More info regarding previous post - PCI GPIB card not recognized

[JRK]

My PCI-GPIB card worked just fine until someone unplugged the card and then plugged it back in.  When I restarted the computer, the system recognized a new PCI device but couldn't find the driver.  I tried uninstalling the NI488.2 software, removing the GPIB, reinstalling the software and then reinstalling the GPIB card but this didn't work.  I also tried a new PCI slot but this also didn't work.  I'm not sure what to do...any help would be greatly appreciated     

[LuI]

JRK,

from your posting I got the impression that this setup worked a rather long time (years) without hazzles. If this is true, than you may be disturbed by a bad implementation of early PCI devices and BIOSes. The BIOS assotiates system ressources (IRQ; adresses rooms, DMA) in a manner that depends as well from the position of a device and maybe even the sequence those devices have been plugged into the computer.
AFAIK there is not really a clean way to recover from your situation. You can try something like this:
1. Make sure the GPIB card is plugged into exactly the same slot it was in when it worked.
2. If there is any probability that other PCI cards have been originally installed _after_ the GPIB has been originally installed, remove those and try to re-insert the GPIB card first.
3. You stated that the system could not find the driver. You may search for required files using the explorer and than point the installer to that position. A good starting point is C:\WINT\System32\ or some recover points of the system (depends on the OS version).

HTH   and
Greetings from Germany!
--
Uwe

[JoshuaP]

I would suggest also trying the board in another computer or possibly trying a different board in this computer. It is very possible that when the person removed the board, if they were not wearing the proper static protection, they could have shocked the board or some how damaged the EEPROM that contains the boards identity. This would cause the board not to be detected by the operating system and driver as an NI PCI-GPIB board.

-Josh

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

Another cause of potential damage to hardware is that some people do not realize that on ATX motherboards, there is still power on the motherboard even when the PC is turned off. The PC must be unplugged or have the mains switch on the power supply OFF in order to remove all power to the motherboard (and should usually wait for 10 seconds afterward to bleed down all voltages). There is usually a LED on the mobo to indicate power status.

And of course proper antistatic protocols should be followed at all stages of card removal/handling/insertion as posted above.

Hopefully the hardware is OK and it turns out to be a SW issue.

Good Luck