LabVEIW-created executable won't connect to NI DAQ

[mkatsiou]

Several months ago I created a LabVIEW program that takes data from a string potentiometer and a load cell, filters it, shows a live graph & readout, and then creates a graph to save the data. Once I got it to where I liked it I created an executable file, tested it, and it worked great. Now, months later, I got a new computer (that does NOT yet have LabVIEW, but DOES have the NI Device Monitor) and the executable file will not show the graph and collect data. When I open the configuration for the device from the NI Device Monitor and run the "self test", it appears to be working, so my guess is that the executable file is no longer able to connect to my DAQ unit. Is there anyway I can fix this without having to reinstall LabVIEW and edit the program to fit this computer? 

[Denis_Tesla]

I understand that the LabVIEW executable requires LabVIEW runtime(of the LV version of the .exe) to be installed on the computer on which you are trying to run it. If LabVIEW isn't installed on this PC, chances are, the runtime is not installed as well. 

[WestOfEden]

Hey mkatsiou,

You've mentioned Device Monitor(do you mean NI MAX? Device Monitor just prompts you if it detects a USB device as I understand it), but does the new computer have the DAQmx Runtime and the LabVIEW Runtime installed on it? You would need these installed on the computer if you don't want to install the full versions of DAQmx and LabVIEW. Make sure the versions of the runtimes match your versions from the other computer. You can check what you have installed by expanding the Software category in the lefthand window of NI MAX.

[mkatsiou]

Yes, I did mean to say the NI MAX, not device manager. The new computer did not have either Runtime installed, but when I once I installed them, only the LabVIEW Runtime shows up on my software list, not the DAQmx Runtime. Is there any way to check the executable to see which versions I was using when i created it? I no longer have access to the old computer to check what I had on it...

Even after installing the Runtime software(s?) the executable will not pick up the DAQ unit

[WestOfEden]

 You have the DAQmx driver installed on your computer now so you should be fine. There isn't a way to check which versions were used in the creation of the executable as far as I'm aware. This shouldn't matter for DAQmx generally, but would be important for LabVIEW. If the executable runs, you should be alright on that front.

Do you remember how in the old code you were specifying the device and channels to use for the task? If the names and channels you're looking to use aren't the same as the ones specified when the executable was created, that would explain why it isn't getting measurements. Do you have the code available to post?

[mkatsiou]

Getting the program to run hasnt been an issue. The program runs (I can see it refreshing, so I know it's running), and the signals coming in are working (I can test them on the NI MAX and see them working). The issue seems to be that the program can't find the channels it's looking for, which, shouldn't be an issue since I haven't renamed the device or channels from their standard names.

Since I don't have LabVIEW on this computer I can't double check, but I'm pretty sure I had just used the DAQ Assistant. 

This was my first non-tutorial program, so it may have some unusual work-arounds as I was trying to learn things.

[WestOfEden]

Could you send me a screenshot of your hardware in MAX, under the devices and interfaces tab? I want to see which DAQ devices you're using, what the name of the devices are (if they have been changed), and the names of the modules. From looking at the VI I see it was set up with DAQ assistant, which unfortunately means I can't see the device information it was configured with, since it defaults to trying to set up the tasks with my connected hardware when I open it. Could you let me know what channels you would like to use for the load and deflection measurements?

[mkatsiou]

I had ai0 as the Force and ai1 as deflection.

Is there a better way to set up the channels rather than the DAQ Assistant that would more "solidify" where the channels are read from? If i remember correctly I had a few other issues that I beleived spawned from the DAQ Assistant, so it might need to be replaced.

[mkatsiou]

Could someone please list the things that I would need to run an executable on a different computer? This program will be going on more computers, and to ease the process, I'd like a list of what I need to download on each one. Plus it sounds like the issue seems to be something with downloading the correct programs.

[WestOfEden]

In the process of setting that up, think I found what could be your issue. The DAQ assistant is throwing an error that it is missing a custom scale (in this case two). These would be scales you had configured in MAX on the other computer for your incoming data, which were named String POT 3 and Load Cell. The DAQ assistant goes to get the readings and apply that scaling to them when run through your LabVIEW application, but when it cannot find the scale, it does not display the readings and instead errors out. If you remember how you configured those scales, you can recreate them on your computer now with the same name and they should associate properly.

Also is C:\Users\mkatsiou\Documents\test.tdms still a valid file path on this other computer? If this is not a valid path on the computer you try to run it on, the application will error out.

Changing both of these allowed me to run the program, and hence an executable, on my computer here. Adding the scales can be done through MAX so requires no changes to the executable. If you need to change that file path, let me know.