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  • responses to MacReflex system

    Here are a summary of responses to my original posting concerning system
    crashes using the motion analysis system by MacReflex. Thank you so much
    to all who responded and hope this is helpful!

    Jeff Cortez, M.Eng
    UCSF/SFGH Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab
    http://biomechanics.ucsf.edu



    From J.Richards@health-sci.salford.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 09:04:24 1998
    Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 09:05:57 +0000
    From: Jim Richards
    To: cortezj@itsa.ucsf.edu
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    We also have had problems with MacReflex crashing. Please let me know
    if anyone has any sensible suggestions.

    Jim
    --------------------------------------------

    Jim Richards
    Lecturer in Biomechanics
    Department of Rehabilitation
    University of Salford

    http://www.salford.ac.uk/prosthetic/homepage.htm



    From Andrew_Pinder@hsl.gov.uk Wed Jun 17 09:04:30 1998
    Date: Wed, 17 Jun 98 09:40:28 GMT
    From: Andrew_Pinder@hsl.gov.uk
    To: Jeffrey Cortez
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    Jeffrey

    Contact Qualisys and ask for an upgrade to the latest version of
    MacReflex. We have been using version 3.2 on a Power PC for over a
    year with very little difficulty

    Andrew.Pinder@hsl.gov.uk


    From ordwayn@VAX.CS.HSCSYR.EDU Wed Jun 17 09:04:36 1998
    Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 08:59:38 -0400
    From: Nat Ordway
    To: Jeffrey Cortez
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    I would examine two things, which maybe you've already tried. If you turn
    off your extensions and everything runs fine, then this generally means one
    of two problems. Either you need more RAM or there is a conflict between
    and extension and the data collection program. Try turning on one extension
    at a time to see if there is a conflict. Have you noticed the problem more
    frequently with the OS upgrades? If so, then the problem may be linked with
    the amount of RAM you have since the newer versions of the OS will take up
    more space.

    Good luck.

    From etnyre@rice.edu Wed Jun 17 09:04:42 1998
    Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 09:07:53 -0500
    From: Bruce Etnyre
    To: cortezj@itsa.ucsf.edu
    Subject: Macintosh crashes

    Jeffery,

    I have not used MacReflex (although I use the Ariel system for motion
    analysis and live with its quirks), but I use a Macintosh for my desktop
    and notebook computing. If the program works with all extensions off, but
    freezes with them on, you have an extension conflict. There are two ways to
    find the rogue bit of programming.

    1) Use your extensions manager to turn off half of your extensions and see
    if the problem exists. If it doesn't occur, then the problem extension must
    be in the other half of the extensions which were off. Then in a binary
    fashion of "yes" it has a problem or "no" it doesn't have a problem, you
    divide the problem half of the extensions in half again and test it to see
    if the problem exists. Continue dividing the problem group in half until
    the extension causing the conflict is isolated.

    2) Purchase the commercial program "Conflict Catcher" (about $65US) which
    does this process automatically. It also has several other features which
    make it easier to get your system running smoothly, like checking the
    integrity of the extensions before it does the conflict testing. I don't
    have any affiliation with the makers of Conflict Catcher or Casady and
    Greene, who own it. I just use it and have found it helpful for problems
    like those you described. It does take some time to run the conflict test,
    even with the Conflict Catcher program (sometimes up to two hours) because
    after it finds a problem extension, it tests it with all the other
    extensions to see if your problem is caused by a combination of extensions.
    Further, if the extension problem is because one extension needs to load
    before other extensions, Conflict Catcher can reorder the loading sequence
    of your extensions. It will also give you the option to turn off the
    problem extension(s) once it has found it (them). You can also lock on any
    extensions required by the MacReflex software during testing.

    I hope this helps. I would be interested in any other suggestions you receive.

    BE

    Bruce Etnyre, Ph.D., P.T. _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/
    Human Performance and _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    Health Sciences Dept. _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    Rice University _/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/ _/
    6100 Main MS 545 _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    Houston, Texas 77005 _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    USA _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    etnyre@rice.edu _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/ _/
    (713)527-4058
    FAX: (713)285-5329


    From support@qualisys.com Wed Jun 17 09:58:50 1998
    Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 12:26:02 -0400
    From: support@qualisys.com
    To: Jeffrey Cortez
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    Hello Jeff,

    I received your inquiry from Biomch-L regarding the computer crashing
    when you are running the MacReflex and BioPac systems. You also
    indicated that the system will crash when using a variety of operating
    systems. An important parameter that you mentioned in your email was
    that you were using MacReflex software 3.1b2PPC. There have been
    several advancements in this software and SFGH has received copies of
    that software as recently as May 2, 1997 when a package was shipped
    overnight containing MacReflex 3.2 and the plugin update beta31. We
    have further enhanced the plugins functionality for use with MacReflex
    3.2 (which is now 3.2.2). In that same package, there was a MacReflex
    Manual v3.2 for you to use with the new software.

    In an email between the two of us during the first week of February, we
    also discussed that your facility has the most recent update of 3.1b2,
    which is the 3.2 software. These packages have Chi Liu as the receiver.

    Back to the issue at hand. Since you also indicated that you have
    turned off all extensions, I would expect that AppleTalk would also be
    labeled inactive. This is very important since the modem and printer
    ports are both serial ports. If AppleTalk (and other extensions) are
    off, and you are using a PPC computer, I would expect that the software
    you currently have simply needs to be installed and the testing
    continued. However, I do not want your facility to feel as if they are
    lagging behind in any software updates, so I will begin compressing the
    software into a format suitable for transfer via the internet. I would
    expect to ship it to you by the end of the week. Again, I certainly
    feel that the 'bug' you are experiencing was simply from older
    software. Current testing among Qualisys developers and current users
    has shown that a full complement of markers and 16 channels of force
    plate/emg/accelerometer/goniometer, at acceptable sampling rates for
    each, can be successfully recorded without error.

    I am not sure exactly what the response may be toward your inquiry. I
    know that Biomch-L functions to promote Q&A on biomechanical and
    configuration issues, but I would expect that specific questions such as
    yours should first be directed to the company from which the product was
    purchased. If you or anyone else at your facility has questions about
    the installation or operation of the new software, please feel free to
    call/email/fax me directly. I look forward to your response and a
    timely solution to the problem. Have a good day.

    Sincerely,

    Andrew Mahar
    Research Biomechanist



    From j.eggers@mail.hh.provi.de Thu Jun 18 09:12:54 1998
    Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 06:35:03 +0200
    From: "[iso-8859-1] Jörg Eggers"
    To: Jeffrey Cortez
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set]
    [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set]
    [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly]

    Dear Jeffrey,

    thank you for your mail. I forwarded a copy to our headquarter in Sweden and
    to give you further support.

    As I can say from here, it seems to be a memory problem and the software
    version you use.

    We changed the behaviour of the MacReflex software from the version 3.2 how
    the data is stored in memory.

    What you can do right now, is to switch the virtual memory off and check
    that you have good space free on your hard disk. Please do a test using
    these conditions and send us a report.

    Which computer are you using? How much memory does it have? Please note the
    coordinates of you computer in your mail.

    I will forward this mail to nicklas.svanteson@qualisys.se and he will give
    you more detailed help.

    Kind regards

    Jörg Eggers,
    Qualisys GmbH (Germany)



    From GSRASH01@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU Thu Jun 18 09:13:01 1998
    Date: 18 Jun 1998 07:32:35 EDT
    From: GSRASH01@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU
    To: cortezj@itsa.ucsf.edu
    Subject: MacReflex Crash


    I use a 5 camera system, biopac 16 channel analog on a PowerMac 7300/180 &
    7100/80. First I must ask if you are trying to track data while your plugin
    is abled. I had the same problem (crash after crash) until I experimented &
    found that pretty much every time I tried to track with the plugin abled it
    crashed, with it disabled it didn't. I seldom if ever get crashes anymore.
    I collect a trial & do no more than get cast/stick & hit the "A". Don't
    advance it any frames. Collect all trails of data, then quit the program,
    put the plugin in the disabled folder, restart the program & track. It solved
    my crash problems. Good luck & let me know what happens...



    From G.Barton@gaitlab.demon.co.uk Thu Jun 18 09:13:22 1998
    Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 10:10:11 +0100
    From: Gabor Barton
    To: Jeffrey Cortez
    Subject: Re: MacReflex

    Hi Jeff,

    Jeffrey Cortez writes
    >We are currently running MacReflex 3.1 b2 PPC with 6 cameras. In
    >addition, we collect force data using a BIOPAC MP100 system with 16
    >analog channels. For quite some time now, we have had problems with the
    >computer crashing during data collection, which can become quite annoying.

    Contact Prof. Adrian Lees at Liverpool John Moores University (UK).
    A.Lees@livjm.ac.uk
    They use a very similar setup (which I started some time ago).

    Gabor
    --
    Dr Gabor Barton MD G.Barton@gaitlab.demon.co.uk
    Manager, Gait Analysis Laboratory UIN (ICQ): 2625928
    Alder Hey Children's Hospital tel: +44 (0)151 252 5949
    Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK fax: +44 (0)151 252 5846


    From William.C.Moore@usa.dupont.com Thu Jun 18 09:13:29 1998
    Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 10:35:45 -0400
    From: Bill Moore
    To: cortezj@itsa.ucsf.edu
    Subject: Macintosh Crashes

    Hi! I support Macintosh computers at a local elementary & middle school.
    Here's a little run through of what I would look for if I had continuing
    crashes.

    1. Has the system operated correctly in the past? If yes, then you may
    have a corrupted desktop file. This is an invisible file on the Mac which
    acts like a directory. Restart your computer while holding down the Option
    and Command (the Apple or Cloverleaf key). Continue holding them down
    until you get a message asking if you want to rebuild the desktop on the
    hard disk. Click Yes (or Okay) and it will take a few minutes to rebuild
    this directory file. Generally I will restart the computer after I rebuild
    it to ensure that all extensions have been installed correctly (some
    third-party extensions can be turned on or off at startup by using the
    Option key).

    2. If the computer still does not work correctly (and it had previously),
    review whether any new software was installed around the time you first
    started noticing the crashes. Some softwares will install files onto the
    computer that will replace other newer files of the same name. Most
    installers catch this problem and request if you wish to replace it, some
    (poorly written ones) will just assume the version you already have is
    older than the one you are installing. (I have seen some programs that
    will install Quicktime 1.6 into the computer replacing Quicktime 2.0,
    because when the software was released 1.6 was the most current version.
    They did not allow for Apple to update Quicktime.) One program (freeware)
    that allows you to watch what is being installed on you computer is
    MacUser's Install Tracker at

    http://www.zdnet.com/mac/download.html

    Do a search for "Install Tracker".

    3. Check the memory used by the application during your most intensive
    operations. Do this by going to the Finder and selecting "About this
    Macintosh" under the Apple menu. If the memory usage bar is more than 75%
    across for MacReflex, you may be running out of memory during certain
    operations. To increase the memory allotment for MacReflex, close the
    MacReflex program, find its' icon on the computer, click once to highlight
    it, and then press the Command key and the letter "I". (You can also
    highlight it and select "Get Info" under the File menu in the Finder.) In
    the lower right hand corner, you will see two boxes for minimum memory and
    preferred memory. Change the amount for preferred memory to a higher
    number; I like to add about 4-8 megs to the preferred amount to see if the
    program will run correctly.

    4. If all else fails, you may have a corrupted Preferences file for
    MacReflex. Preference files sometimes will get corrupted if a crash occurs
    while the program is accessing it. In this case, check within the program
    to see what preferences are selected, write them down on a notepad. Once
    you have all preferences recorded, open the System folder, and within it
    open the Preferences folder. Somewhere in that folder you should locate a
    file named "MacReflex Preferences", drag this file to the trash and empty
    the trash. When you reopen MacReflex, it will create a new MacReflex
    Preferences file, and you will have to re-enter all the preferences you had
    written down on the notepad.

    This is a listing of the general troubleshooting steps I take for any
    problems that we encounter at the school. These steps generally will solve
    about 95% of the problems we encounter. If you still have problems with
    your system crashing, feel free to contact me at:

    macmoore@dpnet.net

    I'll be happy to discuss other possibilities if these suggestions do not
    take care of your problem. Good Luck!

    Bill Moore

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