COM Ports not reading after build (VISA included in build)

[Quevvy]

Using LabVIEW 2012 SP1 f4; building on one computer and running on another via Runtime Engine. In addition to the RTE, I included VISA Configuration Support for MAX 5.2, NI-VISA Runtime 5.3, and NI-MAX 5.4. The first thing that came to my attention was that my instruments do not show up in MAX; serial ports aren't even listed at all. In my VI, I have a drop-down menu to select which COM port is for which instrument (the port number changes between building machine and running machine), and I can see the correct ports, but nothing can be written/read from these ports.

This is my first time building an application, also.

[mikeporter]

What errors are you getting? Your executable can report errors, right?

Mike...

[winterishere8]

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@Quevvy wrote:

Using LabVIEW 2012 SP1 f4; building on one computer and running on another via Runtime Engine. In addition to the RTE, I included VISA Configuration Support for MAX 5.2, NI-VISA Runtime 5.3, and NI-MAX 5.4. The first thing that came to my attention was that my instruments do not show up in MAX; serial ports aren't even listed at all. In my VI, I have a drop-down menu to select which COM port is for which instrument (the port number changes between building machine and running machine), and I can see the correct ports, but nothing can be written/read from these ports.

This is my first time building an application, also.

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If you go to MAX, it should show all the software installed. Can you put a screenshot of that ?

Let's compare that with whats available on your development computer. Also, like the other gentlemen asked, can you please provide the errors you are getting?

[Quevvy]

Here are the errors I'm getting:

The "Temp Error" is from a manufacturer's VI (Eurotherm 24xx VIs), so I'm not sure exactly where the Flush I/O Buffer happens.

With the other two, Set I/O Buffer Size is the first thing I do with the COM port, so it's not able to do anything with the instruments.

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 Here's what's on the developing computer's MAX:

and here is the deployed computer's MAX:

Thanks for the help!

PS - Sorry for responding so late!

[Dennis_Knutson]

What sort of com ports? Built-in on the motherboard are the only type you'll see without installing drivers.

[Quevvy]

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@Dennis_Knutson wrote:
What sort of COM ports? Built-in on the motherboard are the only type you'll see without installing drivers.

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I guess they are connected via an expansion card. How can I include drivers in my installer?

I'm skeptical that this is the problem though. I build the installer and then installed it on my development machine (which should have the correct NI drivers, right?) and that's where I got these error codes. When I simply run the VI, it works, but when built into an .exe file, the COM ports no longer work.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Your comment makes no sense. You were talking about not seeing any com ports in MAX. To fix that problem, you need the windows device driver that came with the hardware.

[Quevvy]

Well, then this problem makes no sense. 

When I run my VI on the development machine, it works fine. After I build and install it onto the same computer, it can no longer communicate with the instruments. I think this is the issue that needs to be fixed first before I try deploying it on the runtime machine.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Did you even look up that error? It sounds like you might have LabVIEW and the exe open at the same time. You cant do that and it has nothing to do with not seeing any com ports on MAX.

[Quevvy]

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@Dennis_Knutson wrote:
Your comment makes no sense. You were talking about not seeing any com ports in MAX. To fix that problem, you need the windows device driver that came with the hardware.

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All the drivers were already installed, I just wasn't sure if there were drivers that LabVIEW also required. I just uninstalled and reinstalled NI-MAX, and now they show up. However, I cannot open a VISA Test Panel to test out the connection. I validated each of the ports (i.e. baud rate, stop bit, etc.), but would like to use a Test Panel to verify the read/write procedure for each instrument. I also cannot access the NI VISA Interactive Tool.

One of the ports is now reading correctly, but I am still getting zero readings from the other 2 ports. The error I got was -1073807339: VISA Read in [name].vi. I am not 100% sure on what command I have to write to the instrument to get the reading, so that might be the problem (could be easily fixed if the VISA Test Panel could be accessed).

Does the VISA Test Panel only work on development systems?