Procedure to change vi's to a new PC

[linus77]

Hello all

I am working with a manipulator which runs with NI-PXI 8102rt controller on PXI 1031 chassis, I am provided with a labview interface from where I can give commands to move the manipulator.  I want to transfer all the labview Vi's  to a new PC (with labview 2013) from the present PC running windows-xp (labview 2009) and operate Parallel manipulator from new PC. There are  some Vi's and sub Vi's (mainRT.vi, FPGA vi etc.,) running under PXI-8102rt target . Please let me know, what all drivers I will need to transfer vi's to  my new PC and Is there any particular proceedure I have to follow, to transfer labview vi's from one PC to other?  

Thanks and Regards.

[Bob_Schor]

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@linus77 wrote:

Hello all

I am working with a manipulator which runs with NI-PXI 8102rt controller on PXI 1031 chassis, I am provided with a labview interface from where I can give commands to move the manipulator.  I want to transfer all the labview Vi's  to a new PC (with labview 2013) from the present PC running windows-xp (labview 2009) and operate Parallel manipulator from new PC. There are  some Vi's and sub Vi's (mainRT.vi, FPGA vi etc.,) running under PXI-8102rt target . Please let me know, what all drivers I will need to transfer vi's to  my new PC and Is there any particular proceedure I have to follow, to transfer labview vi's from one PC to other?  

Thanks and Regards.

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I am going to assume the "new PC" running LabVIEW 2013 is also running Windows 7, either 32- or 64-bit.  I'm also assuming that LabVIEW 2013 is 32-bit, regardless of the version of the OS.  Finally, I'm assuming you have access to the Installation media,  particularly the Device Drivers DVD(s).

The first thing to check is the LabVIEW Installation.  Your original 2009 was running LabVIEW RT, so you will need this Toolkit also installed on the newer system.

Is your existing LabVIEW code contained within a LabVIEW Project?  [I suspect the answer is "Yes", as I'm not sure how, once Project was introduced, you could manage code development and deployment with LabVIEW RT).

One of the first things you will need to do is to update your Drivers to LabVIEW 2013, both on your PC and on your PXI.  As you have a "new" PC, you've probably already done this, but you'll also need to do this for your PXI Target.  If you want to be "extra-special careful" before doing this, backup the PXI's entire hard drive (I sometimes remove it and make a full disk backup before putting it back in the PXI).  You install the new software on the PXI with MAX.  I'm not sure if you'll have to do a "bare-metal" reinstallation of code on the PXI -- if so, a call to NI Support might be warranted if you can't find detailed information on MAX.

Can MAX "see" the PXI when you ask it to search for Remote Systems?  If so, click the Remote's Software Tab, and get MAX to update its drivers.

Once your hardware is ready, open your Project in LabVIEW 2013 and see what compiles and what doesn't.  With luck, you won't have too many changes to make -- some functions may have been deprecated (if you see any "pink" ones, I recommend trying to replace them with the suggested "modern" versions), and some may have been replaced, but they'll show up as errors, and you should be able to figure out the work-around.

If you get stuck with a particular piece of code, post the code here and we'll try to help you sort through it.

Bob Schor

[linus77]

Hello Bob

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, you are correct, I have labview 2013, 32-bit  running in windows-7 in new PC. I have 2013 labview installation media (DVD's).

Can I just copy the  vi's and upgarde the vi's to 2013?  or Can I install Labview 2009 in my new pc and transfer labview vi's ?? ( I don't have installation DVD's for labview 2009).

Yes, existing Labview code is under labview project and it was already there when I started working.

I can't see entire  'Remote Systems'  in MAX in my old PC. Attachement shows the 'MAX' window in my old PC. How to fix this?

Is it the only way I can upgrade PXI drivers (from MAX)?? and 

Do I have to remove the controller from chassis to backup hard drive of PXI? 

sunil

[Bob_Schor]

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@linus77 wrote:

Yes, you are correct, I have labview 2013, 32-bit  running in windows-7 in new PC. I have 2013 labview installation media (DVD's).

Can I just copy the  vi's and upgarde the vi's to 2013?  or Can I install Labview 2009 in my new pc and transfer labview vi's ?? ( I don't have installation DVD's for labview 2009).

When LabVIEW code (say, Version 2009) is opened in a more recent version of LabVIEW (say LabVIEW 2013) and then saved, it will be saved in the format of the new Version, and can no longer be opened by the old Version.  That's #1.  #2 is that you cannot (or, at least, I've never been able to) install an older version of LabVIEW in place with a newer one.  Whenever I needed an older version, I either (a) wiped all LabVIEW installations and started over, oldest to newest, or (b) (which I now do) create a VM and install the older version.

Yes, existing Labview code is under labview project and it was already there when I started working.

Whew!  Then it has (almost surely) already been "converted" (by being saved) to LabVIEW 2013.  I assume that when you open (most) VIs, the Run Arrow is clear, indicating no LabVIEW errors.

I can't see entire  'Remote Systems'  in MAX in my old PC. Attachement shows the 'MAX' window in my old PC. How to fix this?

Is it the only way I can upgrade PXI drivers (from MAX)?? and

Curious.  If you were running LabVIEW RT with a remote Target under LabVIEW 2009, then MAX should have seen your Target.  But never mind, let's concentrate on getting the new setup working.  First thing is to be sure the current Device Drivers (for LabVIEW 2013) are installed on the Windows 7 machine.  I've done this too often to remember the exact way it is phrased, but somewhere in there, you are asked if you need drivers for Remote Systems (including PXI, RIOs, etc.).  I tend to install just the things I need (PXI Platform Services, System Config, DAQmx, IMAQdx, since I'm doing Vision, VISA).

When I run MAX, it shows me a "Remote Systems" tab (which is how I know I installed the right drivers ...).   Clicking on it brings up my PXI, and expanding its tabs shows Software.  If I click on Software, the right pane changes and shows me the Add/Remove Software option, which I select and make sure I have the up-to-date software on the PXI.  Note that if you have not updated the Software, MAX will tell you (usually with a yellow "!" exclamation mark) and will allow you to Update the software, telling you the version(s) you have available through MAX.  I generally choose the latest.

Do I have to remove the controller from chassis to backup hard drive of PXI?

Well, I always did it that way -- I removed the hard drive, plugged it into a spare SATA slot, then used PC Backup software to save a backup.  Fortunately, I haven't needed to do any restores -- the general "Reformat the hard drive, reinstall the RT-OS from MAX, and rebuild the PXI Controller" scheme usually worked.  At one point, I think I wrote myself a "How-to" document -- if all goes south for you when you try this, send me a Private Message and I'll look for it. 

sunil

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Good luck.  This sounds much harder and more intimidating than it is ...

Bob Schor

[linus77]

It seems pretty complicated for a starter like me.  I am asked not to mess up the present system with vi's already deployed and running over target, by trying to move them to new PC atleast  for time being. Any way Thank you Bob.

Now my problem is, I am not able to deploy any Vi's to target.  When I try to deploy an error pops up saying 'Failed to load shared library serial.dll'  as shown in the attachement. Does this have  something to do with 'MAX' not showing complete 'Remote Systems' tab ? Should I open a new topic regarding this?  

sunil

[DangerDave]

Hi linus77,

Is this happening on the windows xp LabVIEW 2009 computer or the LabVIEW 2013 one?

[Bob_Schor]

When you showed the Deployment Error, you made Front Panel of your VI (which seems to only have a single Stop button on it) so large that it obscured the potentially very useful information in the Project Explorer!  We believe you that there's an error -- show us something about your System (like the Project Explorer map!) to help us diagnose it.

It is very curious that the Project Explorer lists a Remote Target, but MAX doesn't "see" it.  I'm guessing you've never been able to "Connect" to the Target (from the Project on the new PC), right?

Bob Schor