PCIe-8361 is not being detected in new computer (Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 / Win7)

[geoadam]

We have decided to retire the old computer we used to run a custom calibration system based around a PXI-1033 as it was getting flakey and it was running Windows XP.  The new system is an i7 running Windows 7 Pro (64bit).  I have had no luck getting the PCIe-8361 to be detected by Windows in the new computer.  The Power and Link LEDs on the PXI chassis are both green. Below is a rundown of what I’ve tried.

The system already had DAQmx 14 and Measurement Studio when I installed the PCIe-8361.  There was no notification that Windows had found new hardware. There was no Standard PCI PCI-to-PCI bridge in the device manager.

• Ran the NI update utility
• The forum mentioned needing NI-VISA and NI-Serial, installed those two components
• Removed the PCIe serial port card and moved the 8361 to that PCIe slot (I did not try the x16 PCIe slots as documentation on the NI website recommended against doing so)
• Updated the BIOS of the motherboard to the latest version
• Tried various "Legacy" settings in the BIOS
• Installed the MXI-Express BIOS compatibility software

I removed the BIOS compatibility software, or tried to at least. The installer encountered an error.  I can boot into Windows with the 8361 removed from the computer.

Suspecting that maybe the newness of the system may be the problem, I put the 8361 into my desktop, an older 2012 Dell Vostro 470 which already has DAQmx installed.  The 8361 was picked up, the device manager showed the PCI-PCI bridge and MAX showed the PXI-1033. 

The original system was a Core 2 Duo with Windows XP.

New system specs:

• Core i7-4790
• Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 rev 1.0 motherboard (Intel 9 Series chipset)
• 16 GB RAM
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB HDD
• Windows 7 Pro 64bit

Dell Vostro 470

• Core i5-3450
• 4 GB RAM
• Intel 7 Series chipset based motherboard
• Normal 500GB Western Digital HDD

The PCIe-8361 part number is 195315C-01L.

I’ve attached screenshots of MAX and the device manager sorted by connection type.

Are there any known problems with the older PCIe-8361 cards and Intel 9 Series chipsets?  Anything else I can try?

The obvious solution is to just exchange my system for the new one but that will require me setting up the database and application and migrating all the data again. I would still have to setup the new computer for myself and that will likely involve getting IT to change permissions around for my user account.

Thanks,

Adam

[Robert__R · Accepted solution]

Adam,

I'm not sure what's wrong, but thank you for being thorough in your post.  Your device manager picture is exactly how I like it.

Here are some thoughts and suggestions.

- Software doesn't matter for getting things to show up in device manager.  With no software/drivers everything will show up with a "broken" icon, so you can shift things around (or test other machines) for this type of issue without the overhead of SW installations.

- Two green lights on the chassis are important.  If you don't get them then there's a hardware issue.  Since they're lit, it's more likely a BIOS problem.  Unless you wern't turning the chassis on first.

- Please try the x16 slots.  The advice not to is based on possible problems with detection (not functionality), but as PCIe has matured the slots have become homogonous.  Since you're already seeing detection issues, the x16 slots can't be worse.  🙂

- Try with an empty chassis and with a non-empty chassis.  Some BIOSes will hide root ports that don't have endpoints behind them.

- Related to the previous bullet, you could put a different PCIe card in the slot you intend to use, then see which root port is attached to the slot, which could help point to the BIOS hiding the root port when you put the PCIe-8361 in it.  You can see there aren't 4 empty PCIe root ports in device manager even though there are 4 PCIe slots on the motherboard.

- Your PCIe-8361 doesn't support the MXI-Express BIOS compatibility software.  Whether or not it's installed is irrelevant for this problem (there may be some corner cases it could still clean up, but the HW needs to show up first).

Good luck,

Robert

[geoadam]

Thank you Robert, I tried the 8361 in a x16 slot and it picked up.  It was visible in the device manager as well as NI MAX.

Happy to finally get things working though a bit annoyed that I didn't try that earlier. Thanks again!