Data Loggers

Collecting data over a long period of time

It is important to make sure that the PC does not switch to a power-saving mode while the data logger is running. Here are the main settings you should check before beginning a long data logging session:

Power settings for the USB hub
Open the Windows Computer Management console by right-clicking on the 'My Computer' icon and selecting 'Manage'. In the Computer Management console click on 'Device Manager'  to see a list of devices including 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers'. In the USB section, one or more USB root hubs will be listed. Double-click each root hub to open its Properties dialog, and then click the 'Power' tab and look for your Pico unit in the list of 'Attached Devices'. When you have found the correct root hub, go to the 'Power Management' tab and make sure that 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power' is NOT ticked. This will prevent the computer from switching off the unit in mid-run.

Power management setting
Go to the 'Power Options' section of the Windows control panel. Set the 'Put the computer to sleep' option to 'Never'.

User profile
To avoid having to change the power management setting repeatedly, you can create a new user account in which the power management scheme (part of your User Profile) is configured to keep the computer on at all times.

Article: KB-207
13 Nov 2007

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