Can't activate 7342 Motion Controller

[jcanninvt]

Hello,

My disk drive crashed and I had to reinstall WindowsXP, service packs, security updates, etc.  Afterward, I reinstalled the NI-Motion software that came with my PCI-7342 (3-4 years old).  However, MAX didn't recognize that the 7342 was installed.  I tried removing and reinstalling the card, but no luck.  So, I downloaded the latest version of NI-Motion/MAX.

MAX now recognizes the card, but says that I must activate the device to use it.  "Activate Device" doesn't show up when I right click the device, and "Activate Additional Options" is grayed out.  I tried to Initialize the device, but it says that my Firmware is out date.  I tried to update the firmware but it says that the card is not responding (probaby because I haven't activated it yet).

I went to the NI Support web page and found a link to generate an activation code.  I entered the required information and copied the Computer ID from the License Manager, but it said there was a problem with my Computer ID, and that maybe I was confusing it with Device ID.  Don't know where to find the Device ID...

It seems like the latest XP updates have broken my old MAX/NI-Motion software, and that the new MAX/NI-Motion software doesn't work with my old Firmware.  What do I try next?

Thanks for the help,

Jerome

[VuD]

Hi Jerome,

If you don't already have it, the latest version of the NI-Motion driver is 7.5 and can be downloaded here.  I would recommend using the latest version of the driver in your system.  Did you verify that your card appears correctly in the Device manager?  You can access the manager by right clicking on "My Computer" on your desktop >> Properties >> Hardware >> Device manager.  Your 7342 card should show up under National Instruments Motion Controllers with the NI Logo next to it.  You can try updating the driver by right clicking on the board >> Update Driver... >> "Install from a list or specific location" >> "Don't Search.   I will choose the driver to install" >> select "PCI - 7342" .  After installing and updating the latest driver, you should be able to update the firmware in MAX.    In MAX, is the icon next to your controller red or green? 

The "Activate Additional Options" button is specifically for use with NI SoftMotion Controllers. It is used to activate the SoftMotion Controller software and add axes once this software has been activated. This button should not be used for NI-Motion plug-in boards (PCI/PXI 733x, 734x, 735x) as it provides no functionality for those devices. The NI-Motion driver for these boards does not require activation.

I hope this helps get you further along.  Please let us know if you are still having issues with your motion controller.

Vu

[jcanninvt]

Vu,

Thanks for the response.  I am using the latest NI-Motion, 7.5, with MAX 4.2, which all came in the dowload together.  I'm also unning Windows XP with all the latest updates and service packs.  Below is a timeline of the things I've tried, and where I am at today.

After I installed the latest NI-Motion 7.5 package, I powered down the system and installed the card.  Windows recognized the new device upon start-up and prompted me to install the drivers.  Windows finished installing the drivers and said the new device was ready to use.

I then opened MAX to see what it found.  MAX recognized the card as being present, but reported that the card had been removed or was not responding.  I tried reseting the card from the status tab, but that did not help.  It continued to fail the resources test.  I tried initializing the device, but it said that the firmware was out of date.  I went to the firmware tab and attempted to update the firmware, but it couldn't because the device was not responding.

Various errors kept popping up during this process, "Device must be activated first", "Firmware out of date", "Read Data Buffer not empty", "Device not responding", etc.  This card worked in this sytem prior to replacing the hard drive and reinstalling Windows XP (updates and service packs), so I didn't think it was a system issue.  However, just to be safe, I tried different PCI slots, fail-safing the BIOS, optimizing the BIOS.  Nothing helped.  I tried emoving the device from MAX as well as the System, reinstalling NI-Motion, etc.  Nothing helped.

I then downloaded NI-Motion 7.5 to another system and plugged the card into that system.  Everything worked fine.  I was able to update the Firmware, pass the resources test, reset the device, verify the serial number, etc.  At least I knew the card was good. 

I then took the card back to the original system and plugged it in.  Windows recognized a new device and prompted me for the drivers again.  Everything went fine.  I then searched for the device in MAX and there it was.  It was working!!!  It passed the resources test and everything!!!  However, MAX was now showing two cards being installed.  Board 1 was not installed or not responding (which I forgot to remove from MAX when I removed the card from the system), and the card was now showing up as Board 2.

I removed Board 1 from MAX and renumbered Board 2 as Board 1.  MAX prompted me to reboot the system which I did.  However, when it came back up, MAX was reporting that Board 1 was not responding.  The serial number was reading correctly, so I know that there are some communictions working, but the device would not reset, failed the resources test, would not initialize, nothing.  Changing the Board ID and rebooting had broken the communications again.

I took the card out and took it back to the other system where I had successfully updated the firmware.  The card was fine.  No problems.  I then removed the board from MAX in the problem system, removed the driver from the OS, powered down and reinstalled the card.

Windows detected the card and prompted me to install the drivers again, everything went OK.  However, MAX is still showing the card as not installed or not responding.  I'm back to square 2 (square 1 showed the wrong serial number).

I'm wondering if there are some PCI settings that are different between the two systems.  Any recommendations? 

Any idea why changing the Board ID would cause the device to stop responding?  The card is responding to MAX serial number queries, but not to a reset command.  In fact, sometimes when I first open MAX after an install, the device icon is green for a second or two, before the exclamation point appears indicating a problem.  I'm wondering if MAX is failing to read data from the Read Data Buffer, which is causing the card not to respond to further queries.  The status lights indicate the RDB is full and waiting to be read.

Sorry for such a long posting, but I'm hoping there is a clue in there somewhere.

Thanks for the help,

Jerome