when using field point I/O points i get error message

[stewbert]

when labview 1st loads and i open my FP vi which uses FP I/O points to specify the channels, they are all greyed out and the error "unable to bind to comm port" is returned. on running the program a second time, no errors are returned. also i cannot get an executable of the program to run without producing that error.
Any ideas?

[SachaE]

Hi Stewbert,
The "Unable to bind to COM port" error indicates that FieldPoint Explorer cannot use the specified COM port for communication. The two general cases that cause this error are that either the COM port is not configured properly or does not exist, or that the COM port is already in use by another program. To check the COM port and eliminate this error, follow the steps below.

First, quit all other applications that may use the COM port. Note that the serial cradles for the popular Palm or Handspring Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) can connect over a serial port, and therefore you may need to quit the "Hot-Sync Manager" program if your computer is configured to use a Palm.

If closing all other programs that use the COM port does not elimin
ate the error, then next check that the COM port is configured properly. From the Windows task bar, Select "Start >> Settings >> Control Panel >> System >> Device Manager >> Ports". Confirm that the COM port you have specified is in the list, and that Windows indicates that "the device is working properly". Additionally, if the COM port has been added through additional hardware, then use any available diagnostic utility that may have come with the board to test the COM ports. For example, if the COM port is added through a NI-Serial board (PCI-232, etc), then selecting "Start >> Programs >> National Instruments >> NI-Serial >> Diagnostic" will run a diagnostic of those COM ports. Correct any problems that are found, and then continue with configuration in FieldPoint Explorer.

Please let me know if that helps
Thanks

Sacha Emery
National Instruments (UK)