Cannot update NI Package Manager to 18.5.1 - Error

[asukumari]

I would like to update all my NI software (LabVIEW, Scope, VISA, DAQmx, etc.) installed to its latest version available, there seems to be two ways to do this:

1. NI update service
2. NI package manager

I do not understand the difference between these two. NI package manager seems to be a more fancier version of NI update service. Regardless, I downloaded the latest version of NI Package Manager 18.5.1

This is the error when I try to  update it / run it.


1. How can I find out what are the latest versions (version numbers) of NI software on my system ? I couldn't find the usual software "About >> Version" option in NI package manager or NI update service.
2. Which one should is the recommended way to do updates? NI package manager or NI update service?

[Bob_Schor]

I always thought that the Fall (now the Spring) Release has the Version Number of the form "20xx", with updates having a suffix that changed it to "20xx.f1" (or "20xx.s1"), while Service Pack 1 releases started "20xx.5" and I'm not sure how the Updates were numbered.

Could NI Package Manager 2018.5.1 be an Update to the version of NIPM that was supposed to be installed with LabVIEW 2018 SP1?  If you tried to run this "on top of" LabVIEW 2018, might it "get confused"?  [Confession -- I haven't installed any SP1 versions since LabVIEW 2015 -- there was no 2016 SP1, and I only recently installed 2017 and 2018, and ran the Updates that NI Update Service recommended ...].

Bob Schor