This discussion really belongs on the main Protel support list, where similar discussions have taken place many times and there is a large body of experience (the OT list, I believe, has a fairly small subscription base).
However: At 06:43 PM 5/23/2002 +0200, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >Maybe I should start off by saying that I am in now way a Protel expert. >Having said this, I was wondering whether anybody else has experienced any >problems with Protel becoming unstable for no obvious reason. Yes, many of us have, and almost always it has turned out to be a hardware/driver problem. That is, if the unstability is serious. Minor instability -- i.e., occasional crashes -- is endemic with Windows 95 and 98; it should not normally happen with NT or W2000. >I have been working with Protel for about a year now, and suddenly, about a >week ago, the thing started to sporadically bomb out. (This happens >particularly often when a print preview is being made, but also when CAM >files where being generated, etc, etc.) Very unlikely to be a Protel problem, per se, but it cannot be ruled out entirely. >Furthermore, I have placed a library on our internal network for everybody >to use, and it has become corrupted in some way to such an extent that I had >to start from scratch. (Luckily I had some backups, but I still lost some >data.) When Protel crashes, various nasty things can happen to open files. Protel almost never crashes under W2000. I think I've gotten it to come up with an exception in the spreadsheet editor, but it is certainly rare. Certain video cards have known issues, such as, typically, ATI cards. Different users, however, report differing results. Most of my own instability problems disappeared when I replaced an ATI AGP card with a Matrox one; the rest went away when I got W2000. >Also, sometimes when I change a footprint in the PCB lib. and update my PCB, >not all the component footprints are updated. I find this very worrying. It should be. >Maybe I am missing something somewhere along the lines. I do not know. I >have sent my PCB away for manufacture. Hopefully I will not need to do >another layout for some time... First, I'd get some serious memory-testing utilities and see if you can find bad memory; swapping SIMMs or whatever, if it changes the symptoms, would indicate bad memory. The hard drive should be thoroughly checked. Second, if no problems were found, I'd recommend uninstalling and reinstalling Protel. All *99SE* files in your Windows (or Windows/System?) directory should be deleted, or, better, moved elsewhere, where it may be possible to recover customization, if any. If there has been little or no customization, you can just delete them. Then reinstall. If there is still instability, try changing the graphics card to one known to work with Protel. Matrox cards, in general, have been reported to work well; there are also others; ask on the main list. And if there is still instability, move to Windows 2000. XP is possible but I would not guarantee it.... Again, asking on the main list will generate more suggestions and information. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
