Arduino-LabVIEW Serial connection (shutting down computer)

[N.Ghrayeb]

Hi everyone, 

i'm going to try to explain my problem in short and good way. 

i have a sensor sheet connected into a PCB, this PCB contains 2 shift registers, 2 multiplexers,4 (0.1) Micro F and a 50 kOhm resistor. 

my sensor sheet is 12 x 12, i'm connecting the columns to the shift registers and the rows into the multiplexers. 

the voltage i drive to the PCB is 5V from Arduino board and i'm grounding everything needed to be grounded. 

after shifting the columns and multiplexing the rows i'm using A0 in arduino to read my data, connected through serial connection between the PCB and the computer. 

the arduino code, read 12 x 12 every 100 ms.

i've designed a VI to display this data over intensity graph. 

i deleted anything could cause me a memory leak to avoid breaking down the system. 

however, when i'm applying a normal or a big force over my sensor sheet, my computer is shutting down to save itself. i've looked to my VI several times and i haven't found any problem, even when i'm highlighting the code. 

i was thinking if the read count of the Visa read could cause this error. as i declared my read byte count to be a static number of 1000.  I increased it to 10000 but still have the same problem. 

any idea could help me from preventing this problem 

PS: when i'm displaying my results over the serial monitor of the Arduino it doesn't break down, which mean the connection all right, but when i'm displaying over the graph in the VI, it shutdown the computer, that mean something in my VI is Wrong. please check the snippet

am i thinking in the right way. 

[wiebe@CARYA]

I'd doubt a VI can cause a shutdown by accident. If it is, what happens if you run all the code, but with random values? E.g. keep the serial communication, but fake the data. If it still happens, it must be either the serial communication or the connection.

You know what values to expect when the pressure goes up. Can you remove the serial communication completely, and simulate those values? If that works, you know it's not the VI.

A significant memory leak would show up in task manager. I'd expect a slow down caused by disk swapping, and then an out of memory popup, not a shutdown.

Is it a laptop or desktop?

Is the Arduino USB powered through the PC? The current required trough the USB might get to high, dropping a power supply voltage, triggering a shutdown.

Can you try an external 5V to power the sensor? Maybe increase the resistor?

[RavensFan]

My guess would be the too much current draw on the USB port.

Do you get an messages when you restart the PC?  If you google for it, you can find a command that lets you find out the cause of the last shutdown, that might give a clue.

[N.Ghrayeb]

the error is 

IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL

i thought about driving current as well, i don't exactly know if using an external power supply will help this problem 

[wiebe@CARYA]

Does it mention a .sys file? It seems to be related to drivers, and fixable by driver updates. Seems a stretch to me, but worth a try.

Not sure how sending high values would cause this... Can you make the Arduino send fake (low) values?

[N.Ghrayeb]

Hi Mate, 

in the beginning of the error message it was Driver IRQL not less or equal. 

i was driving my voltage through a power supply now and i pushed so hard, the Laptop shutdown again. 

 and fixable by driver updates. Seems a stretch to me, but worth a try.

to be honest, i haven't understand anything from this sentence 🙂 

and no i can't give fake data, i need the exact data i'm receiving

[wiebe@CARYA · Accepted solution]

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@N.Ghrayeb wrote:

i was driving my voltage through a power supply now and i pushed so hard, the Laptop shutdown again. 

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The sensor is not on your computer is it?

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@N.Ghrayeb wrote:

 and fixable by driver updates. Seems a stretch to me, but worth a try.

to be honest, i haven't understand anything from this sentence 🙂 

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It means often this message indicates a hardware driver problem. Updating the driver(s) might fix the problem. "Seems a stretch to me" means that it would surprise me if this is the problem. But updating some drivers could fix the problem.

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and no i can't give fake data, i need the exact data i'm receiving

I understand you're not making a system if you could fake it's data. But during testing, it will make clear if the problem is in the data that the Arduino is sending, or that it's just the pressing on the sensor that causes the shutdown. I'd try it two ways 1) fake hard pressing data, see it PC crashes even when not pressing, and 2) fake low pressure data and see if PC doesn't crash even when applying pressure.
 

[N.Ghrayeb]

Alright, 

now is much better, sorry my English is my third language 🙂

The sensor is not on your computer is it? 

the sensor is a 12 x 12 matrix, it's separate from computer, connected through the PCB and then connected to Arduino. 

It means often this message indicates a hardware driver problem. Updating the driver(s) might fix the problem. "Seems a stretch to me" means that it would surprise me if this is the problem. But updating some drivers could fix the problem.

i believe everything is up to date in my Laptop, but i'll give it ago and check if there's any update to install it. 

I understand you're not making a system if you could fake it's data. But during testing, it will make clear if the problem is in the data that the Arduino is sending, or that it's just the pressing on the sensor that causes the shutdown. I'd try it two ways 1) fake hard pressing data, see it PC crashes even when not pressing, and 2) fake low pressure data and see if PC doesn't crash even when applying pressure

it's only when the sensor sheet connected this will happen, i tried a simulation data before and it worked properly. 

and thanks for answering me and keep giving me alternative routs and advices. 

[wiebe@CARYA]

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@N.Ghrayeb wrote:

now is much better, sorry my English is my third language 🙂

That's OK, it's my third language too (Dutch, LabVIEW, English) 

The sensor is not on your computer is it?  

 That was a joke (if I press hard on a sensor that is "on" the laptop, my laptop will shutdown too).

I think the USB current is the most likely suspect...

[N.Ghrayeb]

good morning, 

yesterday night i drove voltage from a power supply to the PCB. 

when i applied a huge force the laptop shutdown again. 

so now i'm not quite sure where is my problem, is it the drivers, the cash or the USB current. 

also why i'm not having such problem when i'm displaying my data over the serial monitor of the Arduino. 

it only happen when it's connected to LabVIEW. ?