9144 won't scan after update

[MBohnet]

Hi there,

I just updated from Labview2010 to 2011, and since then i can't get miy 9144 to work in scan mode. My system:

9025 running custom FPGA-Code, mostly because of 9871 and 9870 module

9144 with some basic modules (TCs,analog ins, relays)

in LabView 2010, the 9144 just worked fine in Scan mode, but now it just doesn't answer. Cableing should be fine, since it did work before.I Installed the drivers for RealTime Module 2011, ethercat 2.2 driver, NiScan Engine 3.0. on the 9025... I tried to downgrade to the package " NI-RIO 4.0 with NI Scan Engine support - August 2011t", but then i get an error because of the RealTime Version not matching

Online device state of the 9144 gives me:

Error -2147138442 occurred at an unidentified location

Possible reason(s):

The module cannot be found. If the physical module exists, and the device is in FPGA mode, recompiling and downloading may fix this problem.

one strange behavior is: if I right-click the 9144 in the project explorer, it offers me to "revert to scan" mode in the Utilities sub menu. Using that, it downloads something to the device (network traffic is visible on LED), but there's no change at all after that - The option to "revert to scan mode" stays right there, and my remote values return zero.

any ideas how to get it to "talk to me" again?

[DirkW]

That realy sounds concerning. It looks like the slave did not recognize the modules correctly.

Two things you can try:

1. power cycle the slave and see whether that helps.

2. right click the slave and go to "online device state" and switch the chassis mode to "bootstrap" then go and download the firmware again. The dialog should point you to the 2.2 installation directory that has the .foe firmware file.

After the firmware doenload go ahead and power cycle the slave again andmake sure it can switch to "operational" without any error messages.

DirkW

[Alex.T]

Hey MBohnet,

Have you seen if the Scan Engine returns any faults through the Distributed System Manager? Have you also tried reformatting the device?

You can reformat the device by activating the Safe Mode from the DIL switch on the front of the device and reconfiguring the device through the Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX).

Regards,

[MBohnet]

Sorry for not answering faster, had to take a day off, private reasons..

@DirkW: Already tried the "Microsoft solution", didn't help, no matter if powering down 9025, 9144 or both. The *.foe-file via bootstrap mode is essentially the same as using the "revert to scan mode" utility, right? didn't work either, but good idea. 

Would i have a chance to see if the .foe file is corrupted somehow?

@Alex.T: I see no errors in MAX, but i'm not sure if the "distributed System Manager" is MAX, since the ethercat devices can only be seen from project explorer, not MAX. Since there are no dip switches on the 9144, you want me to reformat the 9025? i already tried to uninstall al software there and reinstall the packages via MAX, would reformatting make a difference?

[Alex.T]

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@MBohnet wrote:

Sorry for not answering faster, had to take a day off, private reasons..

@DirkW: Already tried the "Microsoft solution", didn't help, no matter if powering down 9025, 9144 or both. The *.foe-file via bootstrap mode is essentially the same as using the "revert to scan mode" utility, right? didn't work either, but good idea. 

Would i have a chance to see if the .foe file is corrupted somehow?

@Alex.T: I see no errors in MAX, but i'm not sure if the "distributed System Manager" is MAX, since the ethercat devices can only be seen from project explorer, not MAX. Since there are no dip switches on the 9144, you want me to reformat the 9025? i already tried to uninstall al software there and reinstall the packages via MAX, would reformatting make a difference?

---

MBohnet,

The Distributed System Manager is not part of the Measurement and Automation Explorer. You can find it by going to Start > All Programs > National Instruments > Distributed Systems Manager. It's useful for checking the connectivity and responsiveness of network connected devices/variables. I think it's definitely worth trying to reformat the device to ensure consistency between 2011 and the 4.0 RIO driver which your FPGA now needs to interface with.

[MBohnet]

ok, the DSM is a good one - didn't see that before, kudos for that.

as for reformatting the system: tried that, and now I have the 9025 in scan mode, and it doesn't even recognize the ethercat 9144, though i've added the ethercat drivers to the software selection - hmmm. right now, i'm not even sure how to get my FPGA-Program back onto the main chassis...

[DirkW]

No, the Bootstrap method is not the same as the "revert to scan mode" process. The last one just replaces the chassis bitfile with the default one. Bootstrap replaces the chassis firmware file , which is different from the bitfile.

But that might be to late since you can not recognize the 9144 chassis anymore?

Check whether you have activated the EtherCAT configuration for the 9025 ethernet port in MAX.

DirkW

[MBohnet]

OK, panic level slightly reduced: Got the Ethercat-Link back on running (i wonder why the port settings are "hidden" in the main device properties, I'd search for them at "Geräte und Schnittstellen" - don't know the exact English term - "devices and interfaces", maybe?), and I got the local, non ethercat-fpga in fpga mode again.

DSM can see the Ethercat Chassis and finds the correct modules, but MAX has a "MaxServerUnknownError" for the 9025, and the online state dialog of the 9144 in project explorer still allows me to init and to reach bootstrap or pre operational state, but still gives a Error -2147138442 when trying to enter "safe operational" - Operational state is still always greyed out - everything looks like before the reformatting...

[Alex.T]

Hi MBohnet,

Have you reconfigured the Network Settings for the 9025 again after reformatting it?

When you use DHCP/Link Local address schemes the IP Addresses can vary, which causes your system to lose sight of the module. If you were to use a Static IP Addressing scheme to communicate with the device, provided the subnetting is correct with respect to your local IP Addressing scheme you won't have to worry about this problem; however you'll need to find a free IP Address in your network by pinging local addresses to see if you receive a response. This may be something to keep in mind when restoring the Network Settings in the device.

Regards,

[MBohnet]

my contact with the 9025 seems fine, despite the message in MAX - i can ping it, averaging below 1 ms -as one should expect with just one short cable between PC and 9025. FPGA-Programm and RT-Program run fine delivering plausible values, as long as the 9144 is not involved.

I tried to write a little FPGA-Program for the 9144, just writing the Chassis Temperature to a network variable (fpga2host-type) -  just in case the scan engine bitfile was corrupted. NI-DSM sees the new variable, but the value stays zero, just like with the scan engine powered variables. When deploying the RT-Program, Labview offers to switch to active mode (the scan engine of the chassis, i presume), but then fails to do so, running the RT program anyway.

Back in LV2010, the scan engine on the 9144 was the only thing which really worked from the beginning, while the local fpga gave me headaches (never worked with fpga- or rt-systems before, took some time to get into that) and now it's just the otther way round. bizarre.