Introduction

Saving and loading the CMOS.BIN file is an essential task when working with Yaskawa controllers. It provides a system image that is good for restoring the robot to a known “good configuration” or archiving the controller configuration after “good changes” have been made to the system.

Under normal conditions, the controller displays a message at the bottom of the pendant and an hourglass icon in the status display area while the CMOS.BIN file is being saved. When the save is completed, these two items will go away and the number beside SYSTEM BACKUP(CMOS.BIN) will change from 0 to 1. It is possible for this process to freeze, and the hourglass and message remain stuck ON for more than a few minutes. This may result in having to cycle power on the controller or having to pull the USB from the pendant. Pulling the USB will create an ERROR that can be cleared. Cycling power is the better option.

What Happens When This Occurs

This save error may create an incomplete file on the media device called CMOSBK.TMP. It is a temporary file that the controller creates while the save is being executed. If the save process is interrupted, the controller may not be able to re-establish communication with the media device and this file will remain on the device. It can cause confusion, because it is a file that can be moved to another location and may appear to be a complete backup. On a PC, Windows will normally clear these types of files automatically, but the controller may not.

Some reasons why this may occur: Bad teach pendant cable. Loose teach pendant cable connections Media device not inserted correctly. Faulty media device Wrong formatting on the media device

Possible Resolution – Reformatting the Media Device

Corruption of the USB media can occur from continuous use or user error. If this is causing the corruption of the CMOS.bin file, it may be possible to fix it. We do not recommend reformatting media for use on DX200 and older controllers, due to potential compatibility issues. To reformat the media:

Insert the device on a PC. Find the device under This PC icon. Right click on the icon and scroll down to Format. For File system, select FAT32. (Do not use exFAT or NTFS) For Allocation unit size, select 16 or 32 kilobytes. Uncheck the Quick Format option. Press Start. It will take several minutes to reformat the drive. When it is complete, try re-saving the CMOS.BIN. NOTE: Always use decent quality media devices like Transcend, SanDisk, etc. Some brands are notorious for having compatibility issues.

Yaskawa Recommendations

Refer to the YRC1000 SETUP PROCEDURE MANUAL for STANDARD SYSTEM 178658-1 for information about media devices and formatting.