ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers Firmware Version 1.51 Release ...

RELEASE NOTES

ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers
Firmware Version 1.51

Recommendations for deploying ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers Firmware, version 1.51....... 2
When installation is highly recommended...................................................................................... 2
When installation is recommended ............................................................................................... 2
When installation is not recommended.......................................................................................... 2
Determining the firmware version installed on your ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers ........................ 2

Contents of ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers Firmware Version 1.51........................................ 3
Enhancement in this release....................................................................................................... 3
Issues resolved in this release ................................................................................................... 4
Installing this firmware release ................................................................................................. 5
ACQUITY UPLC system qualification ........................................................................................... 6

Requalification Guidelines ........................................................................................................... 6
Software/Firmware Evaluation Strategy .................................................................................... 6
Contacting Waters Technical Service .......................................................................................... 6

Waters and ACQUITY UPLC are registered trademarks and “THE SCIENCE OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE.” is a trademark of Waters Corporation.
All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.
Copyright  2012 Waters Corporation

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Recommendations for deploying ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Managers Firmware, version 1.51

When installation is highly recommended

Waters highly recommends installing the ACQUITY® UPLC Sample Managers firmware, version 1.51, if
your ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager is part of an ACQUITY UPLC system with firmware version 1.50
installed, and the system's operating software is supported by the ACQUITY UPLC Systems June 2011
Driver Pack.

When installation is recommended

To benefit from recent software enhancements and to address defects in current software versions,
Waters recommends installing the ACQUITY® UPLC Sample Managers firmware, version 1.51, under these
circumstances:

• Your system’s ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager (part number 186015006, 186015046, or
186015060):

o Has firmware version 1.50 is installed

o Operates in an ACQUITY UPLC, ACQUITY UPLC H-Class, or ACQUITY UPLC I-Class System
supported by MassLynx software and the ACQUITY UPLC Systems June 2011 Driver Pack

o Displays an error message on the console when using the "Load Ahead" feature

• Your system’s ACQUITY UPLC Sample Organizer (part number 186015020/1):
o Has firmware version 1.50 is installed

o Operates in an ACQUITY UPLC System supported by the ACQUITY UPLC Systems June
2011 Driver Pack

o Displays the “Transfer Shuttle homing error” error message on the console

When installation is not recommended

Waters does not recommend installing the ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers firmware, version 1.51, if
your ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager (part number 186015006, 186015046, or 186015060) is part of an
ACQUITY UPLC, ACQUITY UPLC H-Class, or ACQUITY UPLC I-Class System where both of these conditions
are present:

• Firmware version 1.4X, or earlier, is installed and
• the system is supported by a driver pack dated earlier than the ACQUITY UPLC Systems June 2011

Driver Pack.

Determining the firmware version installed on your ACQUITY UPLC
Sample Managers

To determine the version of firmware installed on your Sample Manager, follow this procedure:

1. In the ACQUITY UPLC Console, from the system tree, select Sample Manager.

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2. In the sample manager information window, click Configure, and then select View module
information.

3. The version of the firmware installed on the Sample Manager appears next to “Firmware Version”
in the window.

Contents of ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers Firmware
Version 1.51

The ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers firmware, version 1.51, release contains these elements:

• Firmware updates for the ACQUITY UPLC, ACQUITY UPLC H-Class, and ACQUITY UPLC I-Class
modules listed in the table below

• Loader utility, to install the firmware

The ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers firmware, version 1.51, is compatible only with the ACQUITY UPLC
Systems June 2011 Driver Pack.

Module ACQUITY UPLC systems Firmware checksum
compatibility 0x62CDAE6E
ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Manager ACQUITY UPLC only

ACQUITY UPLC Sample ACQUITY UPLC I-Class only 0x39374BCC
Manager-FL
ACQUITY UPLC H-Class/Bio 0x377AE410
ACQUITY UPLC Sample and ACQUITY UPLC I-Class 0x98ADABF7
Manager-FTN
All
ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Organizer All (Same version as in the N/A
ACQUITY UPLC Systems June
Loader Utility 2011 Driver Pack)

For more information, consult the following documents:
• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class System Documentation Set CD (part number 715002124)
• ACQUITY UPLC I-Class System Documentation Set CD (part number 715003160)
• ACQUITY UPLC Console Online Help
• ACQUITY UPLC Systems June 2011 Driver Pack Release Notes (part number 716003340, Rev A)
• ACQUITY UPLC System Operator’s Guide (part number 71500082502, Rev E)

Enhancement in this release

This release implements an enhancement to the injection sequence of the ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Manager, ACQUITY UPLC H-Class Sample Manager, and ACQUITY UPLC I-Class Sample Manager.

At the start of each injection, if the sample compartment door is closed, the needle moves to the current
vial location as soon as it is possible to do so. If the door is then opened, the sight of the needle

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positioned at the current vial location indicates to users that an injection sequence is underway and that
they must not reach, for any reason, into the sample compartment.

In previous releases of the firmware, users encountered no indication that an injection sequence was
underway when they opened the sample compartment door before the sample was being aspirated.

Issues resolved in this release

The following table lists and describes the software issues resolved in this release. The PCS (product
change system) numbers identify software issues that Waters personnel monitor within a system change
request tracking tool.

PCS Description Instrument
Number
25254 The sample manager moves the needle and ACQUITY UPLC Sample
25394 continues with injections when the sample Manager
25449 compartment door is open.
25300 ACQUITY UPLC Sample
When using load-ahead mode, a sample manager Manager
24669 communications failure sometimes occurs. ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Manager-FL
24859 The rotary tray sometimes moves when the door is ACQUITY UPLC Sample
25161 open and the plate tray is extended. Manager-FTN
25234 ACQUITY UPLC Sample
The ACQUITY UPLC Sample Organizer Firmware, Organizer
version 1.50, causes a change in the Z-axis
alignment to the Y-axis transfer shuttle. The ACQUITY UPLC Sample
misalignment causes the improper transfer of plates Manager-FL
along the Y-axis and the related error message, ACQUITY UPLC Sample
"Transfer Shuttle homing error", appears. Manager-FTN

The sample manager's firmware can stop working ACQUITY UPLC Sample
and require rebooting when the following three Manager-FL
conditions are met simultaneously: ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Manager-FTN
1. The sample manager is rotating, to cool the ACQUITY UPLC Sample
rotary tray. Manager-FL

2. A plate is moving between the sample ACQUITY UPLC Sample
manager and sample organizer. Manager

3. An alarm is triggered, or a user aborts a
process.

The sample manager firmware triggers a column-
temperature alarm when a shorted circuit affects the
sample compartment's heat-sink temperature
sensor.

After a running sample set is aborted, the sample
manager needle stops working and requires the
device to be powered-off then powered-on.

The sample manager fails to function correctly when
a high-temperature column heater and a 30-cm
column heater/cooler are both connected to the
instrument using a Y-cable.

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PCS Description Instrument
Number
When the sample manager is idle, the needle moves ACQUITY UPLC Sample
25436 between the “inject” and “load” positions every 30 Manager-FL
minutes.
ACQUITY UPLC Sample
Manager-FTN

Installing this firmware release

To install the firmware release:

1. Determine which sample manager firmware version is installed on your system.

Important: If it is not ACQUITY UPLC Sample Managers firmware version 1.50, do not install
firmware version 1.51.

2. Reboot the sample manager.

3. Reboot the sample organizer.

Tip: If installing sample organizer firmware, deconfigure the sample organizer from the sample
manager before loading firmware.

4. Run the self-extracting ZIP file, and unzip the files to one of the following locations, depending on
whether the operating software is Empower or MassLynx:

• For Empower: C:\Empower\Instruments\Firmware

• For MassLynx on Windows XP: C:\Program Files\Waters Instruments\Firmware

• For MassLynx on Windows 7: C:\Program Files (x86)\Waters Instruments\Firmware

5. When asked to overwrite files, choose Yes.

6. Navigate to the location you selected in step 4, and run Loader.exe.

7. On the Welcome page, select Scan for instruments.

8. Select the instrument you are updating, and then click OK.

Result: The Select the File to Load window opens.

9. In the Select the File to Load window, click Browse, to find and select the appropriate .sft file from the
location you selected in step 4:

• For an ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager, select “ACQUITY Sample Manager.sft”

• For an ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager - FL, select “ACQUITY Sample Manager FL.sft”

• For an ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager - FTN, select “ACQUITY Sample Manager FTN.sft”

• For an ACQUITY UPLC Sample Organizer, select “ACQUITY Sample Organizer.sft”

10. Click Next to begin loading the firmware.

11. When firmware loading is 100% complete, click Finish, and then reboot the sample manager and the
sample organizer.

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ACQUITY UPLC system qualification

Requalification Guidelines

This Instrument Control Software (ICS) package includes software and firmware that is to be loaded onto
your Chromatography Data System (CDS) and laboratory instrument. As with any change in a GxP
environment, follow your organization's standard operating procedures for managing software changes.

The following approaches can be used to verify the indicated functionalities:

• To confirm that the ICS software installation has not affected any critical CDS files and that the
new files have loaded properly, you can perform a software Installation Qualification (IQ) using
ConnectionsAQT for Software, Empower SystemsQT for Software, or a MassLynx IQ workbook as
appropriate on each computer where the software has been added.

• To verify the instrument module's operation with the newly loaded firmware, you can perform an
Operational Qualification (OQ) of the affected instrument module.

• To verify the computerized system’s ability to communicate with and control your instrument
system, you can conduct a system Performance Qualification (PQ) or System Suitability test.

Where numerous identical systems are involved, a risk-based approach to qualification activities may be
an important consideration.

Requalifying the software and hardware when upgrading is covered under the Total Assurance Plan with
Qualification Option in the following scenarios:

• During yearly requalification under the plan.
• If loading the release is required for operation of a new module or system, qualification of the new

module or system is covered.

For situations not covered under the plan, Waters can still perform the qualification, but additional charges
apply.

Software/Firmware Evaluation Strategy

The strategy for evaluating the ACQUITY UPLC Sample Manager firmware involves manually testing new
functionality as well as regression testing of existing functionality. To provide the expected test coverage
and product quality, manual testing comprises component, systems, and systems integration testing as
well as defect verification. The tests provide a high degree of assurance that the new software features
perform satisfactorily and meet expected requirements.

All test cases are performed on computers running the supported operating systems. The type of testing
executed as part of this firmware release is summarized below:

• With multiple Chromatography data systems, Empower, MassLynx, and third party

• With multiple Mass Detectors

• With multiple ACQUITY UPLC, ACQUITY UPLC H-Class and I-Class systems configurations and use
cases

Contacting Waters Technical Service

From the USA or Canada, report malfunctions or other problems to Waters Technical Service (800 252-
4752). From elsewhere, phone the Waters corporate headquarters in Milford, Massachusetts (USA), or
contact your local Waters subsidiary. Our Web site includes phone numbers and e-mail addresses for
Waters locations worldwide (www.waters.com).

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