PXI Cards not Vissible, No Devices/Interfaces on Remote System in MAX

[PetrKlapka]

Greetings all,

I'm having several issues with the following setup:

Hardware Configuration:

NI PXI 1044 Chassis
NI PXI 8187 RT Controller
NI PXI 6561 LVDS DIO
NI PXI 6259 DAQ

Problem 1:
Real time controller displays the following errors on startup:
[nidevldp--224--tDeviceLoader.cpp----------------] NIDEVLD FATAL ERROR: failed to connect to MXS
[nidevldp--225--tDeviceLoader.cpp----------------] MAX configuration files may be corrupt

Problem 2:
No devices & interfaces appear in MAX under the remote system, though a quick RT app proves the built in serial ports work when looped back on each other with a cross over cable.

Problem 3:
PXI Chassis appears under Host system devices & interfaces in MAX. After being correctly identified as an 8187 and 1044, and the 6561 and 6259 cards installed, the cards are not detected and do not appear in the chassis slots. MAX report slots as Unknown/Empty. I am unable to access any PXI Resources

Problem 4:
Although the PXI Services for LabView Real Time 1.4.2 are listed as installed in the Windows Control Panel, the component is not available in the LabView Real Time Install Software Wizard


Host Platform is Windows 2000, SP4

Software Configuration on Host (From NI Software Installer in Control Panel):
------------------------------------
NI Hierarchal Waveform Storage 1.3
NI IVI Compliance Package 2.2
NI Instrument IO Assistant
NI LabVIEW 7.1
NI LabVIEW 7.1 Real-Time Module
NI LabVIEW 7.1 Real-Time Target Support
NI LabVIEW 7.1.1 Real-Time Update
NI LabView Application Builder 7.1
NI LabVIEW PID Control Toolset 6.0 (for LabVIEW 7.1)
NI LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 7.0
NI LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 7.1
NI Measurement & Automation Explorer 3.1.1
NI MEasurement Studio for VS2003 Update 7.1.0.308
NI PXI Platform Services for LabVIEW Real-Time 1.4.2
NI PXI Platform Services for Windows 1.3.2
NI Session Manager 3.0
NI-488.2 2.30
NI-488.2 For LabView Real-Time 2.30
NI-DAQmx 7.4
NI-Embedded RT 1.0.1
NI-FieldPoint 4.1
NI-FieldPoint for LabVIEW Real-Time 4.1
NI-HSDIO 1.3
NI-SWITCH 2.4
NI-SERIAL 1.7
NI-SERIAL for LabVIEW RT (no version # given)
NI-VISA 3.2f1
NI-VISA Runtime 3.2f1
NI-VISA Server 3.2f1
NI-VISA for LabVIEW Real-Time 3.2f1
NI-VXI Support for LabVIEW 1.2.1f0
NI-Watchdog 2.1.2f0
Traditional NI-DAQ 7.4 (Legacy)

Software Configuration on Remote System (8187) from MAX:
------------------------------------
LabView Real-Time 7.1
NI-VISA 3.2
NI-Serial RT 2.5.4
NI-4882 RT 2.3.0
NI-Watchdog 2.1.2
DataSocket for LabVIEW Real-Time 4.2
Language Support for LabView RT 1.0.0.1
NI-DAQmx 7.4.0
Traditional NI-DAQ 7.4.0
NI-VISA Server 3.2
NI-HSDIO 1.3.0

Here is the order in which I installed everything:
Start with clean Windows 2K install
4/21/2005 AVG AntiVirus PK
4/21/2005 Manual Windows Update PK
4/21/2005 MS VSS 6.0c PK
4/21/2005 LabView 7.1 PDS Full Install w/Drivers PK
4/22/2005 LabView Real Time ETS Full PK
4/25/2005 NI Serial 1.7 Full Install PK
4/25/2005 NI PXI Platform Services 1.3.2 Full PK
4/26/2005 LabView Real Time 1.2 Full PK
4/26/2005 Feb. 2005 Drivers PK
4/26/2005 NI HS-DIO 1.3 PK
4/26/2005 NI DAQmx 7.4 PK
4/27/2005 Still can't get the PXI chassis to
recognize cards, controller is still
giving errors on boot. PK
4/27/2005 Uninstalled ALL NI Software PK
4/27/2005 LabView 7.1 Full PK
4/27/2005 Feb 2005 Drivers (Auto Detect) PK
4/27/2005 LabView RT Module 7.1 Full PK
4/27/2005 Feb 2005 Drivers (Auto Detect) PK
4/27/2005 NI DAQ 7.4 PK
4/27/2005 NI HSDIO 1.3 PK
4/27/2005 NI Serial 1.5 PK

I've already tried uninstalling EVERYTHING and reinstalling from scratch on both the Host and the RT system. Very time consuming. Installing NI-DAQ 7.4 or HSDIO on the RT system is what causes the RT system startup errors. I tested after adding each software component one at a time. The reinstall had no effect on any of these problems though...

Finally,
The skimpy 3 page printout instructions that came with the ~$10,000 equipment point to a hyperlink for finding the correct PXISYS.INI file. Since it isn't possible to click a hyperlink on a piece of bloody paper, and the electronic version of the document isn't provided, I found the site where NI keeps these files with a search of the site. There is no INI file for the 1044 chassis or the 8187 controller. Is this even a possible cause of the problems above? There is NO troubleshooting information for this hardware anywhere. Google turns up nothing, and the NI Tech support guys have been chewing on it for 3 days now.

PLEASE HELP! I'm loosing valuable development time by having to troubleshoot NI's hardware... 😞

[PetrKlapka]

This issue has been resolved. Thank you very much to Ricardo from NI Support.

Solution:

Problem 1:
These errors are caused by a corrupt system files, possibly caused by a power cycle while the files were being accessed. NI Support suggested deleting the Config.mxs, Config.mxc, and "LAST" folder. This did not fix the problem, but formatting the system drive and reinstalling the software did. To format the system drive, right click the RT Controller and select "Format Drive"

Problem 2:
Also resolved by the drive format. PXI resources now appear on the remote machine. The serial ports will not be vissible, but installing NI-Serial for RT will make them accessible through labview as one normally would.

Problem 3:
The chassis now appears on both the host and rt systems. Resources are available only to the RT system.

Problem 4:
This does not appear to be necessary.

Again, thanks much to Ricardo.

[PetrKlapka]

Update:

After accessing the serial ports through LabView, they now also appear in Max under the RT system devices and interfaces. After installing 488.2 for RT, the GPIB interface on the RT controller also showed up after about 5 minutes.

[Ricardo_SR]

Hello Petr

Thank you for writing the summary for the troubleshoot we did. As we discussed I will create the Knowledge Base on how to troubleshoot these issues. It should be live very soon.
Thank you again.

Ricardo S.
National Instruments