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COM9 error, unhandled exception

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EHaasDFCI

Contributor

Posts: 24

Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:34 pm

Post Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:28 am

COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi everyone,

We have been seeing what we believe to be some sort of communication issue between the instrument and our computers. I have included a screenshot of the error itself. We have had this "COM9 unhandled exception error" populate twice on each instrument over the past couple of weeks and at first thought it was a one off. Maybe since both computers were installed at the same time, they both encountered the same code when writing in the CyTOF software. However, COM-9 is the name assigned to the PSI. That combined with some other communication type issues that seem to be 'glitches' leads us to think it's a communication issue and/or a software issue.

We have been in contact with tech support and they sent us two new USB cables for the PSIs. It has only been a few days since replacing these cords, so we will see what happens, but has anyone else seen this before? If so, what was the root cause and how did you resolve it? Maybe it is as simple as the cord issue, but maybe not, so any feedback would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Eric
Attachments
Cytof Error.JPG
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mleipold

Guru

Posts: 5792

Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:30 pm

Location: Stanford HIMC, CA, USA

Post Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:29 pm

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Eric,

Have you tried a different USB port for the psi? I do remember one time that we basically had a port go flaky on us: it would light the psi, but not control/operate it.

We've also had to replace a psi once when it just stopped communicating (switching ports didn't fix it, but plugging another machine's psi into the same USB port worked, etc).

One comment: unfortunately, sometimes the autodetect doesn't work quite right if you change ports or get a new psi. If I recall, we needed to go into the computer's control panel to look at which devices or peripherals appearred on the list when we plugged in the psi.

Good luck!
Mike
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EHaasDFCI

Contributor

Posts: 24

Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:34 pm

Post Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Mike,

Thank you for the feedback! On one instrument the new USB cable is now plugged into another port, so hopefully that's the ticket. The other one, the new usb is in the same port, so we shall see what happens. I'll double check the control panel and make sure that is all squared away. It's a little comforting to know somebody else has seen similar issues.

Thanks!
Eric
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jimbomahoney

Master

Posts: 83

Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:21 am

Post Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:59 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

During my time as a confocal microscopy field engineer, we used a lot of USB and USB-RS232 devices.

Many times, separating them as much as possible so that the high(er) throughput or more important devices were on their own hub would resolve issues.

To view the USB "tree", use USBView - https://softfamous.com/usbview/

Then, unplug / replug the USB devices until the important ones are on their own "root hub".

Image

Here's an example from my (simple) desktop PC - it only has one root hub, but workstations generally have several.

This is just a shot in the dark, but worth a try?
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vtosevski

Contributor

Posts: 44

Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:50 pm

Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Post Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:11 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Eric,

In an unrelated issue (and completely different error message), we were told once by Fluidigm support to make sure all the USB hubs had power saving option switched off. Under "Power Management" of the respective hub, there would be "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" check box and we were advised to un-tick those for all hubs.

I have no clue if that has anything to do with your problem but costs nothing to try.

Best,
Vinko
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EHaasDFCI

Contributor

Posts: 24

Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:34 pm

Post Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:05 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Thank you all for the suggestions!

Just a quick update. It's been two weeks on one instrument and a little over a week on the other in which we have switched to the new USB cables Fluidigm sent us and ensured the USB settings were correct(i.e. the proper power settings in place) and we have yet to have the problem repeat itself. Our overall communication between the instrument and computer seems to be much better with the new USBs. To save others trouble in the future, if you're seeing communication errors, contact Fluidigm for a new USB cable first, this may solve some of the issues.

I'm headed to knock on some wood as I type this!

Eric
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JamesW

Contributor

Posts: 37

Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:59 am

Post Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:33 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Eric,

Actually we have been having this very same error since we got a new PSI unit two weeks ago. Its quite intermittent with sometimes days without an error. I will try a few of the suggestions on this thread and report back if I can resolve it.

Best,
James
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EHaasDFCI

Contributor

Posts: 24

Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:34 pm

Post Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:03 pm

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

JamesW wrote:Hi Eric,

Actually we have been having this very same error since we got a new PSI unit two weeks ago. Its quite intermittent with sometimes days without an error. I will try a few of the suggestions on this thread and report back if I can resolve it.

Best,
James


Hi James, I hate to hear that! I would check the usb settings as mentioned above, as we found one of the instruments to have a power saving function in place which seemed to be turning the usb port off. Also, were the usb cables replaced along with the PSIs? We also received new PSIs in October but used the same cables. Maybe it's a miscommunication between the new PSIs and old cables? Maybe a small component in the circuitry of the PSIs was changed and is not compatible with the old USB cables. Just a shot in the dark!

Have you had any semblance of pattern with your errors or has it been more of a random occurrence?

Good Luck!
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JamesW

Contributor

Posts: 37

Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:59 am

Post Fri Apr 05, 2019 9:20 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Eric,

Strangely the error only seems to appear around maintenance sessions but infrequently, it does not really occur when we are just running samples. That certainly makes it less of a critical problem but also makes it hard to know if it is fixed or not. I have tried changing the USB port and checked the USB power settings. No error for a couple of days but its so infrequent its hard to know if it is fixed or not. If it happens again I may ask Fluidigm if they can provide a new USB cable.

Best,
James
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JamesW

Contributor

Posts: 37

Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:59 am

Post Mon May 13, 2019 4:58 am

Re: COM9 error, unhandled exception

Hi Eric,

Just to follow up on this thread, eventually it turned out that the error was due to a problem with the initial set up of the new PSI. For reasons unknown it was setup on COM10 and working most of the time but with this occasional problem. After it was reconfigured by the fluidigm tech to the correct port the problem went away.

Best,
James

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