NIMax.exe has very high CPU Usage after PC left unattended, no DAQ apps running

[citizenDAK]

NI-DAQ 7.2 is installed, but no DAQ hardware is currently plugged in, and no DAQ application is running. What can I do to stop the 100% CPU Usage problem that's loading my whole system down?

(Windows 2000 sp4. Sometimes I plug a DAQCard-6036E into this laptop, and run an LabVIEW 7.0 application, or LabVIEW itself.
To unlock my other applications I had to force the "NIMax.exe" process to Below Normal priority in TaskMgr.exe. Then I tried explicitly launching NIMax but it is non responsive right now... It's half painted on the Windows screen but no taskbar icon.)

Thanks in advance for any help!

[JaredA]

Hello,

According to your post, it sounds like as soon as you launch MAX on your laptop, the cpu usage for NIMax.exe jumps to 100% and stays there. Even when no hardware is plugged into your computer. If this is correct, then the problem is irrelevant of the hardware since it occurs with just software.

Are you able to try your setup on a different machine? Currently, what type of computer (make, brand, processor, memory, etc.), version of MAX do you have? I was able to pull from your post that you have:

Windows 2000 SP4
NI-DAQ 7.2
DAQcard-6036E
LabVIEW 7.0

Trying to duplicate this behavior on another computer would be ideal because it would help to determine where the problem is local. If I have misspoke in any of the above information, please post bac
k to this thread with further info.

Regards,

Jared A.

[citizenDAK]

No, that's not quite what happened. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I never launched MAX, not explicitly anyway. Maybe that's the problem... Looking at my task manager now, "NIMax.exe" is not running. What could've launched it (without my intervention) in the first place?

I have NOT seen this happen on another pc. It's happened a couple of times on this one, when leaving the thing on overnight. (Windows was password "locked" but not logged off.)

Dell Inspiron 7500 (P-III, 192 MB RAM). This has been quite a reliable laptop, so I suspect the software?

I just now launched NI-MAX to see it's version info, and it pegged the CPU usage to 100% again, and is non responsive. TaskMgr says that process's CPU Time 0:06:28 (increasing); Mem Usage 21,132
K (fixed); VM Size 14,148 K (fixed).

Anyway, it's the NI-MAX that installs with NI-DAQ 7.2 (traditional and mx features installed, but not switch or opc). If it ever unlocks, I can post version info.

[citizenDAK]

I terminated NI-MAX from the task bar, but that 100% CPU process is still running.

Re-launch the NI-MAX, and I can do Help/About: it's version 3.1.0.3021. The menus are appearing, but when I click in the tree-view on the [+] symbol next to "Software", it stops responding again. (Tried again, also froze when trying to expand "Devices and Interfaces".)

=====

Now I terminated the app from the task bar, AND terminated the remaining high-cpu process from TaskMgr. I'll try launching it again: OK, there ARE two new processes listed named "NIMax.exe", both using no CPU yet. Then I try expanding the tree again, and one of the processes goes back to 100% CPU Usage. (Application is "Not Responding". I press [End Task] but the high CPU proce
ss is still there, just the other one disappeared.)

I even tried plugging in my DAQCard-6036E. No change to this problem.

So, what's the deal... Any ideas?

[JaredA]

How long is your processor pegged at 100%? The tasks that you have explained, expanding Devices and Interfaces, by default take a long time to complete. Are you sure that if you let the process run out for some period of time, the process will complete and control wil be returned.

I have two ideas. The first idea is to have you try a reinstallation of the NI-DAQ driver. You would uninstall both Traditional NI-DAQ 7.2 and NI-DAQmx 7.2 along with any other dependent components. You should also uninstall MAX. When you reinstall the driver, MAX will also get installed. If you would like, you could even try a clean wipe of your computer from all NI products. I have an application that I could get in your hands if this is something you are int
erested in.

If none of this works, then we are going to have to try and find a similar computer to what you have and try to duplicate the issue. Do you have any other laptops that you can try this on? Did you ever have this working on your computer before? If you have, you could probably get by in the mean time by downgrading the versions of the software you are using. Unfortunately, I do not have a similar computer that I could try and duplicate the issue on myself.