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confocal PC

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Spurmanis, Aleks

confocal PC

Hi all,

Our 5yr old confocal workstation PC (Siemens-Fujitsu R610 model) has recently bought the farm (my IT staff have diagnosed the problem as being isolated to either the CPU or the Motherboard). We were running a Zeiss LSM 510 meta RGB laser system on an Axiovert 200M stand off-waranty using version 3.2 LSM software in a Win 2K Pro OS. Our Zeiss service contact is telling me that the company will not support this old PC and we're currently waiting for their sales rep to supply a quote for a new worstation. I imagine that the new system would come with an XP OS. Are there any known compatability issues with 3.2 that I need to be wary of? We're also considering trying to source the required parts (CPU, MB) elsewhere and/or running the system from a Dell box that can be supported more effectively by my IT staff (they can source replacement parts more readily). I need to get this situation resolved ASAP in order to effect other badly needed repairs on our system in order to support some time-sensitive work for one of my researchers. Does anyone have a used CPU or MB for an R610 that they'd be willing to sell us? Also if anyone has had experience with setting up an LSM system on a Dell PC could you please share your experiences/insights with me? I've added my contact info below so that you can reply back to me off line.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Aleks Spurmanis

Fluorescence Core Facility Manager

National Research Council of Canada

Institute for Nutrisciences and Health

550 University Avenue INH Building

Room 324

Charlottetown PE

C1A 4P3

tel: (902)- 566-7557

fax: (902) - 367-7539

e-mail: [hidden email]

Haydar, Tarik

Re: confocal PC

I am interested in the answers to this query as well. We have exactly the same problem.

********************************************************************

Tarik F. Haydar, PhD

Associate Professor and Investigator

Center for Neuroscience Research

Children's National Medical Center

Departments of Pharmacology and Pediatrics

George Washington University School of Medicine

111 Michigan Ave, NW

Washington DC, 20010

p:202-476-2383

f:202-476-4988

e:[hidden email]

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Spurmanis, Aleks
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:31 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: confocal PC

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your help.

Aleks Spurmanis

Fluorescence Core Facility Manager

National Research Council of Canada

Institute for Nutrisciences and Health

550 University Avenue INH Building

Room 324

Charlottetown PE

C1A 4P3

tel: (902)- 566-7557

fax: (902) - 367-7539

e-mail: [hidden email]

Roger Phillips

Re: confocal PC

Aleks,

Regarding 3.2 LSM software on XP, we have this running with no problem. But it was set up by Zeiss when our old computer went wrong under service contract. I am also interested to hear other people's experience with 'non-Zeiss' replacement computers for future reference.

Cheers,

Roger

Dr Roger Guy Phillips
Centre for Advanced Microscopy,
University of Sussex
School of Life Sciences
John Maynard Smith Building
Falmer, Brighton & Hove
BN1 9QG
United Kingdom

phone:44 (0)1273 877585
fax: 44 (0)1273 678433
email: [hidden email]
room:2C9 (ext 7585)/lab 4C2 (ext 2734)

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]On Behalf Of Haydar, Tarik
Sent: 24 February 2009 15:19
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: confocal PC

I am interested in the answers to this query as well. We have exactly the same problem.

********************************************************************

Tarik F. Haydar, PhD

Associate Professor and Investigator

Center for Neuroscience Research

Children's National Medical Center

Departments of Pharmacology and Pediatrics

George Washington University School of Medicine

111 Michigan Ave, NW

Washington DC, 20010

p:202-476-2383

f:202-476-4988

e:[hidden email]

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Spurmanis, Aleks
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:31 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: confocal PC

Hi all,

Our 5yr old confocal workstation PC (Siemens-Fujitsu R610 model) has recently bought the farm (my IT staff have diagnosed the problem as being isolated to either the CPU or the Motherboard). We were running a Zeiss LSM 510 meta RGB laser system on an Axiovert 200M stand off-waranty using version 3.2 LSM software in a Win 2K Pro OS. Our Zeiss service contact is telling me that the company will not support this old PC and we're currently waiting for their sales rep to supply a quote for a new worstation. I imagine that the new system would come with an XP OS. Are there any known compatability issues with 3.2 that I need to be wary of? We're also considering trying to source the required parts (CPU, MB) elsewhere and/or running the system from a Dell box that can be supported more effectively by my IT staff (they can source replacement parts more readily). I need to get this situation resolved ASAP in order to effect other badly needed repairs on our system in order to support some time-sensitive work for one of my researchers. Does anyone have a used CPU or MB for an R610 that they'd be willing to sell us? Also if anyone has had experience with setting up an LSM system on a Dell PC could you please share your experiences/insights with me? I've added my contact info below so that you can reply back to me off line.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Aleks Spurmanis

Fluorescence Core Facility Manager

National Research Council of Canada

Institute for Nutrisciences and Health

550 University Avenue INH Building

Room 324

Charlottetown PE

C1A 4P3

tel: (902)- 566-7557

fax: (902) - 367-7539

e-mail: [hidden email]

cromey

Re: confocal PC

In reply to this post by Haydar, Tarik

We replaced our 6 year old, Windows 2000 computer last summer. I believe that the Windows XP system we purchased from Zeiss initially came with the LSM software ver 3.2, but we upgraded it to version 4.0 (which we had been running previously) right away. The price was not inexpensive, but we are under service contract, so exploring other computer vendors was not an option.

Based on comments I’ve seen on this list over the years with people trying to update the computer on older Bio-Rad systems, compatibility of the required (and obviously older) computer boards with the new computer hardware/drivers is not 100% guaranteed.

Good luck,

Doug

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Douglas W. Cromey, M.S. - Assistant Scientific Investigator

Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, University of Arizona

1501 N. Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724-5044 USA

office: AHSC 4212 email: [hidden email]

voice: 520-626-2824 fax: 520-626-2097

http://swehsc.pharmacy.arizona.edu/exppath/

Home of: "Microscopy and Imaging Resources on the WWW"

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Haydar, Tarik
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: confocal PC

I am interested in the answers to this query as well. We have exactly the same problem.

********************************************************************

Tarik F. Haydar, PhD

Associate Professor and Investigator

Center for Neuroscience Research

Children's National Medical Center

Departments of Pharmacology and Pediatrics

George Washington University School of Medicine

111 Michigan Ave, NW

Washington DC, 20010

p:202-476-2383

f:202-476-4988

e:[hidden email]

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Spurmanis, Aleks
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:31 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: confocal PC

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your help.

Aleks Spurmanis

Fluorescence Core Facility Manager

National Research Council of Canada

Institute for Nutrisciences and Health

550 University Avenue INH Building

Room 324

Charlottetown PE

C1A 4P3

tel: (902)- 566-7557

fax: (902) - 367-7539

e-mail: [hidden email]

Mathieu Marchand-2

Re: confocal PC

In reply to this post by Spurmanis, Aleks

Aleks,
I am not aware of any problem with LSM3.2 on Windows XP. But we had a
problem with version LSM4.0 and 4.2 on both WinXP and Win2000 and we
had to downgrade to 3.2. Saving directly on a network drive was
extremely slow (20 times slower, which completely broke our workflow)
in both 4.0 and 4.2, while it has never been a problem with 3.2 and
older.

About your hardware problem, you should know that Fujitsu-Siemens does
not make their own motherboards or any component beside the case.
While checking a few different Zeiss systems I found that many
Fujitsu-Siemens motherboards are made by Taiwanese manufacturer Tyan.
You could try to find the exact same motherboard from them (check if
your defective motherboard has a Tyan motherboard reference, something
like S2665 or S2603).
It might be difficult to find 5 year old hardware today, but you could
get lucky.

Mat

--
Mathieu Marchand
--
Bio-Imaging Resource Center, The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue, box 209, New York, NY 10021
http://www.rockefeller.edu/bioimaging .
+1-212-327-7487 (7489 for fax)

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Spurmanis, Aleks
<[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Our 5yr old confocal workstation PC (Siemens-Fujitsu R610 model) has
> recently bought the farm (my IT staff have diagnosed the problem as being
> isolated to either the CPU or the Motherboard). We were running a Zeiss LSM
> 510 meta RGB laser system on an Axiovert 200M stand off-waranty using
> version 3.2 LSM software in a Win 2K Pro OS. Our Zeiss service contact is
> telling me that the company will not support this old PC and we're currently
> waiting for their sales rep to supply a quote for a new worstation. I
> imagine that the new system would come with an XP OS. Are there any known
> compatability issues with 3.2 that I need to be wary of? We're also
> considering trying to source the required parts (CPU, MB) elsewhere and/or
> running the system from a Dell box that can be supported more effectively by
> my IT staff (they can source replacement parts more readily). I need to get
> this situation resolved ASAP in order to effect other badly needed repairs
> on our system in order to support some time-sensitive work for one of my
> researchers. Does anyone have a used CPU or MB for an R610 that they'd be
> willing to sell us? Also if anyone has had experience with setting up an
> LSM system on a Dell PC could you please share your experiences/insights
> with me? I've added my contact info below so that you can reply back to me
> off line.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Aleks Spurmanis
> Fluorescence Core Facility Manager
> National Research Council of Canada
> Institute for Nutrisciences and Health
> 550 University Avenue INH Building
> Room 324
> Charlottetown PE
> C1A 4P3
> tel: (902)- 566-7557
> fax: (902) - 367-7539
> e-mail: [hidden email]
>

Armstrong, Brian

Re: confocal PC

Hi Aleks, we are running LSM4.2 and the various macros FRET, Multi-Time etc.. without problem on our Fujitsu-Siemens, Windows XP system.
Cheers,

Brian Armstrong PhD
Manager, Light Microscopy Core
Beckman Research Institute
1450 East Duarte Rd
Duarte, CA 91010
626-256-4673 x62872
http://www.cityofhope.org/SharedResources/LightMicroscopy/LightMicroHome.htm

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Mathieu Marchand
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:40 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: confocal PC

Aleks,
I am not aware of any problem with LSM3.2 on Windows XP. But we had a
problem with version LSM4.0 and 4.2 on both WinXP and Win2000 and we
had to downgrade to 3.2. Saving directly on a network drive was
extremely slow (20 times slower, which completely broke our workflow)
in both 4.0 and 4.2, while it has never been a problem with 3.2 and
older.

About your hardware problem, you should know that Fujitsu-Siemens does
not make their own motherboards or any component beside the case.
While checking a few different Zeiss systems I found that many
Fujitsu-Siemens motherboards are made by Taiwanese manufacturer Tyan.
You could try to find the exact same motherboard from them (check if
your defective motherboard has a Tyan motherboard reference, something
like S2665 or S2603).
It might be difficult to find 5 year old hardware today, but you could
get lucky.

Mat

--
Mathieu Marchand
--
Bio-Imaging Resource Center, The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue, box 209, New York, NY 10021
http://www.rockefeller.edu/bioimaging .
+1-212-327-7487 (7489 for fax)

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Spurmanis, Aleks
<[hidden email]> wrote:

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Michael Weber-4

Re: confocal PC

In reply to this post by Spurmanis, Aleks

Aleks,

running the old AIM software up to v4.2 on Windows XP should be no problem.

Getting another PC to work with the LSM 510 is another story. Main issues
are the drivers for the scan head and e-box controller board. That's what
you pay for if you order the computer from Zeiss (and wonder why the price
is x times higher than in a computer store next door). One needs different
drivers for XP than for 2000, so you cannot just copy the drivers from the
old disc.

One way could be to migrate both board and disc to a new computer and run
it under 2000. But this operating system is also not supported by
Microsoft anymore, so it would anyway make sense to upgrade to XP.

Michael

> Hi all,
>
> Our 5yr old confocal workstation PC (Siemens-Fujitsu R610 model) has
> recently bought the farm (my IT staff have diagnosed the problem as
> being isolated to either the CPU or the Motherboard). We were running a
> Zeiss LSM 510 meta RGB laser system on an Axiovert 200M stand
> off-waranty using version 3.2 LSM software in a Win 2K Pro OS. Our
> Zeiss service contact is telling me that the company will not support
> this old PC and we're currently waiting for their sales rep to supply a
> quote for a new worstation. I imagine that the new system would come
> with an XP OS. Are there any known compatability issues with 3.2 that I
> need to be wary of? We're also considering trying to source the
> required parts (CPU, MB) elsewhere and/or running the system from a Dell
> box that can be supported more effectively by my IT staff (they can
> source replacement parts more readily). I need to get this situation
> resolved ASAP in order to effect other badly needed repairs on our
> system in order to support some time-sensitive work for one of my
> researchers. Does anyone have a used CPU or MB for an R610 that they'd
> be willing to sell us? Also if anyone has had experience with setting
> up an LSM system on a Dell PC could you please share your
> experiences/insights with me? I've added my contact info below so that
> you can reply back to me off line.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Aleks Spurmanis
> Fluorescence Core Facility Manager
> National Research Council of Canada
> Institute for Nutrisciences and Health
> 550 University Avenue INH Building
> Room 324
> Charlottetown PE
> C1A 4P3
> tel: (902)- 566-7557
> fax: (902) - 367-7539
> e-mail: [hidden email]