visaconf.ini and Windows Vista

[vix]

When I click on a VISA Resource Name control under WinXP, the visaconf.ini is automatically created if not existent, with the aliases

Alias1 = "'COM1','ASRL1::INSTR'"
Alias2 = "'COM2','ASRL2::INSTR'"

and so on..

In this way, I can see the COMx aliases in the VISA Resource Name control.

Under Windows Vista Home this file is not created, and in the VISA Resource Name control I can't see the COMx aliases, but the real names ASRLx::INSTR.

How can I see these aliases in my application when it runs under Vista?

I built my application with LV 8.2.1, and I included the NI-VISA Runtime 4.1 as an additional installer, and everything worksfine under Win2k and WinXP.

Thanks in advance.

[LiciaP]

I had a quick test under Vista and I do see "COM1" alias in VISA resource name control...

Anyway, you can see and set alias in Measurement&Automation Explorer, as explained in this KB.

I hope this will help!

Bye!

Licia

[vix]

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I had a quick test under Vista and I do see "COM1" alias in VISA resource name control...

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Let me ask you some questions:

Did you install only the NI-VISA Runtime 4.1 on your Vista system?

Or did you install a newer version of NI-VISA Runtime?

Or did you install also the MAX?

What is visaconf.ini path on your Vista system?

If you delete your visaconf.ini file, then you simply select Refresh on the VISA resource name control, is the visaconf.ini file re-created?

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Anyway, you can see and set alias in Measurement&Automation Explorer, as explained in this KB.

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I know, but I don't want to install MAX together with my application.

I know that I can manually modify the visaconf.ini file and set the aliases, but I prefer that the system sets the aliases, as WinXP does....

Thank you for your help

[vix]

Hi Licia,

have you some news for me regarding my last post?

Thanks

[LiciaP]

Hi,

I'm really sorry for the delay, but I have been busy on phone support and I haven't had still time to test again with Vista (it is not my current PC).

You're right, on the machine with Vista also MAX is installed; MAX is needed to enumerate the devices on your system and provide VISA aliases.

I still have to find if visaconf.ini is present.

However, I found this forum post which could be useful to you as a workaround.

Bye.

Licia

[vix]

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MAX is needed to enumerate the devices on your system and provide VISA aliases.

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I've already read it in the thread you linked to, but why this isn't true in WinXP?

I installed many different applications on WinXP, andVISA aliases are created automatically without MAX installed.

I'd like the same behaviour in Vista... nothing more, nothing les, and I really hope someone knows a way to do that.

[vix]

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MAX is needed to enumerate the devices on your system and provide VISA aliases.

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This morning I discovered an interesting thing: If I install Visa libraries 3.0 together with an executable created with LabVIEW 7, the visaconf.ini is created automatically with the right aliases when I launch my program.

But If I update the Visa libraries to the 4.1 version, the visaconf.ini isn't recreated anymore, and I can't use aliases...

So I think this could be called a Visa 4.1 bug....

[LiciaP]

Really insteresting! Thanks for the information.

Have you the chance to test with an updated version of NI-VISA? Apparently, there is no known issue with VISA 4.1, but it could be useful to verify if later versions have fixed this bug.

Are you always using a clean PC without MAX installed?

Thank you.

Licia