BGMN FAQ

Site map
Up Program Description BGMN FAQ Download Page

Frequently Asked Questions
Vista installation instructions
bgmninstall was changed for being Vista-save. Now, bgmninstall will install BGMNwin in the user space for every user. So, you must install bgmninstall each for every user of the PC. In addition, you must disable the user account control:

Log in as Administrator, select control panel→user accounts→user account control and switch it off.

You must reboot to take this change affect. Log in as a normal user. Run bgmninstall as that user. Repeat that for every user you want. Log in as Adminstrator, switch on user account control, reboot. BGMNwin itself will run with user account control enabled.

Old command line version of BGMN plus related programs: Why do the programs not run?
At fist, you must set up the PC as follows:
  1. Create a new directory in your PC directories, for example with name eflech.
  2. Set up an environment Variable EFLECH which points to the full directory path of that directory. If you are a Linux user and your shell is bash, include the line 
        export EFLECH=$HOME/eflech
    into your .bashrc directory.
  3. Add this directory to your PATH environment variable. This may done by the command 
        export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/eflech
    into your .bashrc if you use Linux/bash shell.
On Winxx later to Win98 you must assist your system administrator, at least for resetting the PATH variable.

If the programs do not run further:
Probably, you have started BGMN (or another program) by double clicking in the Windows file manager. This doesn't work! The EXE's all together are designed to run in a command line screen. At first, you must open such a screen for Win32 programs (Linux: a terminal). BGMN and all the other executables are called in an unified manner: 

bgmn    name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
geomet  name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
makegeq name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
output  name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
show    name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ] 
showger name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
teil    name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
eflech  name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
index   name-of-the-sav-file [ other-parameters ... ]
There is no other input to the command line while the programs are running. The executables are designed for automatic batch mode.

BGMNwin for Windows: bgmninstall aborts
BGMNwin needs (and checks for) a sufficient runtime of Java. Probably, your Windows comes with a preinstalled Java plugin for the Internet Explorer. This is not sufficient, you need a Java runtime for standalone Java programs. Please check if such Java plugin is instaled as follows:
  1. Open a "DOS" like command prompt at your PC
  2. Type
    java -version
    and hit the enter key.
If a version number equal or above 1.3.0 is shown, the Java environment is installed. Otherwise, Java runtimes are available at
http://java.sun.com

How to install the BGMNwin version for Linux?
BGMNwin for Linux is a "per user" distribution. That means it doesn't use the common Unix trees, but all should be installed into one directory (recommended bgmnwin) in your home directory. You need only two steps to get BGMNwin running:
  1. Edit the executable file bgmnwin as distributed with this package, set the directory you have chosen for BGMNwin.
  2. Extend the PATH variable to this dirctory or better: copy bgmnwin to your bin directory.
Now you may start BGMNwin by typing bgmnwin on any local terminal. If it still fails executing, read the comments about Java in the above FAQ.

Attention: If you use an 64 bit linux, please confirm the ia32libs packet is installed. If you use a 64 bit JAVA runtime too, you must confirm having the ia32-java-gcj-compat installed too. For example in an UBUNTU standard system, both the packets were not installed.

Is it possible to use BGMN without a calculated instrumental function?
Yes. For instance to refine synchrotron data. For the instrumental function a formula may be used: 
VERZERR=S/(2*R*sqrt(12))
S is the width of the receiving slit and R is the measuring circle radius of the goniometer. Or, set an appropriate with VERZERR. Or better: Use the learnet profiles feature.

Why the calculated lattice constants are not correct?
Please check the values of the zero point and the displacement parameter. Often a to large zero point parameter with a corresponding large displacement parameter is calculated. As a result the lattice constants are faulty.

In this case the zero point should be refined with a narrow variation range: 

PARAM=EPS1=0_-0.0001^0.0001
Where is the background?
BGMN automatically determines the necessary order of a polynomial background and fits it. In the BGMNwin diagram output is is shown as a separate blue line, please select
Tools→Show Diagram
browse to the wanted *.dia file and select it.

Manual predetermination of background is not recommended.

And the last FAQ:Where does the name BGMN come from?
It was my personal punchcard identification code in the early 1980ies.