PXIe-1082 and PXIe-8301 not detected in NI-Max

[MikeH1064]

I have been trying to get a specific laptop computer to recognize a PXI chassis system that other laptops already do.  The NI-Max configuration that does not work appears on Origin brand laptop (see attached image).  The NI-Max configuration that does work appears on the Dell brand laptop (see attached image).  Both laptops have the same version of PXI Platform services.  I have removed all NI software from the Origin laptop to the most basic NI requirements to see the chassis.  As you can see from the attachments, the Dell version clearly indicates the PXI chassis and the appropriate controller card.  The Origin version merely lists a generic SMBus Controller.

This is the third laptop of various brands we've run into that exhibits this issue, and it has remained unsolved.  For the laptops that are unable to explicitly detect the PXI chassis, FPGA projects that use backplane routing (Destinations and Sources) for the PXIe-6341 Multifunction I/O card won't run.  Thus, the Dell laptop runs the LabVIEW FPGA application just fine, the Origin laptop generates an error at start-up.

Has anyone else had an issue like this, and what, if anything, was your solution?  I've read through the forums, and based upon what I've found so far and have tried, I am reasonably sure the BIOS settings for the Thunderbolt port are correct and there are no issues with the orientation of the Thunderbolt cable.  Again, both laptops are being connected individually to the same PXI system, and the results are as I presented, so I know the PXI system can work as configured.  There may be a software and/or driver issue, but as I stated, we've had multiple laptops properly configured to work, and multiple laptops that had this issue and were never resolved.  Thank you.

[santo_13]

Question - do you know if your new Dell laptop has a Thunderbolt 3 port and not just another USB 3.1 as Type C?

Not all Type C ports are Thunderbolt 3 even if the laptop supports Thunderbolt 3

[Terry_ALE]

I would check installation order of the NI drivers. Or from NI package manager try one of the prepackaged driver suites.

Another thing to try is unplugging all of the cards, remove all NI software via NI Package Manager, then rebuild the needed NI software for only the chassis recognition.

[MikeH1064]

Hi Santo_13,

Thank you for your reply.  All good points!  Yes, the properly configured Dell laptop is Thunderbolt 3, according to Device Manager and Dell.  The Origin laptop with errors is a Thunderbolt port, and is actually Thunderbolt 4 version, according to the manufacturer.

I did have a conversation with NI prior to the purchase of the Origin laptop, and the consensus was that upgraded versions of Thunderbolt shouldn't be a problem for current controller cards.  The "verdict was still out" with regard to Windows 11 (NI hasn't had enough experience to confirm), so we had the Origin laptop configured as Windows 10.

Thanks,

Mike H.

[MikeH1064]

Another development in my search for a solution.  The suggestion from Santo_13 got me wondering about the Thunderbolt ports themselves.  I tried plugging the Thunderbolt cable from the PXI chassis into the one USB3 port on the Origin laptop (ver USB3.2, I believe).  I lost recognition of the other cards in the chassis, but now I see the PXIe-8301 controller card.  The PXIe-1082 chassis still does not show up.

The controller card appears in both NI-Max and Device Manager.

[MikeH1064]

Hi Terry,

Thanks again for your assistance.  I have since stripped the PXI chassis of all but the 8301 controller card.  I've removed all NI software and reinstalled only the PXI Platform Services package (ver 21) and the System Configuration package (ver 21).  The System Configuration package was necessary in order to re-install NI-Max.  Still same result.  NI-Max won't recognize the 1082 PXI Chassis or the 8301 controller card.  It simply lists a generic "NI SMBus Controller".

I've attached an image of the NI-Max results.

Still waiting to hear back from NI Support after supplying the error logs and various debug records they requested.

Mike H.

[Terry_ALE]

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@MikeH1064 wrote:

Hi Terry,

Thanks again for your assistance.  I have since stripped the PXI chassis of all but the 8301 controller card.  I've removed all NI software and reinstalled only the PXI Platform Services package (ver 21) and the System Configuration package (ver 21).  The System Configuration package was necessary in order to re-install NI-Max.  Still same result.  NI-Max won't recognize the 1082 PXI Chassis or the 8301 controller card.  It simply lists a generic "NI SMBus Controller".

I've attached an image of the NI-Max results.

Still waiting to hear back from NI Support after supplying the error logs and various debug records they requested.

Mike H.

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I assume the following have been reviewed:

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA03q000000wwa8CAA&l=en-US

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z0000004BA0SAM&l=en-US

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z0000004B0ASAU&l=en-US

This is not related to your card but see also https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA03q000000x0MKCAY&l=en-US

[MikeH1064]

Hi Terry,

Yes, I've looked through all of those links.  I'm currently working with both the Origin laptop tech support and NI tech support on these related issues to see if we can discover something.

Thanks for your input.

Mike H.

[MikeH1064 · Accepted solution]

With the help of Lane Griffin at NI Support, we were able to resolve the issue.  The solution involved one of the steps in the Knowledge Base paper mentioned here and elsewhere in the forum, but then following up with an additional step.  The paper is:

Cannot See PXIe Chassis When Using Thunderbolt 

In step #8, an attached file is referenced (Microsoft_FPB_Disable).  We downloaded this file and ran it on the computer.  Running the file installs the register entry.  Lane then performed an NI-Max database reset (step #7), which may have been key to getting the problem resolved.  We were able to immediately recognize both the 8301 controller card and the PXI chassis upon rebooting the Origin laptop.

One observation, as we went through this debug process, as well as installing the rest of the hardware and software - a simply command Restart was often insufficient to see the changes we had just made.  As a standard practice, we found we had to power down the laptop, then power back up to validate any hardware changes in the PXI chassis, as well as any software changes on the laptop.  Also, though we tried the different recommendations for BIOS settings related to the Thunderbolt port, we still don't see any difference in the system operation related to specific settings.

Again, thanks to all for your assistance in resolving this issue.

[petti]

Perfect, it not only works when the chassis isn't recognized.

In my case the 1083 chassis was recognized, but the SMBus controller showed error 10 in the device manager. After this registry hack the error disappeared and all cards work as expected.

Great

Patrick