Using VISA Resource control with Windows 7 64-bit

[ojohnsen]

Hi.

My company recently upgraded our laptops, and I'm now working on Windows 7 64-bit rather than Windows XP 32-bit.  I reinstalled LabVIEW 2009 Base Package, trusting that the Windows 7 64-bit OS would be able to handle LabVIEW 2009 32-bit without problems.  But when trying to run our test system, the VISA Resource control doesn't work.

We use it to get a list of the available COM (RS232) ports on the computer.  But now the list comes up blank.  The only option that comes up in the list, is the text "Refresh".  But nothing happens when I press it.  Is this a bug in LabVIEW?  I've installed the latest patch I found, so now I'm running LabVIEW v9.0f3 (32-bit).

Thanks alot for any and all assistance!

[PJS · Accepted solution]

LabVIEW SP1 has a native x64 installer.  I am running it just fine along with the 64bit drivers from that disk.  I suspect that the later will have something to do with your issue.  Can you see the com ports in MAX?

[ojohnsen]

Sorry for not replying to you earlier.  I've been busy on other projects.

I'm not sure what you refer to with MAX, but I'm able to access the com ports using other tools/loggers.  So it's not an issue with Windows 7 itself.  But it seems logical that the problem would have something to do with running 32-bit drivers on a 64-bit OS.  Referring to this list from NI (http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/71E9408E6DEAD76C8625760B006B6F98), I'm downloading the 64-bit installer now.

But if I understand it correctly, you cannot run applications from a 64-bit Application Builder on a 32-bit OS.  So basically you need the Application Builder installed on both a 32-bit and 64-bit OS to have all bases covered.  But in the FAQ, it's asked if it's possible to have both 32-bit and 64-bit LabVIEW 2009 installed on the same 64-bit OS.  Why would this be wanted?  If you cannot use the 32-bit Application Builder, and you cannot trust that the 32-bit LabVIEW runs successfully (i.e. driver issues etc.), why would you want to have a 32-bit installation on a 64-bit OS?

[TomAD]

The modules available for 64-bits LV is limited today. So if you will take advantage of the full specter of modules you will need 32-bits LV.

-Tom

[ojohnsen]

Ah, I've forgotten to update the post.

The problem was actually two-fold.  Firstly, Windows 7 is not supported by LabVIEW 2009, so we had to upgrade to LabVIEW 2010.  Secondly, PJS is correct in saying that it was probably a driver issue.  I actually erroneously opted to not install the National Instruments drivers disc, thinking that since we don't have any NI hardware, we don't need any NI drivers either.  I didn't think that LabVIEW needs NI drivers to communicate using the PC's COM ports.  This was also evident in MAX, where no ports were listed at all.

So after upgrading to LV2010, and installing the drivers disc, our test system worked like a charm.

Thanks for all input on this matter!