Correct VISA version for WindowsNT 4.0 and Visual Basic 6.0

[odin1017]

We have a VB6 application written circa 2000 for Windows NT 4.0. We don't have the software drivers that correspond to it. The board we are using is labeled PCI-MXI-2 and has a copyright date of 2004. This board is probably a replacement board since the software was written before year 2000. I know from the documentation that the VISA32.dll library is required, but I don't know which version of the VISA runtime I should download to be compatible with Windows NT of that vintage. I also don't know if any other software downloads are required. Does anyone have experience in this area. The software and hardware were built by Symtx of Austin, TX which is no longer in business.

[DuncanW.]

Hi odin1017,

Here's a link to an older version of NI-VISA that supports NT: (This version may work for you, but you may need the specific version that was used to develop the code)

http://www.ni.com/download/ni-visa-3.2/389/en/

The code you are running will determine any other software that is needed. You'll need any dependent drivers that it was developed with. You're welcome to attach the code to this post and we will try to decipher what drivers it is using, but I can't promise that will be fruitful.

Since you don't have the drivers anymore, it suggests to me that you may be trying to set up a new system to run this program. Would you mind elaborating on what you have/what you don't have/what this system does? We may be able to offer other advice that will help make this process easier.

Best,

Duncan Waldrop

Applications Engineer

National Instruments

[odin1017]

Duncan,
Thanks very much for responding. To answer your question about what we're doing let me explain the following.
Symtx systems of Austin, TX was the manufacturer of circuit boards we use in our simulators. After
delivering the boards they also delivered a test unit to diagnose any boards which might fail in the
future. The system consisted of a Dell Precision 390 PC and a card cage which connects to it and into
which a board to be tested is inserted. The system sat idle from about 2005 to the present. The hard
drive is no longer operable and the motherboard is questionable. We have a backup disk with the application
software and a DLL of a test executive for which we have no source. The software consists of Virtual
Basic 6.0 code. We have full documentation on the use of the system. There is a suite of about 50
separate tests which can be run, each with its own VB GUI.

In order to get the system running again, our IT group used an older PC, installed a virtual Windows
NT 4.0 on it and loaded the backup test software on it. The system has a 1553 card and the VMI
board I mentioned above. We were able to start the application without it being connected to the
card cage. Our first problem was the lack of the VISA32.dll file, causing the execution to abort.

I am attaching a portion of the Visual Basic source file which you said might help to determine
what drivers we are using.

[DuncanW.]

The best I can get from the txt file that you attached is that this might be NI-VISA 2.0 based on the library spec comment, but I can't say that for sure. Getting the exact same version of the driver is probably not as important as getting any old version of the driver though as the drivers generally don't change a whole bunch between close versions. You can try downloading an older version of NI-VISA and linking it to your VB 6 code and it might work.

Also, you should avoid using a virtual machine for Windows NT if at all possible. In the vast majority of cases, using a virtual machine with hardware does not work. It is possible to make it work, but it will require knowledge of the particular VM software and how to link hardware ports managed by the underlying OS to virtual hardware ports on the VM OS. Even then, I can't promise that it will work with your system.

Best,

Duncan

[odin1017]

Another thing I would like to know is once I get a visa32.dll to use, is it necessary to run \system32\regsvr.exe with argument visa32.dll to register it in WindowsNT?

[JoAl0304]

You can try that procedure if the regular installation of the driver doesn't add the .dll automatically.

[odin1017]

Thanks very much.