Simulated Device Error in MAX

[jsiegel]

I have several simulated devices that worked fine in a previous version of NI-DAQmx.  After installing LV 2011 and upgrading NI-DAQmx to v9.4.0f1 (MAX v5.0.0f1) on an XP system, MAX showed a big pane for each device telling me I needed a Windows XP hotfix to prevent USB corruption, so I applied the hotfix.

Now each simulated device fails the Self-Test with error -88705 (device not present or not active).  Setting properties like DIO powerup states returns the same error.  I can show the test panels, but after selecting Start (on, say AI), I get error -200324 (unable to communicate with device) after a ~30s pause.  It's as if NI-DAQmx thinks the device is a real device, not simulated.

I have this problem even with newly created simulated devices.  I don't have this problem on a similarly configured system with Win7.  But exporting the simulated devices on the Win7 machine into the WinXP machine also has the same problem.

For what it's worth, I didn't install the NI-DAQmx driver from the latest NI-DevSuite CD; I downloaded a newer version from the NI web site.

Any idea of what's wrong?

Jeff

[Matt.M]

This error can be caused by the NI Device Loader service not being started.  Follow the link to this KB article for instructions on how to start/restart it.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/0819391CA91B3EB38625731D00024649?OpenDocument

If you cannot start the NI Device Loader you might want to try these steps to start the mDNS Responder service first, then try to start the Device Loader.

The mDNS Responder service is required for the NI Device Loader to work. In rare cases the mDNS Responder service will not run. You can check this by looking at the mDNS Responder Service and trying to start it. See the previously mentioned KB for instructions on how to find the services. If it will not run, steps to fix this are as follows:

• Install the latest version of Java
• Turn off the 'User Account Control' in the control panel
• Open a command prompt as an administrator
• Type 'netsh int ip reset' into the command prompt and hit return
• Reboot your PC, this should solve the issue with the mDNS Responder but if not then the problem is likely to be with your Security Software

If you think the issue may be with your security then follow the steps below:

• Ensure thatUDP port 5353is open for communication in your security software
• Turn off all non-Microsoft security software and try again
• Uninstall the security software and see if this works
• Often theNI mDNS Responderwill work once you have reinstalled the security software

Regards,

Matt

[jsiegel]

Thanks, Matt,

The problem seems to be with the mDNS Responder service.  When I try to start it, I get a dialog box saying "Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start."  But as far as I can see, this service has no dependencies.

I installed the latest version of Java and ran "netsh int ip reset" (by the way, your instructions are missing the instruction to include a file name at the end of the command to provide a location to store the results) from a command window, and the log file indicated that things were repaired.  (Since I'm using Windows XP, there is no UAC Control.)  But I still had the same problem after rebooting.

I disabled my Norton 360 software and also tried to explicitly enable UDP port 5353 (but I'm not very knowledgeable about this, so I may have done something wrong), and neither action worked for me.  My last remaining option seems to be to reinstall Norton, but I'm hoping there might be some other obvious fixes before I take this route.  It seems unlikely that this will help, since the problem seems to be a result of installing LV2011 and NI-DAQmx (and I have probably installed many other things since I last tried to use these devices).  Any other ideas?  I appreciate your help.

Jeff

[Matt.M]

Norton might have blocked something when you installed LabVIEW or DAQmx.  I would recommend disabling Norton, then try uninstalling and reinstalling DAQmx.  If that still doesn't work I would try uninstalling LabVIEW and all its dependecies, then reinstalling.  Make sure to install the drivers after you install LabVIEW.

Regards,

Matt

[jsiegel]

I'm kind of suspicous about this solution, since I don't have the same problem on another machine with Norton configured the same way.  But the operating systems are different, so it's possible Norton behaves differently in each case, so I'll give it a try.  Thanks.

[DGardner]

This actually worked for me! Unbelievable... Ii didn't have to contact a support engineer.

[SeanDonner]

Thank you so much Matt! I even tried blowing out LV 2010SP1 and installing LV 2011 and it didn't do it.  Forcing the NI Device Loader the start in the admin services did the trick.  This really should be listed in the error that NI puts out as it's nowhere near obvious.

Thanks again