Why does nicitdl5.exe jump to 100% CPU usage and lock up my computer?

[WAZZY]

I am running Lookout 6.01 on several HMI touchscreens for machine control. One of the systems keeps slowing way down, losing connections or  locking up. The nicitdl5.exe is running along at 0 to 7 % CPU usage then it pops up tp 100% and causes the HMI to stop responding. Sometimes it loses the communication to LInx OPC and has to be reopened or rebooted. The Lookout App sometimes will  open without issue after a reboot and sometimes it locks up the sysem so hard I have  to remove power to reboot again. It can take several tries to get things running again and often the problem will not re-occur for 12 to 24 hours. 

Any ideas?

[Ryan.S]

First, I strongly suggest you to upgrade to Lookout 6.0.2. It's a free upgrade for 6.0.1 user.
Download from http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/506/lang/en
You need to uninstall Lookout 6.0.1 first and then install 6.0.2. Please also apply the lo602_updates.zip

Another try is to use a new database.  Not sure if the current database has currupted or something wrong. You can create a new database and set your process to use the new one. If it works fine, then you can archive the old data into the new one.

[alan g.]

Just curious, I was sent an updated version of Lookout a few months ago. It is version 6.1.

I see that version 6.0.2 was recomended as an update. Why not go to 6.1? Is 6.1 the most current vesion now?

Thanks, Alan

[erblock]

I have seen this behavior in Lookout 6.1 also.  Separate from the Citadel Control object issue, I have seen nicitdl5.exe lock up machines several times.

It is always the server machine (databasing machine) that locks up.  From my observations so far, it is usually related to intense client aquisition/display of the server's database data.  Although I have not been able to reliably repeat the lockups with the same client actions, it seems that if I "play" with hypertrends extensively (long trendwiths with lots of data, switching back and forth among panels with hypertrend displays, and editing Hypertrends) it causes the lockups.

nicitdl5.exe crashes are the weakest link in Lookout 6.1 stability as I see it now.  Hopefully NI can figure what is happening.

I will certainly volunteer to troubleshoot issues or test "fixes".

Ed

[Ryan.S]

Lookout 6.1 is not free for Lookout 6.0.x user, unless you have SSP, which let you upgrade the software for free. That's why I suggest you to upgrade to 6.0.2.

[Ryan.S]

Like Ed said, it's not easy to reproduce the problem in a certain way. We did some improvement in 6.0.2, but maybe there still are problems in data trasnfer between server and client Citadel. I will set up a test for this problem, with large database, and multiple hypertrends.

[WAZZY]

I am running 2  (xx.l4p) applications for interfacing with seperate machines in one Lookout instance. i was looking to see whicch of these was causing the most nicitdl5.exe CPU usage, i found that the nicitdl5.exe was hitting 100% most before I even launched the Lookout application. What does this citidel interface actually do? I also noticed that i can not pull up alarm lists. i just generate an empty .csv file.

does this point to any specific known issue?

PS. i have downloaded the upgrade 6.02 and will be installing soon as the machine is free to shutdown.  

[erblock]

I have seen similar CPU lock-ups (100% utilization) with Lookout.exe on clients when the video acceleration (such as with many server embedded video controller) is not adequate to keep up with Hypertrend displays.  Sometimes Lookout can recover when you switch away from the offending screen to a simpler graphic demand.  Other times, Lookout will never recover (ussually because you cannot get enough system resources to actually close the offending screen)

[WAZZY]

I have installed the Lookout 6.02 as recommended. The hitch this time is that MSDEsetup.exe gave me an error on installation. NIMSDE Security Setup error 120. (Best as I can read the notes) Error while launching NI MSDE service unable to setup relational database. Then the message said something about not having permissions and needing to log in with Higher level permissions but I was logged in as an administrator .

My system is running but I am still showing high CPU consumpion and I cannot generate an Alarm list.  I need this to stop locking up which causes production line downtime....

What's my next move???

[Ryan.S]

Did you see the msde error after you installed lookout and reboot?

Take a look at this post. You seem to have a same problem.

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=243298&requireLogin=False

After you follow the steps in it, you need to reinstall or repair Lookout. Then let's see if it helps.

If it's okay for you application, I suggest you try a new database. First in MAX, detach the current database(don't delete), and create a new database. In Lookout, set the default database to the new one, which means you log data into new database. If you still get the high cpu, it's not a certain database's problem, but maybe the Citadel service's problem.

The detached database can be attached again and merged into the new one, so don't be worried about the historical data.