Vista compatibility of NI DAQPad-6015

[harveyliu]

Is there a Vista OS compatible driver for NI DAQPad-6015 USB?  I tried DAQmx Version 8.5 which claims to be Vista comaptible and includes DAQPad-6015 in its list of supported devices.  But after plugging in my USB DAQPad-6015, Vista OS still could not find the driver.  Is it safe to try the older DAQmx Version 8.3 for Vista?

[Elijah_K]

NI-DAQmx 8.3 is not compatable with Windows Vista.  NI-DAQmx 8.5 is tested for compatability with Vista, so I don't think that's your issue.

I actually tracked down a 6015 and plugged it into a Vista machine with 8.5 to ensure that it works.  It is recignized and appears in the system Device Manager, but I was not able to install the driver for it*

I'm escalating this issue to other engineers in our R&D team who work with this product line.  I have some ideas, but I'm going to do further investigation.

You'll hear from me soon.

*I also tried this with a 6016 and experienced the same issue

[Elijah_K]

After working with R&D, it seems that the DAQPad 6015 and 6016 are not supported under Vista.  The documentation error in the readme file will be updated and has been reported to R&D (# 481HOJM0) for further investigation

[mermigkas]

Hello,

I recenty purchased an 6015 and I was able to get it working with Vista w/o any problems.  Measurement and Automation  could see it.  That was with version DAQMx 8.3.1.  When I uninstalled everything to make my NI products "vista compatible" and upgraded to DAQMx 8.5, Vista was unable to recognise the DAQPad 6015.  So, I am reinstalling the 6015 8.3.1 drivers and pray it will work as a charm, like it used to.
It's a bummer that NI would not let us know about 6015 not working with Vista, I invested a whole bunch of money in getting a PC and Vista and the whole nine yards just to find out 2 months afterwards that my equipment is not compatible...
Anyway, if anyone finds a workaround to get 6015 working with VIsta please share.

[Elijah_K]

I empathize with your frustration and that of any other customer who may be experiencing the same issue.  I apologize for any confusion and the mistake that we made in our documentation - I have notified the personnel in R&D responsible for the documentation and it is slated to be fixed. 

Support has been removed in the official Vista release (8.5) due to potential issues with the older DAQPad architecture.  They make work with prior editions of the driver, but you may experience currently undocumented issues.

We have a variety of M-series DAQ boards available with USB connectivity that are more robust and more powerful than the older DAQPad boards, so if you plan on using Vista I'd recommend checking out one of these newer boards.  Click here for a page that lists all of our USB M-series.

I hope this helps and I'd like to continue to hear more from the community regarding how the DAQPad boards work with DAQmx 8.3.1 and Vista.

[TUT]

I tried Vista and NI DAQPad-6015 with DAQmx Version 8.0. There was no problems. However, in my measurement system I need to work with two cards, 6015 and 6259. Version 8.0 was not compatible with 6259. So I had to uninstall 8.0 and install 8.5, but after that 6015 didn't work any more.

[Mark_E]

Hi TUT,

Unfortunately, the DAQPad-6015 is not compatible with Windows Vista and the DAQmx readme has been updated to reflect this status, as seen here. As Elijah mentioned, there are USB products that are better suited to Windows Vista. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

[Calle_Flexura]

Hi all

To update the documentation is not really enough.

We have been using DAQPad-6016 OEM and we have also built a piggyback interface board. This means we have invested some, in a configuration that no longer could be used. It is already cumbersome to buy new PC:s with XP.

My observation is also, that it "works" with 8.3.

I would demand that this issue is addressed more seriously.

1. Fix the problem with in NIDAQmx.

2. Create a supported workaround ( using 8.3.fff)

3.Describe the nature of the problem.

4. Fix the DAQPad hardware, to be compatible

If this is not done it seems like the DAQPad will be discontinued soon.

If this is the case, it is VERY important that such information is sent to all current users!

Carl-Olof

Flexura KB

[Neil_S.]

Carl,

I can assure you that we are taking this issue very seriously.  We appreciate the feedback and will give it serious consideration as we prepare for future releases of the driver.

As already stated in this thread, NI-DAQmx 8.3.1 is not officially supported on Windows Vista.  While it may appear to "work" we have not tested this configuration.  We do know that moving NI-DAQmx support for devices to Vista was not a trivial task and required significant R&D investment to provide a fully functional and tested driver for each device on this new OS.  Some basic functionality of select devices may seem to operate correctly using NI-DAQmx 8.3.1 on Vista, but we don't recommend using this configuration without significant validation and verification since many potential issue do exist.  Moving full and tested support for the NI DAQPad 6015 to Windows Vista will likewise require significant investment.

We are continually seeking feedback such as yours from our customer to decide on the most important features to add to new versions of our driver and the feedback of this thread is being closely monitored.  I will assure that this issue receives the visibility it deserves.

Thank you for your candid and honest evaluation of our driver.

Regards,

Neil S.
Products Support Engineer
NI-DAQmx Software R&D
National Instruments

[Calle_Flexura]

Neil

Thanks for your reply.

My dilemma right now is that we want to use the DAQPad OEM together with our proprietary board in new devices, that we build.

Based on your answer it looks like we have to find another solution.

What I really would appreciate is a clear statement from NI, whether this issue is going to be fixed or not.

Otherwise we have to redesign our electronics and possibly avoid NI-solutions...

It really works well for pre-Vista platforms, so we would like to avoid it!

Carl-Olof

Flexura KB