TROUBLE WITH SAM 2020.11.29 FAILING TO OPEN PROPERLY

Today I downloaded the latest Windows 10 which is version 20H2, with the aid of some excellent help over the phone from Microsoft. 
Once installed, this should eliminate my "Can't install updates" problem - and should also eliminate any Windows 10 corrupted file(s) responsible for my problem with SAM.

If this works, all well and good - end of story!
I'll post again after I've done the install of Windows 10 version 20H2

Robert T. Chisholm

Robert,

Hopefully, your Windows 10 upgrade will fix the issue you are encountering...

For reference, I downloaded and ran your project file, BLMS.sam using the phoenix weather file since I did not have the BLMSWEATHER RESULT 2019.smw referenced in your project. Your project ran fine with SAM 2020.11.29 Revision1 ssc 252 on Windows 10 Pro 10.0.18363 Build 18363 as shown in the images below:

So, the issue is either with your Windows 10 installation or the BLMSWEATHER RESULT 2019.smw weather file.

Hi and thanks for the feedback!  I should know today whether installing Windows 10 Version 20H2 fixes the problem. I'll be posting again about this later.

Meanwhile, if you're interested, you can try running my project with my BLMS WEATHER RESULT 2019.smw file, which I have attached.

You will need to put that weather file in your SAM Downloaded Weather Files folder - and NOT the solar_resource folder (automatically created by SAM when you install SAM on your computer), otherwise SAM won't recognise that weather file.

Robert T. Chisholm

Hi Robert,

Thank you for sharing the .smw file. I tested that file with SAM 2020.11.29 r1 on my Windows 10 (Build 19041) machine, and it did not cause any problems, which suggests the weather file is correctly formatted.

Best regards,
Paul.

Ok Paul, good to know, thanks for the feedback! Very important from my standpoint, because all the weather files I've been getting using Getmerra2 and makeweatherfiles are all in that format - and are all based on satellite data, because no ground-based observational data seems to be available for any of the locations of interest to me in Canada's far North; all are at higher latitudes than 60 deg. North. 

I'm not sure why you've told me (before now) that  .smw format weather files are "no longer supported" in SAM - when the ones I've downloaded to date all work fine.

I note with interest the new version SAM 2020.11.29 r1 - which I haven't yet installed. I also note from other postings that this new version apparently includes an upgrade to allow simulations for bifacial solar PV modules with one-axis tracking. Am I correct or not?

The version of Windows 10 on my machine which seems to be the cause of the trouble with SAM that I reported earlier, is Windows Version 1803 build 17134.1304 (64-bit OS); Product ID 00330-80000-00000-AA378

Why SAM should work with this old Windows 10 version one day - then suddenly NOT work the next day without any warning  - seems to me to be attributable to an accidental  Windows file corruption issue, necessitating a Windows 10 re-install.

So in view of the "Can't install updates" error messages that I was getting (which might eventually lead to security/malware problems), I simply decided to install the latest version which is Windows 10 Version 20H2.
Now I'm in trouble again - this time, with the install for THAT failing for some reason which I can't yet determine! Have to have more words with Microsoft if I can't fix this myself!

Regards, Robert T. Chisholm

Hi Robert,

We developed the "SMW" weather file format relatively early on in the history of SAM for a specific application, and then later developed a more flexible format we call "SAM CSV." SAM continues to be able to read files in the SMW format (along with other legacy formats like TMY2 and TMY3), but when we make changes to weather file related features such as macros, we don't necessarily test them for the SMW format. Your SMW weather files should continue to work for simulations. For a description of the SAM CSV format, you can refer to SAM's Help system ("Weather File Formats"), or you can download a PDF version from sam.nrel.gov/weather-data/weather-data-publications.html .

Yes, we fixed those erroneous error messages about the PV bifacial module option with one-axis tracking in SAM 2020.11.29 r1.

I hope you are able to get your Windows 10 up and running soon!

Best regards,
Paul.