NI-VISA reinstall

[Jousepa]

I had an error with the VISA drivers, which led me to try reinstalling them. So, from the NI Package Manager, I uninstalled NI-VISA (I probably should have tried repairing it instead). After that, I tried reinstalling the drivers, and I got this error:

An error occurred while installing a package: ni-visa-shared-components (5.12.0.49152-0+f0)
Additional error information:
• The executable returned error '1603' after running the custom execute command
'path='"C:\Users\ACERNI~2\AppData\Local\Temp\nipkg-139e-e24b-5223-1e63\data\VisaSharedComponentsInstaller.exe"', arguments='VisaSharedComponents64.msi''.
If you look for this folder, it doesn’t exist, and there are other folders with similar names, but none of them contain the installer.

This issue has been discussed before, but no clear solution was reached.

What OS are you running? Windows 11
What version of LabVIEW have you already installed? LabVIEW 2020 SP1

[Bob_Schor]

What Versions (Year, suffix if any, and "bit-ness") of LabVIEW have you installed?  If more than one version, in what order were they installed?

According to the most recent post from NI, LabVIEW 2022 Q3 is the "oldest" version listed as compatible with Windows 11.  [This doesn't mean that older versions won't work, but there might be "failures"].

In my own experience (about 2 decades, estimated 200-300 LabVIEW installs), "selective uninstall/reinstall" rarely works.  "Repair" can (sometimes) work, but it is slow, and not infrequently fails.

The most reliable method from my experience is a multi-step process:

1. Use NIPM to remove all installed components.  Reboot.
2. Use NIPM to remove itself.  Reboot.
3. Use Control Panel, Programs and Features to remove National Instruments (if present).  Reboot.
4. Start LabVIEW installation, starting with most recent version.  Reboot.
5. Install older versions, one at a time, in descending order (e.g. 2025, 2024, 2023 ...) if you need them.

Bob Schor

[Jousepa]

What Versions (Year, suffix if any, and "bit-ness") of LabVIEW have you installed?
NI LabVIEW 2020 SP1 (64-bit)

According to the most recent post from NI, LabVIEW 2022 Q3 is the "oldest" version listed as compatible with Windows 11.
Right, I've been working with NI-VISA 2020 but it should work until 2023 Q3. I’ve tried with 2021 but I get the same error 1603.

In my own experience (about 2 decades, estimated 200–300 LabVIEW installs), "selective uninstall/reinstall" rarely works. "Repair" can sometimes work, but it is slow and not infrequently fails.
The method you advise me is really obnoxious. Even though I’ll have to do it if I want it to work, because I’ve tried many other things and there is no way to reinstall that NI-VISA driver. But it’s weird because I do have my VISA blocks on LabVIEW, maybe because I do have NI-Serial.

Thanks,

[Bob_Schor]

I spent two years trying to "add" LabVIEW 2017 and 2018 (all 32-bit) to a Window 10 PC running LabVIEW 2015 and 2016.  Installed with LabVIEW RealTime to work with PXI system (no FPGA).  Consistent failure adding last two versions.  Learned (by experience) that a "Repair" of a non-working version took 1-2 hours longer than the "Remove All/Reinstall All" method.  It took a wonderful NI Tech Support contact to go to the Developers who told me to "Install most recent first and work backwards" (where as before LabVIEW 2017, the rule was "Install oldest first").

Now, when I want to update LabVIEW installations (for my self or my colleagues), I first decide if I want to "migrate my code to the updated LabVIEW version" or just develop new code in the new version, keeping the "old" version for the "old" code.

Case 1 -- migrate everything to new(er) version.  Simply do a "full uninstall" of National Instruments software (including NIPM), followed by download and installation of New Version.  No need to update existing LabVIEW code, as this will happen the first time I open and save the existing Project.

Case 2 -- migrate new Projects to new version of LabVIEW.  Download and install New Version, knowing it might affect run-time aspects of Projects coded in older versions.  Also, be aware that if I open a VI with "LabVIEW Latest" and save it, I will not be able to open it in "LabVIEW Original", so I better have it saved in some Version Control System.

Bob Schor