Can LabVIEW 2010 device drivers work with LabVIEW 2015 device drivers on the same PC?

[YKWang]

I run Window 7 PC with LabVIEW 2010, LabVIEW 2013, LabVIEW 2015, and 2015 device drivers. When I open my LabVIEW 2010  application, there are broken errors saying missing driver components. Can I install LabVIEW 2010 device drivers on the same PC with 2015 device drivers installed already and all LabVIEW 2010, 2013, 2015 applications will all work?

[Ray.R]

Which device driver are you referring to?  Was the 2010 driver installed prior to installing 2015 and it dissappeared?

I have not had issues with installing multiple device drivers for different versions of LabVIEW.  Usually, a driver will indicate how far back you can go with it.  Most companies providing the drivers do so at certain intervals and not for every LabVIEW release.  In most cases older drivers will work with more recent versions of LabVIEW.  You should be able to install a 2010 driver and use it with 2015.

That being said,  did you manually browse to find the missing driver in 2010?  Drivers usually reside within a given folder inside the LabVIEW version directory.  That means, if you installed a 2010 driver and want to use it with 2015, it may not automatically find it.  You would need to browse inside the 2010 folder to find it.  Once found, it should load with 2015.

[Alexander_Sobolev]

I think by device drivers you mean DAQmx, but it:

1) updates previous version 

2) is not compatible with all labview versions (see readme), for example Daqmx 15.1.1f3

Application                   Software Versions Supported by NI-DAQmx and the DAQ Assistant

LabVIEW                        2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015
LabVIEW Real-Time      2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015
LabWindows/CVI           9.0, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015

A few thoughts:

I do not know if it is possible to install multiple daqmx versions  to support all 3 of your LabVIEWs. Most probably old one will say "higher version already installed", but you can try.

The compatibility is at development level. I have run executable built in lv8.6 with daqmx 14.5.1 (does not support LabVIEW 8.6). 

[natasftw]

You've just got both possible answers to your vague question.

If the device drivers you're interested in are drivers developed for a third party device ( www.ni.com/idnet ) they should be forward compatible and you can work with them in all of those versions.

It's more likely you're looking for NI drivers (DAQmx, RIO, etc).  These will require you to install a single version.   Updating to the newest version will overwrite the older versions.  The newest versions won't work with LV 2010.  That's likely where you're at and stuck now.

If you want to develop with both versions, you'll need multiple machines or to run a VM for the older software set.

[stevem181]

Hi YK,

I'm facing the same situation. The DAQmx version 15.X.X drivers only support going back to LabVIEW 2012.

My solution was to talk my one LV2010 customer into an upgrade when they wanted other feature changes :).

The virtual machine is a viable option for most situations (including Ethernet, USB, and Serial devices).

I use the free VirtualBox VM. Some things are clunky (like resizing) but overall I'm impressed.

Here are some links:

DAQmx and LabVIEW Version Compatibility

NI-DAQmx and Windows Version Compatibility

Windows Version Compatibility with LabVIEW

steve

[Ray.R]

YK has not yet confirmed which drivers he is referring to.   As many have posted, it is likely the DAQmx drivers, which may have been overwritten when LV2015 was installed.  

YK, can you confirm if any of us are on the right track?

[Yamaeda]

Uninstall DaqMX and install DaqMX 14.5, and it should work no all those versions, no? (14.5 might be LV2011+)

/Y