Can't boot real-time target PC

[Brian_K.]

Hi Guillaume,

I assume you used the pceval software from the pceval.zip in the KB we discussed.  If pceval gives an error then most likely the computer we are using is not compatible.  Could you post what

1) processor

2) Ethernet Chipset

3) hard drive

you are using.

[LuisG]

Gillaume,

Here's the difference between those three option:

New Target on the Network -- this is used to debug an application remotely, from Windows to Windows. You run an application on PC #1, while your CVI development environment is installed in, and controlled from PC #2. This can be useful to debug a problem that only happens in one particular computer, the setup of which is hard to duplicate in your primary development computer.

New RT target on the Network -- this is used to run (and debug) an application on a real-time target. This is, what I expect, you will want to do. The "application" in this case is a DLL that has an RTMain entry point.

New RT Target via LabVIEW on the Network -- this is used by developers whose application consists of a LabVIEW VI that calls CVI code via DLLs, and that will run on a real-time target. When you want to to debug your CVI code, you use this option to notify CVI that this code will be called from LabVIEW. CVI will then wait for LabVIEW to run, to download the VI to the target (you configure this part in LabVIEW) and waits until it can establish a connection with the target once the DLL is called. The DLL is a traditional DLL that does not require an RTMain.

You should also check out the following help topics in the CVI online help:

Programmer Reference
    Creating and Downloading DLLS to Real-Time Targets
        Creating and Downloading Real-Time DLLs from LabWindows/CVI
            Using RTmain
            Configuring a Real-Time Target
            Manually Downloading Support Files

Luis

[Guillaume Dargaud]

Hello Brian,

> I assume you used the pceval software from the pceval.zip in the KB we
> discussed.  If pceval gives an error then most likely the computer we
> are using
> is not compatible.  Could you post what

I found it very difficult to gather the proper hardware requirements, even
in a lab with thousands of machines available !

Here's what I'm doing my tests with:
- older Gateway Solo 5300
- Pentium IIIE Mobile 750MHz
- Mobo chipset: Intel 82440BX/ZX
- 384Mb
- Drive IC25N030ATCS04-0 30Gb, formated in FAT32
- Intel Pro/100+ MiniPCI Combo

--
Guillaume Dargaud
http://www.gdargaud.net/
"Life would be so much easier if we only had the source code."

[Nadim R]

Hi Guillaume,

It seems to me that after running the pceval, that it failed when trying to assign a network address.  This leads me to believe that the problem stems from a non compatible ethernet chipset or wrong bios settings.  Do you have multiple ethernet cards in your computer?  If so, make sure to disable the extra ethernet chipsets in the bios and only have one available that is compliant with the desktop ETS system requirements.  I hope this helps.


Regards,

Nadim
Applications Engineering
National Instruments

[Guillaume Dargaud]

Hello Nadim,

> Hi Guillaume, It seems to me that after running the pceval, that it failed
> when trying
> to assign a network address.  This leads me to believe that the
> problem stems
> from a non compatible ethernet chipset or wrong bios settings.  Do
> you have
> multiple ethernet cards in your computer?  If so, make sure to
> disable the
> extra ethernet chipsets in the bios and only have one available that is
> compliant
> with the desktop ETS system requirements.  I hope this
> helps.Regards,NadimApplications EngineeringNational Instruments

I also suspect either something to do with the network card, or some
misconfiguration once the final IP is set.

For instance MAX sees my target and can change its IP, reboot it and upload
software to it. But plenty of other tools will just fail:
- RTFileCopyUtility.exe will timeout
- CVI debug/run will timeout
- CVI [Copy support files] will timeout
- MAX software [+] will hang
- ...

As for the BIOS settings, there are a few messages on this forum hinting at
possible issues, without being specific at what kind of settings can cause
problems.

So for now I'll just drop it and try to work on linux...
--
Guillaume Dargaud
http://www.gdargaud.net/

[Richard P.]

Guillaume,

I am sorry your experience has been troublesome so far. Your card, according to my search of the web, is PCMCIA, which we don't have a driver for. We only intend for desktop and Single-Board computers that use PCI bus to be used as Dekstop ETS targets. NI does not have real-time support for PCMCIA DAQ hardware, for example, so a laptop would be of limited use as a real-time target. A good portable alternative is an SBC.

When the evaluator reports it found the correct chipset, it means that the chipset was listed by the BIOS. The next step is to attempt to configure the device using our drivers. That step failed, since the driver doesn't support that bus.

I hope after you have tried an RT linux kernel you will come back to LabVIEW Real-Time with a compatible target, and see how our user experience stacks up.

[Guillaume Dargaud]

> I am sorry your experience has been troublesome so far. Your card,
> according to my
> search of the web, is PCMCIA, which we don't have a driver for. We only
> intend for
> desktop and Single-Board computers that use PCI bus to be used as Dekstop
> ETS
> targets. NI does not have real-time support for PCMCIA DAQ hardware, for
> example,
> so a laptop would be of limited use as a real-time target. A good portable
> alternative is an SBC.

I thought PCMCIA was mostly the same thing as PCI, driverwise...

> I hope after you have tried an RT linux kernel you will come back to
> LabVIEW Real-
> Time with a compatible target, and see how our user experience stacks up.

Well, I just spent time to configure a Linux machine for CVI evaluation,
only to discover that the NI Linux CD contains only LabView with limited CVI
runtime, without the cvicc compiler. So right now I'm stuck either way until
I hear from your commercial agent...

C:-(
--
Guillaume Dargaud
http://www.gdargaud.net/

[LuisG]

Hello Guillaume,

The CVI Linux module that contains the compiler is part #779384-03. Can you tell us the exact name of the CD that you installed, and its part number, if you know it?

Thanks,
Luis