PXI-6533 undetected in NI's Explorer

[Sampan]

Cannot see the PXI-6533 in the NI's Measurement Explorer, however the device is working property in Device Manager. How can I fix it??

[Brooks_C]

Hello Sampan,

What driver are you using with your PXI-6533.  If you don't have other constraints on your system I would recommend installing NI-DAQmx.  If you're using LabVIEW 7.1 or later then you'll want version 8.7.1, otherwise you should check this KB: NI-DAQ & LabVIEW Version Compatibility (for Windows) and then search Drivers and Updates for the correct version.

If you've already installed the correct version of NI-DAQmx then I would recommend deleting the PXI-6533 from the device manager and restarting your computer to let the operating system re-detect the device.  Also, just to make sure we're on the same page, here is what my correctly detected devices show up as in the device manager:

I hope this helps, and post back if you're still having trouble.

Have a great day!

Message Edited by Brooks_C on 04-22-2008 12:35 PM

[Sampan]

I've tried to remove the device and search new hardware again; the cards can be detected.

This is a intermittent problem. Sometimes after startup, the Device Manager can see the devices, but NI Explorer cannot. If that happened, I do a disable/enable device in Device Manager, and the NI Explorer would see it.

I am using LabView Runtime Engine v.6.1 and DAQ 7.3 Tranditional...because my software is based on that version.

[Brooks_C]

Hello Sampan,

According to the NI-DAQ Driver Support: PCI/PXI Devices the PXI-6533 (NI 6533) should be used with NI-DAQ 7.4.4 or NI-DAQmx 8.7.1 depending on what operating system you're using.  However the latest version of NI-DAQ supported by your version of LabVIEW, version 6.1, is 7.4 according to this KB:  NI-DAQ & LabVIEW Version Compatibility (for Windows).  I'm assuming that using the 6.1 run-time engine is a requirement for your system; if you're using the versions you have with Windows 2000/NT/XP then it should be okay according to the NI-DAQ 7.3 Readme.  If you're using an operating system that is not on this list then that is likely the problem since these driver versions are not supported.  If you can use a newer version of LabVIEW I would go that route so that you can stay in supported territory, but if not let’s see what we can do to solve this issue.

1.  What operating system are you using?

2.  Has this system ever worked consistently, or has the PXI-6533 always been intermittently detected?

3.  When the PXI-6533 is correctly detected in the Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX), does it work as expected in example programs?

4.  After the PXI-6533 is correctly detected in MAX does it stay detected until the next time you reboot your computer or does something else cause the device to stop working?

5.  If you change which slot you put the PXI-6533 in the PXI chassis is it correctly detected?

6.  Do you have other Traditional DAQ devices in the chassis that are correctly detected consistently in MAX?

7.  If you do have another Traditional DAQ device does this card have trouble being detected if you put it in the slot where the PXI-6533 is?

Like I said, upgrading drivers to the current versions would likely be the easiest solution, but if you've got code that needs these versions or if you have other computers running the same versions I realize an upgrade may not be easy or feasible so we can try to troubleshoot the issue as is.  Please reply back with answers to the above questions so that we can try to isolate the problem to hardware or software.

Cheers,

[Sampan]

Hi Brooks_C

to answer your questions:

1. we are using Windows 2000

2. the system has been running perfect since Dec 2005 until this DIO card issue came up intermittently.

3. I'm not aware of any example programs, but when PXI-6533 detected in the MAX our program works correctly.

4. Sometimes after reboot MAX cannot detect PXI-6533, sometimes it'll stop working in the middle of the process.

5. I am not sure, but I tried the card on other identical system and it is working fine. So the card itself is good.

6. I don't know what devices are consider as Traditional DAQ Device, but these are the cards I have in the chassis:

    PXI-8231 (Ethernet Card)

    PXI-6040E (Multi Function Card) 

    PXI-8221(PCMCIA Card carrier)

Again, this system we have has been running perfect since Dec 2005, until now the PXI-6533 issue comes up intermittently. So I would think this issue is more to do with hardware, especially chassis, than software.

[Brooks_C]

Hello Sampan,

I tend to agree with you that it sounds like a hardware/chassis issue.  Since the card works in another system it does sound like the chassis may be the problem.  Here is what I would test:

1.  Move the PXI-6533 to another slot in the same chassis and see if it works consistently there.

2.  Move another card to the slot the PXI-6533 was in previously and see if it begins to show the same behavior.

If the PXI-6533 starts working in another slot and another card stops working then I would say that you need to send the chassis in for repair.  If this is the case you can call National Instruments directly using the contact information at www.ni.com/contact.  Please be sure to let the engineer you speak with know about this forum post so they can see the tests we've already done and save time by not duplicating work.

Cheers,