describing?
>
>
As far as I remember, the freezes were occurring randomly during
acquisition (and did require a reboot). But not during installation. In
your case, something else could be the cause (I'm suspecting the firmware
on the LVDS card).

Cheers,
Egor


> Thanks,
> Mel
>
>
> On 9/15/2017 2:56 AM, Egor Zindy wrote:
>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
>> *****
>>
>> Hi Mel,
>>
>> I saw a lot of useful info here. PVCAM 2.9.5 is the one we were using
>> with micro-manager before we retired the system (Dell T3500 machine,
>> PCI card with upgraded firmware, Win7-32, C-states disabled in the
>> BIOS as per MM instructions).
>>
>> One issue we had was: no camera found when running PVCAM test.
>>
>> This is because the PVCAM.ini file, which is generated during setup or
>> by RSConfig.exe, is stored in a location that is not searched by the
>> 2.9.5 PVCAM driver.
>>
>> This note on MM https://micro-manager.org/wiki/PVCAM explains what is
>> happening:
>>
>> Windows 7 issue
>>
>> Paul Forscher reported that Micro-Manager does not find any PVCAM
>> cameras under Windows 7. The problem is that Micro-Manager can not
>> find the file 'PVCAM.ini'. To fix this, run RSConfig.exe from the
>> Photometrics folder in the start menu. This will create the proper
>> PVCam. Ini in the c:\windows folder. If that fails, type 'cmd' in the
>> "Search programs and files' box in the Start menu, and then type:
>>
>> copy C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Windows\PVCAM.ini
>> C:\Windows
>>
>> where you should replace 'username' with your username.
>>
>> Note
>> The directory 'Appdata' is not visible to the Windows file explorer.
>>
>> --Nico 11:33, 31 August 2007 (PDT)
>>
>> General hardware tweaks described in
>> https://micro-manager.org/wiki/Personal_computer_setup were also
>> useful. For instance, MM was not stable at all on our Dell T3500
>> machine at first. Then we disabled the C-States in the BIOS and the
>> system finally ran smoothly.
>>
>> Best of luck!
>>
>>
>> On 12 September 2017 at 19:51, Menelaos Symeonides <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> *****
>>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>>> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your
>>> posting.
>>> *****
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I acquired an older Nikon TE-2000E microscope from another lab, which
>>> came
>>> with a CoolSNAP HQ camera (Roper Scientific) and a PCI LVDS interface
>>> card.
>>> After much pain I figured out that this card can only be run in a 32 bit
>>> OS
>>> (only the PCIe interface works with 64 bit, and they are asking $1,600
>>> for
>>> it), so I built a computer with Windows 7 Pro 32 bit and installed
>>> various
>>> versions of Photometrics's PVCAM with the following, even more painful
>>> results:
>>>
>>> Version 2.6.9 - Will not install at all, the installation just stops at
>>> some
>>> point with no indication of what the problem was.
>>>
>>> Version 2.7.6 - Same as above.
>>>
>>> Version 2.9.5.2 - It installs fully, then I reboot and manually install
>>> the
>>> driver for the PCI interface (as is required), at which point the system
>>> freezes. I reboot, and it will not boot into Windows at all. I end up
>>> having
>>> to use System Restore to roll back the installation.
>>>
>>> Version 3.3.1.3 - It installs fully, and the driver installs without
>>> freezing the system, but the camera is not visible using PVCAM Test or
>>> under
>>> MicroManager. It is, however, detected under RSConfig.
>>>
>>> I did not try later versions than that because they do not seem to have
>>> a 32
>>> bit version to download. Also note that I'm aware that there is a
>>> firmware
>>> update for this interface (V.33) and I was able to check the version
>>> currently on it, and it is V.33.
>>>
>>> I've also tried saving the PMWDM driver folder from 3.3.1.3, uninstalling
>>> PVCAM, then installing 2.9.5.2 and installing the driver from 3.3.1.3
>>> rather
>>> than the one that comes with 2.9.5.2, but that also freezes the system.
>>>
>>> Has anyone gotten a Photometrics PCI LVDS card to work under Windows 7 32
>>> bit, and which version did you install?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Mel
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Menelaos Symeonides
>>> Post-Doctoral Associate, Thali Lab
>>> Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
>>> University of Vermont
>>> 318 Stafford Hall
>>> 95 Carrigan Dr
>>> Burlington, VT 05405
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> Phone: 802-656-1161
>>>
>>
>