New install on this PC, but no Functions > Measurement I/O > NI-DAQmx subpalette; how to put it there?

[cebailey]

Just installed LV8.6 on a PC and things look fine except the Functions > Measurement I/O palette doesn't contain a NI-DAQmx subpalette. It only contains the MAX Configuration subpalette. No Create Task, Read Channel, Start, etc etc.

I did go through steps during installation with the drivers DVD and thought I was installing NI-DAQmx. MAX says NIDAQmx is installed on the system. And I can run MAX test panels on a NI USB-6009.

What do I need to do to get access to all the NIDAQmx vi's? Did I miss something during installation or something?

Thanks!

[Hillman]

Hi Cebailey,

Thanks for the post and I hope your well today.

The Data Acquisition palette relies upon two installations: the LabVIEW installation and the DAQ driver installation. When the NI-DAQ drivers are installed, the installer will automatically detect the versions of LabVIEW present on the computer. Most often, the DAQ support for these versions of LabVIEW are then installed. Unfortunately, this means that if you upgrade to a newer version of LabVIEW you will need to add DAQ support for your newer version of LabVIEW by modifying/reinstalling your DAQ drivers.

Steps to ensure driver VIs appear in LabVIEW:

1. Ensure that all development environments being used (LabVIEW, CVI, etc.) have been installed before the device driver. Installing LabVIEW after a driver will not update the functions palette with those driver VIs. In this case, it is only necessary to modify the installation for those drivers that do not appear on the functions palette to include support for LabVIEW.
2. Install the most current supported version of your device driver which is compatible with your version of LabVIEW, and be sure to include support for your specific LabVIEW version when prompted.
3. Close and reopen LabVIEW. You should now see the appropriate icons for all installed drivers on the functions palette.
4. There are several other reasons why certain functions may not appear on the palette. If the above steps do not resolve the problem, see the related links below or contact National Instruments support. 

Steps to add driver VIs if LabVIEW is installed after the NI-DAQ drivers:

1. Open the Add or Remove Programs dialog from the Windows Control Panel.
2. Select the National Instruments Software entry and click Change/Remove.
3. Choose NI-DAQmx and click Modify to add support for your version of LabVIEW.

Verify that the proper menu files have in fact been installed correctly:

1. If the respective DAQ and DAQmx VIs have been installed correctly, their menu files should be present: C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW X.X\vi.lib.
2. The associated menu files should be installed in the following location: C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW X.X\menus\default. These menu files are ultimately what links the installed VIs to the functions palette in LabVIEW.

Also NOTE: that DAQmx 8.7.2 is required for LabVIEW 8.6.

Hope this helps, DAQmx

[cebailey]

Thank you for helping. Unfortunately, I still haven't made it work.

I tried Steps to add driver VIs if LabVIEW is installed after the NI-DAQ drivers:, and selected NI-DAQmx to support LabVIEW 8.6 as the software I wanted to install. However I got an error from the installer saying that Visual Studio 2005 is not installed and it is required before installing software to support Visual Studio 2005. I also got a similar message regarding Visual Studio 2003. I went through this a couple more times to make certain that I WAS selecting NI-DAQmx to support LabVIEW 8.6 and was NOT selecting the choices to support Visual Studio 200x, which I have never had on this PC, but I keep coming to the same error.

I also tried starting with the Platform DVD 1 to (re?)install NI-DAQmx, and selected that option, and when prompted to I put the Device Drivers DVD in. However, this immediately caused an error saying:

*********

LabVIEW 8.6 Platform DVD

 *** Error: a file, directory, or other piece of data could not be found (error code 32)

*** End error report

******

Do the messages sound like the installer asks for the device drivers DVD and then expects the platform DVD to still be there?

Thank you for the help. Any suggestions what I should try?

[Hillman]

Hi Cebailey,

Thanks for the reply - and I hope your well today. Sorry to hear your still having trouble.

I have heard of this Visual Studio error in the past, and it tends to be related to some older versions of DAQmx. This has particulary been seen with DAQmx 8.3 or prior.

SO the steps I would now take are:

1) Uninstall the DAQmx driver - Control Panel>>Add/Remove>>NI Products>>Select DAQmx.

2) Download and Install DAQmx 8.7 (something very new).

Drivers and Updates

http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/fn/p/lang/en

Hope this helps,

[Claire_Reid · Accepted solution]

I have heard of a similar problem as well.... Here is the KnowledgeBase article that describes what to do. Let me know if this fixes the problem.

[cebailey]

Claire, thank you! You seem to have sent me in the right direction. I used the KnowledgeBase article guidance, did the NI-DAQmx install from the driver DVD in my 8.6 distribution package, and now have NI-DAQmx vi's in my Measurement palette.

A couple of points for anyone interested:

This KnowledgeBase article is to help people who are trying to install support for VisualStudio, whereas I'm trying NOT to. It begins by saying:

"Problem: Why do I get Error 2: Failed to perform action NI-DAQmx Integration for Visual Studio 2008 Setup when I install Measurement Studio 8.5 for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008?" But, I got a good result. I wonder how blocking VS support would help somebody whose goal WAS to have VS support.

The chooser I got for what components to install did not look much like the example in the article, and I couldn't find any references to Visual Studio in mine, but there was a reference to Visual C++, and I went into that. It looked like it was already set for "do not install", if I interpret the shading and messages correctly, but I explicitly chose "do not" and proceeded with installation. If I correctly remember all the steps I went through in earlier attempts, explicitly setting this to "do not" is the only difference between this success and the earlier failures.

I did also try downloading the newest version of NI-DAQmx, which was NIDAQ880f2.exe, but haven't been able yet to get it from my desktop PC to the target PC, which has no network connection. My 1 GB thumb drive wouldn't hold it, my DVD burner doesn't work, the IT thumbdrive loaner won't accept the password, and there are flames shooting out the back of my monitor. Well, the last item isn't true, but everything else is going wrong. So I don't know if that answer would have worked. I would like to try it, though. It would be a new experience. I've never used a one gigabyte device driver before.

Thanks, everyone, for all the help!