Known Bugs

This page contains information on bugs that may prevent the equipment and/or software from functioning as expected (but that cannot cause injury or damage).

For alerts on product problems that may cause injury to people, damage to equipment, or loss of data, go to the Alerts / Known Problems page.

Seasave-Win32  /  SBE Data Processing  / Installation of Sea-Bird Software (general) / SBE 37 MicroCAT / SBE 16plus and 19plus SeaCAT

I. Configuration (.con) File Error in Software Version 1.19 Only

If you select New Style Instrument Configuration in the Configure menu, conductivity calibration coefficients CPcor and CTcor appear switched in the calibration coefficients dialog box, although they are correct in the actual .con file and will provide the correct results for processing the data. However, if you click Save before exiting the configuration dialog box (regardless of whether you made changes to any coefficients), the program copies the switched coefficients to the .con file, making them incorrect for processing.

Example

Seasave shows CTcor = 1 and CPcor = 3 (appears incorrect, but will not affect processing).
.con file (opened with text editor) shows CTcor = 3 and CPcor = 1 (correct, and produces correct results).

If you don't change CTcor or CPcor and  then Save when exiting the configuration dialog box in Seasave:
Seasave now shows CTcor = 3 and CPcor = 1 (appears correct).
.con file (opened with text editor) now shows CTcor = 1 and CPcor = 3 (incorrect, and produces incorrect results).

Solution

• To verify the contents of or make changes to anything (not just conductivity coefficients) in the .con file, use Old Style Instrument Configuration (in Seasave's Configure menu) or use SEACON in the DOS version of SEASOFT. This will avoid the possibility of inadvertently saving switched conductivity coefficients. You can then use Seasave to view and plot the data.

• Software error will be corrected in Seasave version 1.20, which should begin shipping (and be placed on the FTP site) in late-February 2001.

I. Known Compatibility Issues

1. Some users have reported that SBE Data Processing is incompatible with Windows NT when:

• Internet Explorer is installed on Windows NT, and
• Active Desktop was installed from Internet Explorer 4.0.

Problem Symptoms: SBE Data Processing works, but Internet Explorer does not operate properly. Problems include error messages upon opening Internet Explorer, and/or the inability to cut, paste, copy, delete, or rename files in Internet Explorer. Uninstalling SBE Data Processing eliminates the problem with Internet Explorer.

Solution: Uninstall Active Desktop before installing SBE Data Processing. Internet Explorer and SBE Data Processing will work properly.

II. Configuration (.con) File Error in Software Version < Beta 1.2

Conductivity calibration coefficients CPcor and CTcor appear switched in the SBE Data Processing calibration coefficients dialog box, although they are correct in the actual .con file and will provide the correct results for processing the data. However, if you click Save before exiting the configuration dialog box (regardless of whether you made changes to any coefficients), the program copies the switched coefficients to the .con file, making them incorrect for processing.

Example

SBE Data Processing shows CTcor = 1 and CPcor = 3 (appears incorrect, but will not affect processing).
.con file (opened with text editor) shows CTcor = 3 and CPcor = 1 (correct, and produces correct results).

If you don't change CTcor or CPcor and  then Save when exiting the configuration dialog box in SBE Data Processing:
SBE Data Processing now shows CTcor = 3 and CPcor = 1 (appears correct).
.con file (opened with text editor) now shows CTcor = 1 and CPcor = 3 (incorrect, and produces incorrect results).

Solution

• To verify the contents of or make changes to anything (not just conductivity coefficients) in the .con file, use the Old Style Instrument Configuration in Seasave's Configure menu, or use SEACON in the DOS version of SEASOFT. This will avoid the possibility of inadvertently saving switched conductivity coefficients. You can then use SBE Data Processing to actually process the data.

• Software error will be corrected in SBE Data Processing Beta 1.3, which should begin shipping (and be placed on the FTP site) in late-February 2001.

III. Oxygen (YSI / Beckman) Error Message in Software Version < 5.2

1. When processing dissolved oxygen current data in Align CTD, SBE Data Processing incorrectly gives an error message stating that the oxygen current is missing from the input files.

Solution: This bug will be fixed in software version 5.21, which should begin shipping (and be placed on the FTP site) in mid-July 2001.

IV. Rosette Summary Error in Software Version < 5.22

1. If the .ros input file (created in Data Conversion) contains depth, or contains pressure followed by depth, Rosette Summary will use depth instead of pressure to compute derived variables. In doing so, it will treat the depth as if it were pressure. For example, it will interpret 5 meters as 5 decibars, resulting in small errors in variables derived from pressure. 
   Note that if both pressure and depth are in the file, but the pressure column is after the depth column, the error will not occur.

Solution:

• When running Data Conversion to create the .ros file, make sure that pressure follows depth when selecting output variables, if you want both pressure and depth in the .ros file and plan to derive variables in Rosette Summary.
• This bug will be fixed in software version 5.23, which should begin shipping (and be placed on the FTP site) in early November 2001.

 

I. Following are two knowledge base articles from InstallShield covering installation problems. This is applicable to installation of any of our software.

1. INFO: Troubleshooting Initialization Errors  (Document ID: Q104985)

This article applies to the following Product(s): Installshield Professional 6.x Last Revised On: 10/13/2000

Summary:
I am getting one of the following errors during setup initialization:
- Error extracting support files 
- Error installing Ikernel.exe (0x any number)
- Access is denied
- Error loading Type Library/DLL

Discussion
Setup initialization errors can be caused by a number of factors. This is a non-exhaustive list of possible resolutions:

Insufficient permissions on the machine. If you are using a Windows NT or a Windows 2000 machine, you need to have administrative permissions to run an InstallShield Professional 6.x setup. Make sure you have the correct permissions.

If you just ran an InstallShield setup, the engine takes a few seconds at the end of the installation to clean up. During this time Ikernel.exe (the engine file) is running in memory from a previous process; that is why you are not allowed to launch another setup. Waiting a few seconds and running the setup again should resolve this.

Check and make sure Ikernel.exe is not in memory; if it is, and no setup is running at the time, end that task.

Clean the temp directory.

Delete the Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Engine folder and then rerun the setup.

Reinstalling IE 5.x can also repair a number of corrupted/missing core windows files from your machine, so reinstalliing IE 5.x and the NT service pack is also suggested.

Another possibility is that you do not have sufficient COM permissions. For information on how to troubleshoot this see article Q104986, INFO: Initialization Error Troubleshooting.

The other potential cause is a missing Stdole32.tlb file. This is a core Windows file and should exist on your machine. Make sure that you if you get this file from another machine, the machine is running the same operating system as the target machine.

2. INFO: Initialization Error Troubleshooting  Document ID: Q104986

This article applies to the following Product(s): Installshield Professional 6.x Last Revised On: 10/13/2000

Symptoms
I am getting the following error: Error installing Ikernel.exe, access is denied.

Cause
If you are getting an error with installing Ikernel.exe, a denial of access, or any other initialization error, you may not have sufficient COM permissions on your machine.

Resolution
To give yourself the necessary permissions you need to do the following:

Go to a command prompt and type DCOMcnfg.exe. This launches the Distributed COM Configuration Properties dialog box.

Click the Default Security tab.

Click the Edit Default button in the Default Access Permissions section.

Make sure you, as the user, have Allow Access next to your name. 

If you do not have Allow Access next to your name, either modify an existing profile or create a new one that has the necessary permissions.

Apply all the changes and try to run your setup.

 

I.  RS-485 Version of SBE 37-SI and 37-SM with Communication Microcontroller Firmware Version < 1.1c

In the reply to the DataNN command, the MicroCAT drops the S in Sep (i.e., September) in the date.

• Firmware Version < 1.1c: If your data-processing software is not affected by the incorrect month (ep instead of Sep), this bug has no effect.
• Firmware Version 1.1d (began shipping September 26, 2000): Firmware error has been corrected.

II.  SBE 37-SI with Firmware Version < 2.0

The MicroCAT calculates sound velocity incorrectly if you set it up to output sound velocity (OutputSV=Y) but not output salinity (OutputSal=N).

Corrective Action:

• Firmware Version < 2.0: Set OutputSV=Y and OutputSal=Y to get correct sound velocity.
• Firmware Version 2.1 (began shipping in April 2000): Firmware error has been corrected.

III.  SBE 37-IM and 37-SM

Do not set the real-time clock date/time after starting logging or setting logging to start at a later time with the following commands: 

• SBE 37-IM -- #iiStartNow or #iiStartLater (ii=MicroCAT ID)
• SBE 37-SM -- StartNow or StartLater

Setting the real-time clock date/time disables the real-time clock alarm.  The MicroCAT will not start/resume sampling if this happens.

To reset the date/time after starting logging or setting logging to start at a later time:

STEP	37-IM Command  (ii=MicroCAT ID)	37-SM Command
1. If logging is in progress, stop logging.	#iiStop	Stop
2. Set real-time clock date/time.	#iiMMDDYY=mmddyy and #iiHHMMSS=hhmmss	MMDDYY=mmddyy and HHMMSS=hhmmss
3. Reset logging.	#iiStartNow or #iiStartLater	StartNow or StartLater

I.  SBE 16plus and 19plus (in Moored mode) with Firmware Version < 1.2

The maximum sample interval (SampleInterval= command) allowed is 1000 seconds (16.66 minutes). Interval entries greater than 1000 seconds will automatically be changed to 60 seconds. This may be too short for some applications.

Note: Verify the sample interval by sending the status (DS) command.

Corrective Action:

• Firmware Version < 1.2: The firmware in these instruments will be updated at no charge the next time they are returned to Sea-Bird for calibration or repairs. If you require an immediate update, please contact our Customer Service Department.
• Firmware Version 1.3 (began shipping in June 2001): Firmware has been modified to allow a maximum sample interval of 14,400 seconds (4 hours).

Sea-Bird Home     Phone: (+1) 425-643-9866     E-mail: seabird@seabird.com