VI-PXI-4070: Device Selftest Failed (Error -223911)

[KingTermite]

Forgive me if I miss any details on this problem. I've only just come in to work on it.

I did search the forums and various areas....I found this exact problem has come up before, but the two threads never actually had resolution (e.g. original poster never came back to say if problem was solved or not). I tried all the suggestions (deleted device from device manager and refound it, repaired the driver). I know that there is a newer driver out there (2.6), but there is no reason that the 2.4.5 driver we are using should have a problem, is there?

Background: Our technician started noticing intermittent problems with the VI-PXI-4070 DMM card when they started using a new lab computer (switching from Windows 2000 to Windows XP). They are using Ni-DMM 2.4.5 version of the driver, FYI.

What I see is this:

I can come into the computer, go straight into NI-MAX and
1) turn on NI-spy
2) click the "reset device" button.   (I see no problems, but nothing comes up in Ni-spy, should it?)
3) click on the "self test" button and get the status 0xBFFA2003 (or sometimes 0xBFFA4389) returned with an error in the popup, -223911.

   NI-SPY shows me the following




And I get this error message popup window



As I stated earlier, I have tried to delete the device from the device manager and allowed windows plug-and-play to refind it and install the driver. No luck. I also tried to repair the driver, still went straight to this error. I noticed a newer version of driver is out there, but I'd prefer to stay with our 2.4.5 driver as we have to go through some formal change processes in order to update the driver.

I'm not 100% positive this error is only on Windows XP and not Windows 2000 (I have not seen this on the Windows 2000 machine, myself), but that is what I'm told by our technician (and I have no reason to doubt him).

Can anyone shed light on this problem?

[Brian F.]

Hello. 

Thank you for posting to the NI Discussion Forums. 

Sometimes, more information about this error can be gathered from the DMM Soft Front Panel.  This can be accessed from Start>>Programs>>National Instruments>>NI-DMM>>DMM Soft Front Panel.  Once inside, are you able to take successful measurements with the device?  Secondly, do you see an option under the Utility menu called Self Test?  This functionality may have been added after 2.4.5.  However, if you have access to it, sometimes the error messages in this place are more detailed and helpful than the error message in MAX. 

Upgrading the driver to 2.7 could certainly solve the issue that you are seeing.  There have been some users that had this same issue and upgrading the driver returned the system to a working state.  If upgrading is not an option, could you shed some light on what your CPU is?  Are you using an industrial PC?  Is it over MXI (if so, which MXI)?  What is the processor speed and what is the computer model number?

Finally, I would recommend possibly placing the board in another PC to see if this is a CPU issue and not a 4070 issue. 

Let me know how these steps go.  We will be glad to help you further!

Brian F
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[KingTermite]

Well.....I did disover something new that may be related.

There is another board (vendor board) that has been suddenly having problems on this computer too. I noticed that the DMM and that board are using the same interrupt. Windows shows no conflicts or problems....but I wonder.

You have some good suggestions. I'll play with all this new info and report back later.

Thanks.

[KingTermite]

Ok...thanks again for help. I've tried a few things, still no luck.

I've tried removing the other device that was on the same interrupt in Windows to make sure it wasn't some kind of interrupt conflict. That did nothing...still got same error so I replaced device.

I tried upgrading to the 2.7 driver. Still no luck, still get same error (more description comes out), but its the same error.

I tried self-test in SFP as you suggested and here is the result:


I can't get all the detailed PC info just yet...but I might be able to track that down tomorrow. Here is what the my computer properties show:

I'm pretty sure I've heard somebody say it was a dual core or dual processor.

[Brian F.]

Hello. 

As part of this troubleshooting process, the PC specifications would be very helpful.  Also, the way that you are communicating with the PC from the PXI Chassis is also important.  If you are using MXI, what version of MXI are you using?  If it is a specific computer model, that would also help us out.

Also, are you able to take accurate measurements with your 4071?  As a quick test, if you hook up a battery to the 4071, can you read an accurate voltage on the Soft Front Panel? 

Finally, have you tried the 4071 on any other PC's?  Does it work?  Does it fail with the same error? 

Let us know.  We will be happy to look into this issue further!

Brian F
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[KingTermite]

First....when another computer is connected (one that is Win2k), it works fine. So it seems the connection scheme and card are ok.

I'll get the pc info (nothing on outside of pc...must get hands on order manifest) and connection scheme today and report back.

[KingTermite]

OK....some more information. I had our NI rep out today to help me debug. He was very helpful.

He brought another 4070 out and we tried it. Same issue (expected as our card works fine on Win2k machine).

We tried 4070 in another slot in the PXI chassis and it worked just fine. He suspected a possible problem related to the BIOS and the PCI bridge. He had to go, but suggested an update of the BIOS might fix the problem.

I was finally able to id the computer (motherboard at least). it's an Intel Desktop Board D945GNT. I updated it to the latest BIOS and I still have an issue in the original slot.

I haven't moved back to the working slot yet, but I'm pretty sure it will work. It's not the "desired" solution as it means changing of many documents and drawings, but at least we have "some" solution if need be.


Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

[wildcat_600]

Hello,

Thank you for all of your troubleshooting steps so far.  I have an idea of why this problem might be occurring, but to make sure can you please answer a few more questions so I can narrow down the problem.

1. What PXI chassis are you using?  If you have the part number (example 778645-01) that would be very helpful because then we would know the exact revision.
2. What slots did the module pass and fail self test in?
3. Are you using a MXI setup to control your PXI chassis using a desktop PC or are you using an embedded PXI controller?
4. Were you able to take measurements even though self test failed?
5. If yes, can you take a measurement using the Auto Range.  To try this open the niDMM Soft Front Panel, and change the Range to AutoRange.

Please get back to me at your earliest convenience and let me know if you run into any more issues.

Have a good day,

Brian P. - Digital Multimeters & Power Supplies PSE - National Instruments

[wildcat_600]

Hello,

I just wanted to check in and see if you are still experiencing problems with self test?  If you are please let me know and I would be happy to help.

Brian P. - Digital Multimeters & Power Supplies PSE - National Instruments