Problem with managing distributions

[corvus]

Hi,

after upgrading from LW/CVI 8.0.1 to version 8.1, I have massive problems to convert an already existing distribution (add) or create even a new one.

Trying to add (convert) an existing 8.0.1 distribution results in the following error message:

'Failed to load specification for section: Drivers & Components'

'Item named "./productID[2]" not found.'

Creating a new distribution for any of my projects ends with:

' Failed to initialize distribution support library. A file or registry key may be missing.'

What went wrong when upgrading LW.

Thanks !

Bernhard

[corvus]

Hi,

here is an additional info to my initial post:

On the first time I loaded my workspaces created with LW/CVI 8.0.1 in LW/CVI 8.1 I got the message:

'Failed to load specification for section: Driver & Components'

'The specification file may be corrupt.'

My OS is WinXP Pro, SP2.

Thanks !

Bernhard

[Mert_A.]

Hello Bernhard,

It would be most helpful if you could post a .cds file for one of the distributions that fail to load properly.  Do you still have CVI 8.0.1 installed as well, and if so, are you still able to load and create new distributions with it?

Please confirm that you find the following files and give me their full paths and versions:

[National Instruments]\CVI81\NIMdf.dll
[National Instruments]\Shared\MDF\Bin\MdfCommon.dll

Also, please make sure you find the following registry key and give me its value:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\National Instruments\Common\Installer\MDF\Bin:"Path"

Thanks.

Mert A.
National Instruments

[corvus]

Hello Mert,

sorry, I have uninstalled CVI 8.0.1 on that machine so I can't test to load or create new distributions with the previous version.

I attached a .cds file (cds.zip) which gives me the problems.

Here are the requested path for 'NIMdf.dll':

'D:\Programme\National Instruments\CVI81\NIMdf.dll'

I could not find the 'MdfCommon.dll' on my machine and there is no subdirectory named 'Bin' in

'D:\Programme\National Instruments\Shared\MDF'

The only subdirectory I found was 'Manifests'.

As you can see my WinXP is a german version.

The value for the registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\National Instruments\Common\Installer\MDF\Bin:Path'

is: 'D:\Programme\National Instruments\Shared\MDF\Bin\'

as expected.

Best Regards

Bernhard

[Mert_A.]

Bernhard,

The missing Bin and EULA directories under your National Instruments\Shared\MDF directory are definitely a problem.  I'm not sure how it happened, but part of your installation is trashed and needs to be repaired.  Find the National Instruments Software item in Windows' Add/Remove Programs list and press the Change/Remove button.  This brings up a list of installed NI software.  Find NI LabWindows/CVI 8.1 FDS Package in the list, then hit the Repair button.  This may take several minutes, but once the repair is complete, confirm that the MDF directory contains Bin, EULA, and Manifest subdirectories.  Now you should be able to create and build distributions as normal.

I'm not sure this explains the .cds loading errors you reported, though.  The file you posted is well-formed and is successfully loaded by my installation of CVI 8.1, so if you continue to experience "corrupt file" errors, please let me know so we can figure out if something else is wrong.

Mert A.
National Instruments

[corvus]

Hi Mert,

your suggestion (Windows Add/Remove...) did not work. After clicking the Change/Remove button for the National Instruments Software the item disappered from the list of installed software without any further action.

So I unstalled all National Instruments software from my system using the installer of the original LabWindows/CVI CD's, running a registry cleaner tool and start a new installation from the bottom.

Now the previously missed directories and files can be found under 'D:\Programme\National Instruments\Shared\MDF\...'.

So far so good. But when I try to start CVI, I get the error message:

'An unexpected licensing error has occured. Contact National Instruments...'

Help is appreciated!

Thanks

Bernhard

[Mert_A.]

Hi Bernhard,

It sounds like your machine was/is in a very bad state.  The licensing error may indicate that the NI License Manager is somehow not installed now.  Look in D:\Programme\National Instruments\Shared\License Manager\Bin\ for the files nilmUtil.exe and nilmWizard.dll.  If either file is missing (or the entire directory), you'll need to install/reinstall the NI License Manager. Run the CVI 8.1 installer, and when you get to the dialog with the feature tree, hit Ctrl+Shift+A to show all features.  Look for the item labeled NI License Manager and note the state of the feature.  Make sure this feature is installed.  If the feature is already installed, then it may be a broken install.  In this case, repair your CVI 8.1 installation through the Add/Remove Programs dialog as I instructed you in my previous post.

Hopefully we will not run into any more missing components.  I'm sorry you are having to go through this process.  Let me know how it goes.

Mert A.
National Instruments

[corvus]

Hi Mert,

Good job - it works!

Thanks a lot for your help.

Bernhard