Hi, John- In my experience, the two likeliest possibilities are 1) database buffer overrun, and 2) "phantom primitives" that no longer exist but are being treated as real.
1) Protel doesn't flag buffer overruns at all, in any server. It can occur when for instance multiple Polygon Pours are used instead of Split Planes on a multilayer design. It seems that Polygons are handled as a multiplicity of primitives, while Split Planes are handled as single entities. Database size seems to grow exponentially if Polygon Pours are used. In a "failure to initialize" or crash situation, this is often related to item 2. 2) For a design that has been heavily edited, there may be Polygons or Split Planes that exist in the database but are not displayed, or that duplicate existing objects. This is very hard to find, as Protel only "sees" the topmost or most recent object if you try to double-click an area to query existing entities. The phantom objects are not directly editable, apparently because they have been officially deleted/modified, even though they still exist wherever Protel keeps track of electrical connectivity at each physical point of the board. There are two ways to deal with removal of duplicates. First, inspect the design and determine where the real planes/polygons should exist. Next, run Board Info and check that all such objects are accounted for. If there are extra objects, you'll have to delete them, by A) export to Spread / Delete offending objects / Import from Spread. Usually, the Spreadsheet server will also overflow. Don't panic. Go back to the original file and do a Select All. Now select Edit /Move and double click on each Polygon and Plane to cause the "Select Object" list box to appear. Inspect the list for duplicate objects. If a duplicate is found, choose one of the duplicates and move it to a neutral area well outside the active board area. Deselect Outside the area of the moved object, then Edit/Clear to permanently delete it. Deselect All, then repeat the process until all duplicate Polygons and Duplicate Planes are removed. There must be a 1:1 correspondence between the Number of Polygons in Board Info, and the actual Polygoncount by inspection. The autorouter will _not_ flag the extras, however, if it is able to successfully route, the DRC _will_ show the extra polygon as a clearance errors at each point of the polygon. This is the only way I have found to remove Phantom objects regardless of their size/complexity, and is useful for designs where repeated polygon edits have trashed the database. Brian Sherer Foothill Services LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] At 09:32 AM 1/19/02 -0600, you wrote: > > Hi guys > > I have been trying to get a board autorouted (I have done more complicated > boards than this one, although this is an odd shape) and am having lockups > 2minutes into the routing process, etc. I have 2 workstations that I ve tried > running this on, and both have the same result: (running 99SE with Service > Pack 6, #6.6.7) > > Unable to initialize unless I select all the components, pre-routes, and > track, copy them to a new file, then Update PCB from connected copper . This > is an extreme pain, as I have to redo my layer stackup and design rules. > > Lockups after a couple of minutes into the autorouting process; > > Never goes to 100% completion, although once it went to 97%. > > Previously I routed a Pentium III board with very few problems, but this > board is somewhat less complex (10 layers, 3274 pads) this has been an > absolute nightmare! I have burned up 6 days trying to get this to run. Any > ideas? Will I be forced to export to Specctra & send it out to a design > bureau (very undesirable) > > Any assistance will be greatly appreciated!!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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/proteledaforum@techservinc.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
