LabVIEW 7.1.1 & Matlab R2006a scriptnode problems

[fphart]

I have previsously done some VI development using Matlab script nodes with LabVIEW 7.1.1 and Matlab R14SP1 (the student version) on a laptop computer, and now I am planning to deploy that VI on another computer to take production-quality measurements.  The new computer is under IT software control and came with LabVIEW 7.1 and Matlab R2006a.  I was able to patch up to LabVIEW 7.1.1 (I thought I needed to do this since I'd had to do it on my own computer), but when I attempt to mass compile, I am getting hung up in the Matlab script node VI that attempts to solve the Lorenz differential equation.  Unlike what some other folks have observed, when the hang in mass compilation occurs, the Windows Installer program is running and also hanging. 

After killing off the installer program using the task manager (which also closed LabVIEW), I re-ran LabVIEW and attempted to run just the Matlab script node for the Lorenz equation.  Again I see the Windows Installer open (no VI opened), but then it hangs again.

Any useful advice will be appreciated.  The only requirements are that I must run LabVIEW 7.1 and Matlab R2006a.  I tried the advice in KB article 300A6NDT but found that it was not useful for my problem (plus, it appears the files in 7.1.1 are already later versions than those from the KB article).  Also, I tried running just Matlab standalone first, but I get the same Windows Installer hang as before.  I can try to "remove the 7.1.1 patch" and go back to a vanilla 7.1 installation, but I need a crisply written summary for how to do it.  A search in the KB got me something like 1,600 hits, and I don't plan to sift through that haystack looking for the needle.

[Chris_Cilino]

fphart,

Are you logged in as an administrator? If not, being logged in as an admin may solve the problem. Let us know.

Chris C

[fphart]

Chris,

I do have administrator's rights, so I don't think that's the problem.

[Chris_Cilino]

fphart,
So the easiest way to go about going back to 7.1 is to uninstall 7.1.1 (from add remove programs) and then to just reinstall 7.1. And from the sounds of it, something screwey is going on so a reinstall is probably in order.

One last thing... you mentioned that " the new computer is under IT software control". Do you think this could be causing the problem? Was the other computer also under software control?

Chris C

[fphart]

Chris,

The IT guys have a fair degree of control over my laptop also.  They installed LabVIEW 7.1 on both machines using essentially the same enterprise installation method, and both machines run Windows XP.  The only substantive difference I can see is that my laptop is using the Matlab Student Version 7.01 -- which I installed myself -- while the other machine is using Matlab R2006a, which was installed using the enterprise installation (i.e. remote install) method.  I have administrator's rights on both machines, though, which is why I was able to install the LabVIEW 7.1.1 upgrade on both machines.  Thanks for the help; I'll remove the patches and ask the IT guys to re-install LabVIEW. 

One thing for the LabVIEW developers to consider:  I do not know in which order the software was installed on the new machine, but I had Matlab installed on the laptop before having LabVIEW installed.  So if there are any registry settings or the like that LabVIEW's installation software identifies by scanning for installed math software at the time of installation, this could be part of the problem, and that's something the developers should look into.  After the re-install of LabVIEW, it will have been installed in the presence of an existing Matlab installation as well.  So this re-installation will be one anecdotal data point that might support my hypothesis.  I'll add a post about how the machine behaves after the re-installation.

[fphart]

No, I'm not back to give the post-install report.  Instead, I'm going to report a screwy observation:  When I go to the "Add or Remove Programs" applet in the Control Panel,
Windows does not list LabVIEW as one of the installed programs (on the new machine)!  Per the previous advice, I was planning to uninstall and then ask the IT guys to
re-install LabVIEW 7.1.  Now I'll have to ask them to handle the uninstallation as well....

[Chris_Cilino]

fphart,

Labview won't appear as it's own sperate item in that list.... you have to go to the NI Software category and select "remove". A new dialogue will appear with all NI components installed.

Chris C

[fphart]

Chris -- beg to differ with you.  On my laptop, "LabVIEW 7.1" does appear as a separately installed item.  There is also a separate "National Instruments Software" item, which I'm
assuming pertains to the Measurement & Automation Explorer, various IEEE 488 drivers, etc. etc.  Since the LabVIEW installation was presumably done via the same source over the network (we have a site license), it seems to me that the machine in question should have had the separate program item for LabVIEW, too.

[JLS]

Hello,

I just wanted to chime in on the issue regarding seeing LabVIEW 7.1 as a separate program under Add/Remove Programs.  I wonder if this can happen if more than one administrator accounts have installed different pieces of NI software... just speculation at this point.  I think Chris was legitimately observing his and perhaps many others' machines - many people will indeed see LabVIEW 7.1 listed within the National Instruments Software change list, and not separately - I can personally corroborate this.  I would be interested to know if you also see LabVIEW 7.1 listed under National Instruments Software - click to highlight National Instruments Software  and then click Change to see the list... is it there as well?

Best Regards,

JLS

[fphart]

Well, we've done a re-install of LabView 7.1, and we're seeing the same behavior when we try the Lorenz differential equation scriptnode -- the Windows Installer starts up and the box is hung.  However, in a conversation with the IT folks, one interesting bit of information slipped out:  Their installation of Matlab R2006 does not install at the C:\ directory level, as would a CD install out of a box.  Instead, they are following the recommendations (dictates?) of Microsoft and installing it as a subdirectory under the C:\Program Files\ directory. 

So a question to the LabView support folks and developers:  Could this location of the code elsewhere from the standard installation be giving LabView fits?  Is there some registry key or other golden nugget of data I can look at and perhaps modify to fix things?  The next step for the IT people is to attempt a Matlab installation at the standard directory location.  However, as yet I've heard nothing about their progress on that.