how to fix IMG_ERR_TIMO error?

[pippopluto]

Hi,

I reviewed some of the previous postings for the IMG_ERR_TIMO error but the only solutions I could find were to reinstall the driver for the board (PCI-1408 in my case) and to move it to another PCI slot. I tried all the following procedures with no success. I also tried two different boards, both PCI-1408. I have used the boards in other PCs with no problems. I am sure that the boards work, the camera works, and the connections are good.

I also tried to increase the timeout value, I put it to one second, but nothing changed, only I had to wait a second to get the error.

I am running Windows XP Professional and I was wondering if this could be the problem.

Please help me with this problem.

Thank you

Dan

[MarcoPolo5]

Timeout errors normally occur becuase of none or unexpected data comming from the camera to the frame grabber (1408). 

Make sure you have your 1408 setup to expect the correct data comming from the camera. Is your camera send standard RS-170 B&W data? If so, make sure that the 1408 is configured for such. Right-clicking on the 1408 allows you to select a data format to expect - RS-170 is one of the options (most common also).

If you are still getting problems - let me know what kind of camera you have the the specs.

Have a great day!

[pippopluto]

Thanks for your answer Marc. I will try to give you all the necessary information to analyze my problem.

In our lab we had two computers equipped with PCI-1408 boards, one board in each computer. Everything was working fine.

The cameras we use are COHU 4812-2000/0000 and they work as standard RS-170 B&W cameras.

Yesterday I moved one of the PCI-1408 boards into a new PC, I installed the IMAQ drivers and the board appeared on MAX.

I also made sure that all the settings were the same as the old computer. Everything looked ok. But I couldn't grab or snap any image.

I reinstalled the drivers and moved the board into a new slot. Nothing changed.

If I plug the camera in the old PCs with the PCI-1408, it works, if I plug it in the new one, it doesn't. And all the settings are the same.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Message Edited by Support on 09-17-2007 10:17 AM

[pippopluto]

Another info that might be useful is that the PC has an integrated VGA board. I think this might be the problem at this point.

Let me know if this makes sense and if there is a way to fix it.

GR

[MarcoPolo5]

An integrated VGA board should not cause any problems - however, it is not common, but sometimes with certain motherboards, vision boards or other high speed boards need to be in the PCI slot closest to the processor.

If you try that and still have the same problems - try copying the camera file that the 1408 uses on the working computer to the non-working system. A camera file is the file that contains all the info to setup the 1408. Camera files are located at:

C:\Program Files\National Instruments\NI-IMAQ\Data\

it is most likely the rs-170.icd file or the RS170.icd file that the board is using.

This will ensure that the setup info is the exact same on both systems.

Also - what version of the NI-IMAQ driver is installed on each system (you can check under Measurement and Automation Explorer - under the software folder).

[pippopluto]

The integrated VGA was not the problem, I installed an old PCI vga and nothing changed.

Also I copied the entire Data folder form the working computer to the other and yet no improvements.

Finally I removed the IMAQ driver I had (version 3.1.3) and I installed the IMAQ 2.2. Nothing changed.

Then I uninstalled IMAQ 2.2 and installed 2.6. IT WORKED!

Then I tried to upgrade the driver to the 3.1.3 and it stopped working again. So I put the 2.6 back but it didn't work !!

Then I redid everything again. First driver IMAQ 2.2 and then driver 2.6. It works now again. THIS IS CRAZY!

Now, is it possible one has to waste so much time finding out the appropriate combination and installing order of drivers?

There must be something wrong with the IMAQboot procedure and the scarab memory. I don't know anything about these things but I "feel" this is where to look for a solution.

Will this still work tomorrow? Will this still work in a month? Who knows?

I hope the guys at NI will look into this and will be able to tell me why I had to go through all of this.

Gaetano

[MarcoPolo5]

Gaetano,

I'm sorry you have had such a hard time setting up your 1408. The 1408 is an older vision board but out latetst driver still does support it.

Something that might be the problem is if you have a newer computer - with some of the latest computer models Hyperthreading seems to cause problems with the 1408. This was of course not forseable since the 1408 was developed ~10 years ago -  Even turning off hyperthreading does not fix the problem with some systems. Perhaps this is the problem you are experiencing?

In any case, I would recommend upgrading your vision board if possible. The 1410 is similar in specs.

Again - sorry for the problems - we try to keep everything compatible with version updates, but computer hardware updates are often beyond our control.

Let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.

[vamador]

Hello Dan

I see you were having the same problem I am facing now, however I have a PCI 1408 that was running well in another PC, I just got a new industrial PC better processor and higher speed, Windows XP. Guess what, for now I am just trying to setup the vision card, however when I enter to MAX and do a minor change to any of the four channels and then try to do a snap or Grab it shows a timeout error.

I am wondering if the problem is because of the speed of the new PC, what I will do is to do installations on the same order as you did Ver 2.2 and then 2.6 and see what happens.

I believe some NI people need to take a closer look of this problem, I know that the PCI 1409 card works for I have been using it for a long time (more than four months)

thanks

vicente

[vamador]

Mark, Dan

It's me again Vicente, just to let you know that the MAX is behaving even worst than I thought. I am not even sure if this is a high speed related problem, it might be more a software related issue. The reason behind is because what I did is to open the RS170.icd file and I just changed the setting that was vital more me to change (bitdepth to 8). Now it works! however this is the first time that changing the settings is not allowed on MAX, what is the difference by manually typing it on the .icd file? I don't know.  Any comments?

On the previous message I meant to have a PCI 1409,

[MarcoPolo5]

Vicente,

The PCI-1409 does not have the high-speed computer problem that the 1408 has - it is a newer board than the 1408. The 1409 supports digitizing a analog camera signal to 8 or 10 bits. This option will be available to change in MAX if you have the latest driver of NI-IMAQ (version 3.1.3) - it always has been available on versions of NI-IMAQ, however, if you have a fairly old version like 2.5 or 2.6, this option was accessed through the properties pop-up page for the board.

If you change parameters in the icd file through a text editor - these changes will be seen in MAX when the camera file is reloaded (which can be done by reselecting the camera file for the channel). Changing settings in MAX through the controls provided will change the camera file and will be seen if the icd file is opened up.

Be careful in changing the settings via the icd file - if any setting is out of expected range, the file will not be read by MAX and deemed corrupt. The controls in MAX will not allow you to input out of range settings.