vmware not fully recognizing USB-9213

[bjlv]

Hi Brad:

On the theory that if 9.0.2 was good, then 9.1.5 would be better, I tried another upgrade.  Now I am worse off.  I don't even have a DAQmx Devices entry on the tree of devices and interfaces in MAX anymore.  I can't create a simulated device at all.  I don't get any error messages, after navigating to the NI-9213 as a device, I just don't get any entry in the tree of devices, and still no DAQmx entry either.  The real NI-9213 still shows up under Device Manager, with every thing saying drivers are functioning just fine, as is the device.  There is no entry in MAX for the real NI-9213.  I am guessing that I now have a very corrupt install, but I would appreciate any advice as to the best set of steps to follow to get a clean install that might actually work.

bj

[Paul_C.]

Hey Bj,

I believe you have a database corruption.  Please try the steps found here.  Specifically, you need to delete your data folder and have MAX recreate it for you.  This should fix the problem of having 9213 showing up.  In addition we changed the way MAX shows devices.  That is why you don't have a DAQmx Devices entry.  Your devices will now show just under Devices and Interfaces.  The database corruption above could also be causing the simulated devices to not show up.  So, I would try the above steps and let me know if it doesn't work.

Regards,

Paul C.

[bjlv]

Hi Paul:

I may have had a corrupted data base, but clearing out the Data folder did not fix it.  I still can not create a visible simulated NI-9213, nor does the real NI-9213 show up in MAX.  The real NI-9213 shows up fine in Device Manager, but no where else.  Windows VISTA makes a sound when the real NI-9213 is plugged in, and MAX shows (Searching...) at the end of the Devices and Interfaces entry for a few seconds at that time, but nothing then shows up in the list of devices.  By the way, the directions for clearing out the corrupted database do not work for VISTA.  You are always stopped by an access violation error message.  You have to go into "services.msc" where what you stop is "NI Configuration Manager", not "mxssvr".  This you can do as administrator, but the cmd command window approach will not work.

bj

[bjlv]

Hi Paul:

Another upgrade try with only very limited success.  I am now at DAQmx 9.2.1, MAX 4.7.1  I can create a simulated NI-9213 again, it is visible in MAX, but it doesn't work.  I get error -88705 from the self test.  The real NI-9213 still shows fine in Device Manager, still does not show in MAX.  I get beeps from WinVISTA every time I plug in the real device, and MAX takes a few seconds to search most times, but I never get the real device to show in MAX.   I have lost count of reboots, and I have deleted the MAX Data folder several time as well (with the "NI Configuration Manager" stopped every time I delete the folder, followed by rebooting), and this is as far as I get now, and it is behind where I started in terms of simulated devices and only slightly ahead of where I was with the real device.  Any suggestions on how to get a simulated NI-9213 to work again or how to get a real NI-9213 to show in MAX?

bj

[Paul_C.]

Hey BJ,

From the way it looks, you have tried everything that I could think of.  One last thing would be to check and make sure the device loader and configuration manager services are both starting (see here).  Other than that, I can't think of anything else it could be other than possibly just a incompatibility with this version of vmware.  Have you tried contacting them on the subject?

Regards,

Paul C.

[bjlv]

Hi Paul:

I was ready to accept that a virtual machine could not run real hardware when I started this, but I see 2 things that leave me unsatisfied with that.  One is that I started out with a working simulated device that I could play with in the LabVIEW application I am building (that will run under Windows with real hardware).  I don't have that anymore, the simulated NI-9213 fails self test as I mentioned above, and leaves the device crippled as far as LabVIEW is concerned.  The second thing is that when I started, the real NI-9213 could not be seen in Device Manager.  Now it can, but MAX still can't see the device.  This sounds like the version of DAQmx I started with was too old, but the version I have now should work.  Something is wrong with my installation of DAQmx or MAX that is causing problems now, I suspect.  I have deleted the Data folder for the MAX database twice and still have problems.  The Configuration Manager service is starting up after every reboot of Windows, since I have to stop it every time I want to delete the Data folder.  I will check on the device loader, but don't have any reason to expect problems other than the fact that the new installs of DAQmx have worked less well than the version I started with for the simulated NI-9213.  Is there a recommended procedure for completely starting over with a clean install of DAQmx and MAX?  I have already lost the other simulated devices I had, so I already have to rebuild my collection of devices I work with anyway.  I just don't want to spend another hour or two doing installs without some hope that a fresh install will really be clean and fix whatever may be wrong with my current install.

bj

[bjlv]

Hi Paul:

I have looked into whether the device loader and the configuration manager are started or stopped, and I don't see a problem.  The configuration manager is shown as started, and the device loader is shown as Automatic.  If I manually start it, I still don't get the real NI-9213 visible in MAX.  I also still get the non-functional simulated NI-9213.  This service seems to stop itself though, as it won't stay started for long, but falls back to stopped after about 5-10 seconds.  I am guessing that is what the Automatic means.  It is shown as depending on the configuration manager.  Even if I manage to plug in the real NI-9213 during the brief time the device loader says it is started before it automatically stops, I do not get the real NI-9213 showing up in MAX.  I think you have some buggy driver software here, at least in how it gets installed, and I want some advice on the best way to uninstall it and do a clean install that might get around the bugginess.  I support many versions of LabVIEW (back to LV8.2) on this machine, so I don't really want to have to spend the time to completely uninstall all NI software and then reinstall it all.

bj

[Paul_C.]

Hey Bj,

This is why your devices aren't showing up in device manager. If the device loader service doesn't stay started, then devices won't be found and placed in MAX.  This service might not be starting due to anti-virus programs or version mismatches in software.  Sometimes upgrading NI-VISA to the latest version can fix the incompatibilities, but the best option might be to start over.  Again, because we don't test vmware with our software, I can't guarentee it will work.

If you can give me permission to ask our IT group to get your email address, I can send you a document which has details on how to fully remove all NI software from your machine.  If you want to start over from scatch.   Another option would be to restart from scratch with a new VMware image and install the latest version of LabVIEW / DAQmx and see if that doesn't fix the problem.

Regards,

Paul C.

[bjlv]

Hi Paul:

So, you think that the device loader service should be showing as always started.  The startup type for that service is showing as Automatic (as does the Configuration Manager), but its status shows as "   " while Configuration Manager shows as "Started".  That is right, the status field has no content for device loader.  I can manually start it, but it will go back to "   " after a few seconds.  The services manager for WinVISTA actually shows both of these services configured the same as each other, for startup type, log-on, and anything else that looks relevant.  They mostly differ in their dependencies lists, with Config Mgr having nothing it depends on and several things depending on it, including device loader.  If you can suggest a setting to change, a repair to perform, or whatever, I would be glad to try it out to get the device manager to stay running.  So far, the things I try start it, but in 5-10 seconds it stops itself.

bj

[Paul_C.]

Hey Bj,

Yes, you should be able to start it and it stay "Started".  If it doesn't, that means that it is erroring when starting.  To be perfectly honest, this is typically due to an anti-virus program running and blocking the service or possibly due to a version mismatch of our lower level drivers such as NI-PAL.  Unfortunately, this typically takes quite a bit of time to troubleshoot and it might be easier and faster to try starting from scratch with the VMware image.  For more information about the anti-virus or firewall fixes, take a look at the KB here.

If you would like to troubleshoot it, I would take a look at the windows event log and see if it doesn't give you more information about the crash.  This can be found in the Event Viewer in the Administrative tools.  Also, what version of Windows Vista is the image running?  

If you want to continue troubleshooting by removing NI products from your image (instead of starting over), I can give you a document that has a list of steps on how to remove all NI products, including registry entries, from your machine.  If you wish to do so, please let me know if I can have permission to retreive your email address from our IT group.

Regards,

Paul C.