Missing Reference from NI for Tektronics TDS2014?

[Armando83]

Not too sure if this is really a question for the NI forums or not, but I'm right now getting a compile error that says "Method or data member not found" in my VBA program. The program is supposed to collect data from a Tektronics TDS2014 oscilloscope through a GPIB-USB-HS, which the program has done in the past on the same computer I am currently working on (it had been reformatted sometime in the past year). I get this error wherever I have a "Call VISA.TVC.XXXXX" command, which leads me to think that I might be missing something from NI.

For what it's worth, I am able to manually collect screenshots and data from the oscilloscope through Tektronics' OpenChoice Desktop, and it is listed under the GPIB-USB-HS device as a connected instrument in Measurement and Automation. I have TekVISA Control listed as a reference in the program, and I've installed the latest versions of IVI Compliance Package, the IVI driver for the TDS2014 (from here), and TekVISA.

Any ideas?

[Armando83]

For what it's worth, I'm using NI-DAQmx 8.0, though, as I type this, I am in the process of updating it to 9.6.

[Armando83]

I installed 9.6, and now nothing is working. I'm right now trying to get everything back to the way it was this morning. I'm still flummoxed about this. Why would I get a compile error to begin with?

[Patrick_NI]

Hello Armondo, 

It looks like the driver you installed requires NI-VISA 4.6.  Since you are using TekVISA, this may be the problem.  Either switch to NI-VISA, or contact Tektronics support to see if this may be the issue.

What isn't working since updating to 9.6?  If it's working now, could you please post a screenshot of the error messages you are getting?

Can you use test panels in Measurement and Automation Explorer to communicate with the device?  

[Armando83]

Patrick, after I installed 9.6, when I tried to open MAX, I got an error message not unlike what I've attached below.

Since then, I uninstalled MAX (as well as all programs associated with it - NI Waveform Editor 2.0 Demo, NI Hierachical Waveform Storage 1.41, NI PXI Platform Services 2.6.2 Configuration Support, NI-488.2 3.0.2, NI-DAQmx 8.0, NI-VISA 5.1.1, and NI Visa Server 4.6), and reinstalled DAQ-mx 8.0 and NI-VISA 4.6.

Unfortunately, I still got the same error message.

Attached is the .log file referred to in the error message. I think, at this point, I've messed around with the installation waaaaay too much. Would it be advisable to simply uninstall everything and just start out from scratch again? For what it's worth, I have the CD that came with my NI-6259 (I believe it simply has NI-DAQmx 7.0, but it's a start, at least).

[Patrick_NI]

Hello Armando, 

Some common causes of this error are:

1) Firewall or antivirus software blocking our software.  What Firewall and antivirus software do you have installed?  Try disabling them and seeing if you have get MAX to open without this error.

2) National Instruments services not properly starting.  to check this, go to Control Panel » Administrative Tools » Services.  Then, make sure NI Device Loader and NI Configuration Manager are listed and are started.  If they are not, right-click and choose "start".

Do you know if this is the exact error message you were getting when you had DAQmx 9.6?  Since that is the newest version of DAQmx, we can support it more readily.

Regards

[Armando83]

Patrick,

I turned off the anti-virus SW and firewall (since the computer isn't connected to the Internet, we don't need either anyway), and checked Services. It seems that, while I do have NI Configuration Manager (which I started), I do not have NI Device Loader.

I was able to get Measurement and Automation to run once, but when I tried to load my list of tasks into Data Neighorhood (an entry for which wasn't present), the program crashed. When I tried to restart MAX, I got this error message.

For kicks, I restarted the computer, reactivated NI Configuration Manager, and restarted MAX. I got this message (log and dump files attached).

To make things easier to solve, should I install the latest version of NI-DAQmx?

I do appreciate your time and attention.

[Armando83]

I got timed out of my last edit. It turns out I do have NI Device Loader (nidevldr) and I did start it at first. I still wound up getting  MaxTerminiatedServiceError after trying to load my tasks.

The second and third times I tried restarting MAX, I neglected to start NI Device Loader.

I have, however, since restarted the computer, started the Device Loader and Configuration Manager, and tried opening MAX. The title screen showed up for a couple minutes, saying it was initializing before it all of a sudden exited. I tried restarting MAX, and got this error message (log files attached).

My question still stands: would it be easier to upgrade to NI-DAQmx 9.6.1 and take it from there?

[Patrick_NI]

Yes, I would definitely reccommend upgrading to DAQmx 9.6.  Most MAX Exceptions are documented here: 

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/6CA56E2DDBCCA06086257591006141EE

The fact that your version of MAX doesn't know exactly what plugin is failing leads me to believe your installation was somehow corrupted.  When you upgrade DAQmx, it will upgrade and replace components which may clear this issue up.  Even if it doesn't clear the issue up, we have most up-to-date resources on DAQmx 9.6, so it will be easier to find the underlying issue.

[Armando83]

Installing NI-DAQmx 9.6 worked. MAX is back up and running, and I've confirmed that NI-VISA 5.2 is installed. Should I now install the latest version of NI-488.2 as well as the the software for the TDS2014 oscilloscope (minus TekVISA)?