Signal Run Buffer full. Storing of signal data stopped.

<p>Hi all,</p><p></p><p>I did a quick search and didn't see anything on this topic.  We are using Empower 2 FR5.  We recently had a run going using</p><p>an Agilent HPLC and the run just stopped right in the middle of the run.  The shutdown method executed and the system went to Idle.</p><p>I checked the Message Center and there are 3 messages related to this instrument.  The first two just say Instrument Failure and the</p><p>final one says Signal runbuffer full. Storing of signal data stopped.  </p><p></p><p>Has anyone seen this error before.  Do you know what the cause and fix is?  There wasn't anything wrong with the instrument itself</p><p>(i.e. no leaks, error messages, etc. on the hardware).</p><p></p><p>Thanks!</p>

Answers

  • Dear ChrisY

    We see this error occasionally as well. However we found till now not a clear root cause.
    To my knowledge the signal run buffer is used by the instrument internal communication over the CAN bus.

    Maybe ( but really just maybe) switching off all modules whenever they are not in use will help to get rid of the error.

    How many samples were in the sample set. I can imaging that this can be caused by memory leaks left over by the instrument firmware
    and over time this eats up all available memory in the instrument itself.
    Honestly that pops up in my mind this moment and I will need to revisit the case we had to get some more info .

    Regards Reinhard

  • The sample set had over 30 samples but it stopped at the 14th row of the sample set.

  • Thanks for the reply.  I called support and did another search on the website and there are a couple potential fixes but nothing that seems definitive as

    of yet as we are running the most recent ICS and service packs.  I'll try disabling the signal on the G1316A to see if that helps.

  • I have had this happen several times to me as well. The trick seems to be to create a completely new instrument method. When these errors occur, usually indicates the IM has gotten corrupted, not sure how.

  • FYI: I know this won't help solve the problem. But I can say that the "run buffer full" message is probably the effect, not the cause. When Empower stops requesting data from the system (e.g., when there's an error), the detector's buffer fills up with data. When it's full it sends that message, assuming Empower is in a state that it can receive it.

  • I have seen this error plenty of times before.  It is frustrating to say the least.  The 2 primary instances where we see it are collecting DAD data or a condition column shutdown method where you aren't collecting any data.

    We typically run our shutdown methods as part of our sample set rather than when you start a sample set.  When performing a shutdown method where the lamp is off, there is still data being generated by the detector, but Empower is not collecting any of it.  This fills up the buffer of the detector and eventually becomes full.  I believe it takes ~65-70 minutes before the buffer is full.  At that point, you will get the error and the current run will stop (i.e. it ends the condition column and reverts to the start conditions - which is set to 0 flow rate due to being a shutdown methond).  A work around for this if you need to condition for longer than the 65-70 minutes would be to run several condition column lines in your sample set to continue your shutdown.  We have typically just shortened our shutdown methods to 60 minutes or less.

    During DAD collection, I have seen this come up if you are collecting too large of a spectra.  The only way I've seen to stop this is to reduce how large of a spectra you are collecting.  I have not tried to perform any testing to determine how large of a spectra you can possibly collect.

  • Hello,

    When a shutdown method is specified with an A1100 DAD system, an instrument failure may occur at the end of the sample set.  Additional channels in certain modules that cannot be disabled while the A1100 is running this shutdown method cause the problem. The data that is collected will fill up the ring buffer because the Waters application is no longer polling for additional data while in this mode.

    To eliminate this “instrument failure “and “ring buffer “issue the sample list must contain a zero volume injection plus the appropriate shutdown instrument method should be specified.  This line should contain a method set with an instrument method to shutdown the system. The method on this line will run for the specified run time. The run time should therefore be set long enough to allow the shutdown changes to occur.

    You should not incorporate the shutdown parameters directly in the instrument method that you are routinely using on each injection line because when using an A1100 system, the instrument method stops running at the end of the run time and the system reverts back to initial conditions. Conversely, when using a system containing Waters’ equipment, the instrument method continues to execute after the specified run time, until another injection occurs.

    Dot

  • I've done this procedure for all my A1100s and it seems to stop the problem.  The 'letters' are entered like an old text messaging phone (like mine), 1-abc; 2-def; 3-ghi... If you look very closely at the gameboy the letters are written above the number keys.

    Cliff Mason

    Janssen R&D IT