The TestStand Engine cannot be initialized. Path not found.

[igambin]

Hi, up until now i installed and removed TestStand 3.5 3 times in a row, just to always get this message (see subject) when i try to start the Sequence Editor. I even uninstalled all NI-Software i had on this laptop to reinstall the whole package... Nothing worked. Now i wonder, is there anything i am doing wrong ? What can i do to get TestStand running ?

Well, on that message when i hit OK, another message

 The sequence editor cannot start up. Unable to create the TestStand Engine.

 Hitting OK on that message again just terminates the sequence editor leaving me with a blank screen.

Any ideas whats wrong ?

best regards and thanks in advance,

Ingo

[Scott_Richardson · Accepted solution]

Ingo -

Sorry for your frustration. Your idea to uninstall and reinstall should typically work. The second message is just a result of the first error, so we need to figure out what path is not found, and it is unclear why this is occurring. I tried to force my copy of TestStand 3.5 to fail in a similiar way by messing around with the installation and I could not find a way to cause the "Path not found" error. I got many other more detailed errors, but I have been unable to duplicate your message.

Some questions:

1) What operating system are you using?

2) Are you installing to the default location under Program Files? Are you using a network path in any way?

3) Do you have write authority to the the installation locations on you system?

4) Are you logged in as an administrator when installing, restarting, and launching the sequence editor.

5) Have you manually messed with any of the registry settings under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\National Instruments\TestStand\3.5, where something is incorrect?

6) Have you added any User components under the TestStand directory that might somehow load and cause an issue?

If you currently have an installation on the system, you could quickly try to clear out the Cfg directory under TestStand, so that it generates new copies of these files.

Message Edited by Scott Richardson on 11-20-2008 12:38 PM

[igambin]

Hi,

thanks a lot. It seems a colleague who had this laptop before i got it also had TestStand on it before he uninstalled all software in order to pass the laptop to me. As his uninstallation and my repeated uninstallations/installations of the whole NI Software prove, it seems the uninstall does not clear the registry of old entries. In the registry the config path of his long gone installation was still present even after my repeated new installations. Maybe an uninstall process should clean the registry of all related entries and a new install should overwrite old registry entries instead of just use them dismissing all new registry information. Could save some people some trouble.

Well thanks for the hint where to look for problems!

Best regards,

Ingo Gambin

[Scott_Richardson]

Ingo -

So changing the config directory field in the registry, CfgLocation, was the cause of the problem? If yes, was the setting pointing to a directory that existed? If yes, what was in the directory? Lastly, do we know which file in the directory might have been causing the problem? Any insite would be helpful so that we might either give a better error message because I could not duplicate the error message.

[Scott_Richardson]

Ingo -

I was able to reproduce the error if the CfgLocation pointed to a path that does not exist and cannot be created. I tried this in TestStand 4.1 and a more detailed message is displayed that specifies the specific directory and the registry setting that contains the directory.

[igambin]

Hi Scott,

first of all: Sorry. I wanted to reply to your last questions but totally forgot that last week.  

And right, the problem was did not caused by the modification of the cfglocation. It began with the cfglocation pointin to a directory that didnt anymore exist. And as that directory was not the default installation directory it wasnt correctly set after the installation as the installation process didnt overwrite the registry-entry with the newly installed location.

Thx a lot for helping with this issue and may future users benefit from your changes 🙂

Best regards,

Ingo 

[stevesteve]

I have the same problem with TestStand 4.01, where after a reinstall it fails to initialise and just gives the message "path not found". I have not found the file that you mention, so to recap, what file did you need to alter/delete to fix this problem.

[dug9000]

Look in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\National Instruments\TestStand\4.0.1\

Is there a value CfgLocation? If so correct or remove it.

-Doug

[stevesteve]

In this registry location there is:

Default

CVICompatMode

Path

ProductCode

ProductName

RegisteredInteropAssemblies

Version

VersionString

& a folder for user info

I deleted all of these & re-installed TestStand 4.01, but it made no difference. It still comes up with 'path not found' when launching it.

[dug9000]

Have you tried deleting everything under <ProgramFiles>\TestStand 4.0.1\ before reinstalling? Especially the files in the cfg directory?

-Doug