Benchmark Dose Software

Installing Benchmark Dose Software (BMDS) and BMDS Wizard

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System Requirements

  • 16 Megabytes of RAM
  • Microsoft Windows 2000, NT, XP, Vista, 7, or 8. Only operation in Windows XP and Windows 7 has been fully tested at this time.
  • Microsoft .NET 4.0 or later. If your computer is set up to allow or be notified of downloads of Microsoft software, then it is likely that that version of the .NET framework is already installed. Otherwise, you can download and install Microsoft's latest version of .NET for client desktops. Exit
  • To run the ToxicoDiffusion model: Install the 32-bit edition of version 3.1 or later of the R statistical software. Exit

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Installing BMDS

BMDS can be unzipped and installed to any folder where you have create/read/write privileges.

To install BMDS:
  1. Download the BMDS install package (ZIP)(41 MB) .
  2. Locate the BMDS .zip file you downloaded. Typical locations for file downloads are the Windows Desktop or the Downloads directory in My Documents.
  3. In Windows Explorer, double-click the downloaded .zip file. Drag and drop the BMDS application folder from the .zip file to the directory of your choice on your computer.

It is recommended that you place the BMDS application folder (and its subfolders) in the simplest, shortest directory possible, without special characters or spaces, for which you have administrative rights. For most EPA users, this will be C:\Users\[EPA user's LAN ID]; for non-EPA users, this could be as simple as C:\.

Uninstalling BMDS

Simply delete the BMDS application folder (if you have write privileges). However, before deleting any files, move or back up the Data and SysData subdirectories to protect any data files or modeling results you wish to preserve.

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Installing the BMDS Wizard

The BMDS install package includes ICF International's BMDS WizardExit, an Excel-based tool that facilitates the preparation and organization of and enhances the reporting capabilities of BMDS modeling sessions. BMDS Wizard supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Office on Windows 7.

To run the BMDS Wizard, go to the BMDS program directory and locate the "Wizard" subdirectory. The subdirectory includes multiple Wizard template files. The Wizard template files are Excel spreadsheets preformatted for continuous, dichotomous, dichotomous-cancer, and multi-tumor datasets. Double-click on any of the files to open that Wizard template.

Note: The Wizard folder must be installed in the same directory as the BMDS executable.

ICF has included a readme file and user guide to the software. Please refer to that documentation for details on running the tool; the documentation is complete, easy to read, and contains numerous tips and best practices for getting the most out of the BMDS Wizard.

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Keeping Your BMDS System Current

BMDS can automatically detect and, optionally, install new software updates. This feature enables BMDS users worldwide to run the latest version of the software with up-to-date fixes and enhancements. For more details on managing updates and optional installations of future BMDS versions, please refer to the BMDS Help file topic, “Keeping BMDS Up to Date.”

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Next: Choosing to Use BMDS or ICF's BMDS Wizard