Debugging LabWindows/CVI version 2.0

[mark.tudor]

I am brand new to working with LabWindows/CVI.  The About window tells me I am working with LabWindows/CVI Run-Time Operator Interface for TestStand Version 2.0  and TestStand Engine Version 2.0.  I am looking for the best way to go about debugging a .dll that is not working exactly as we expect it to.  Can you suggest the best way to go about doing this?  Thank you.

Mark Tudor

[RayFarmer]

Mark,

The following link may help

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/52f5bb7ae7f5a409862569ee0073ac53?opendocument

regards

Ray Farmer

[mark.tudor]

Thank you Ray.  That link certainly did help.  I now find myself having a problem.  I am debugging on a very old version of TestStand and upgrading it is not really an option at this time.  It is version 2.0.  I found that it did not have a seqEdit.exe at all on this PC.  I have TestStand version 4.1.1 on my laptop though, so I copied the seqEdit.exe from my laptop to this PC.  I'm getting this error when I try to run the debugger.

FATAL RUN-TIME ERROR 
Unknown source position, thread id 0x000004B4
A non-debuggable thread causes a Unknown fault at address 7C812A5B

Could this be a problem caused by using a newer version of seqEdit.exe with an older TestStand, if so, where can I find an appropriate version of seqEdit.exe.  

[Dennis_Knutson]

The only thing you did was copy seqEdit.exe to a different pc? That won';t work at all. You would need to install a licensed or evaluation copy of TestStand onto a pc in order to use the editor.The editor is NOT TestStand.

[mark.tudor]

TestStand is on the PC.  It is just a very old version of it.  There was no seqEdit.exe on the PC though, so I copied one over.

[Dennis_Knutson]

If there was TestStand on the pc, there's a good chance it is just the runtime and in any case, the old version of the runtime would not be compatible with the latest sequence editor. The sequence editor uses the methods and properties of the TestStand engine and they have been changed quite a bit since 2.0. Have you debugged the dll on the laptop with the TestStand development? Is this a test step that has been created? Is there a reason you can't upgrade the pc to the latest version of TestStand.

Message Edited by Dennis Knutson on 03-26-2009 02:29 PM

[mark.tudor]

I have built the dll on my laptop, but I cannot debug it.  The PC in question is specifically designed for a purpose my laptop cannot simulate.  So I am pretty stuck doing this debugging on that PC.  I am currently testing the waters on what the impact will truly be to remove the old TestStand and replace it with the new, but until I get a response from my boss, I am stuck working with what I have.  

[Dennis_Knutson]

What about installing CVI on the pc so you can debug the dll there? Does the dll reference TestStand methods and properties or is just trying to communicate to instruments?

[mark.tudor]

It is just communicating with instruments.  It's loading data onto some hardware that my laptop cannot link with.  I'm not sure I could debug this on my laptop.

[Dennis_Knutson]

I didn't say debug it on the laptop. I said what about installing CVI on the pc with the hardware. That's really the fastest way to debug it. All that TestStand does is call the dll.