Floppy Disks vs PXI-8184RT Controller

[pabr]

Hi,

I have four NI PXI-8184RT controllers (w/Real-Time Embedded SW).  There is no Windows OS on these RT, they boot with LabVIEW RT 7.1 (Pharlap ETS).  I wonder if these controllers can use the floppy disks created with MAX under RT Disk Utilities (PXI Format Hard Drive Disk, IP Reset Disk…).  The thing is that PXI-8184 don’t have a floppy, we have to use USB floppy.

I changed the following BIOS settings on the 8184 to use a USB floppy:

AdvancedàIntegrated PeripheralsàLegacy USB Support [ENABLE]

BootàRemovable DevicesàLegacy USB Support [moved to 1^st position]

I can see the LED going on the USB floppy, but that’s all… the controller then boots from the hard disk.  The problem is that I’m almost sure that this OS doesn’t have any driver for USB mass storage or USB floppy.

So if it is the case, is MAX the only way to format the 8184?  I know that we can force booting from safe mode from the BIOS, does that feature replaces what we would do with a PXI Safe Mode floppy disk?

Patrick.

[Steven_C]

Hi Patrick,

You are correct. Please note that MAX is not the only way to format the controller. You may do so from the BIOS as well. This feature does replace what we would do with a PXI Safe Mode floppy disc. I hope this helps confirm things. Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Steven

[pabr]

Hi Steven,

if I can format the hard disk from the 8184's BIOS, I'd really like to know how... I couldn't find that option.

Thanks for you answer.

Patrick.

[Steven_C]

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for your reply. Please disregard my previous post, I appologize for my confusion. For the PXI-8184RT, going into RT Safe Mode from the BIOS will allow you to override any startup vis that you may have and then once you are in RT safe mode, you may format the controller. However, please note this must be done from MAX and not directly from the BIOS. I have looked into other possible ways to do this and this really is the only way to go. I hope this clarifies things.

Best regards,

Steven