LabVIEW load error code 1: LabVIEW load error code %ld: %p

[nbf]

I have a simple VI which displays intensity graphs from data files having sizes 30-40MB. Twice so far, LabView has used up all the memory, and corrupted the VI, leading to loss of my latest changes. (This seams to be an issue specific to running LabView on Mac because my colleagues running on Windows have not experienced such crashes.) The Activity Monitor on Mac indicated that almost 1.5GB of memory was being used when LabView used up all the memory, leading to a memory is full dialog box and corruption of the VI file.

- Why does running a VI of less than 150MB have a memory footprint of 1.5GB? Even if LabView kept 10 copies of the data, that would still be about 0.5GB altogether. Is this the result of a memory leak by the application?

- Since this is a recurring thing, is there a way to recover the corrupted file? I back up my files nightly, but I would like to avoid losing a day's worth of work as the result of a crash.

- Should I consider doing my LabView work on a Windows machine instead?

Thanks,

Neil

[Allison_M]

Hi nbf,

Just to clarify, are your colleagues running the exact same VI on their Windows computer and are not experiencing issues? From your description, it sounds like this crash is most likely caused by a memory leak. Would it be possible for you to post your code or a screenshot of your code to verify that this crash is reproducible on other Mac machines? If not, what kind of functions are included in this VI? Is it possible you are not closing references when running your code? Unfortunately there is no way to recover a corrupt VI so backing up files is still your best option. Answers to the previous questions will help us narrow down the troubleshooting for your application.

Regards,

[nbf]

Hi Allison,

   Sorry for the late response. (This site notified me of your response a week after you sent it.)

To clarify, my colleagues who run on Windows are not running the exact same LabVIEW code. But I have yet to hear from them about a corrupted VI. On the other hand, another colleague here who has used LabView on a Mac, has been frustrated by it and stopped using it on Mac. He uses it on Windows for instrument control and moved other tasks to a different application on Mac. So the odds are this is specific to Mac. Just last night, I had another file corruption. (The corrupted file, "Read .img File - corrupted.vi", is attached.) The code was extremely simple, and all I was doing was saving it; it then crashed and when I tried to open it, I got the message:

LabVIEW: Generic error.

An error occurred loading VI ....

LabVIEW load error code 3: Could not load front panel.

(I have attached a screen shot of the error dialog.)

I had also tried to upload the corrupted VI that crashed last time prompting me to post to the forum; it was about 150 MB (because it contained a large image) and exceeded maximum upload file size. I am attaching a working version ("IP QL to charge - bak.vi") which I created from scratch and then saved without images embedded in it. (The images would have been created by loading a text file itself created by saving an image as text.)

I try to back up frequently, but I think file corruptions are happening far too often and I would like to figure out how to avoid them in the first place.

Thanks,

Neil

[nbf]

Trying again to attach this file. Mac application which does screen shots (Grab) saves images as TIFF files. NI web site strangely does not recognize .tiff or .tif as a valid file format. I had to convert file format to GIF.

[nbf]

Trying again to upload corrupted file.

[Tunde_S]

Hi nbf,

I'm sorry to see that you are getting this error. I found another thread here that seems to be regarding a very similar issue. In that thread, the problem was solved by reinstalling LabVIEW. Would you be willing to try reinstalling LabVIEW? I know this is not a fun solution, but I think it's worth trying.

Let us know if you have any luck!

[nbf]

Thanks. The error I am getting is not exactly the same as the one in the link you sent.

BTW, I had uploaded several files as requested by your colleague, Allison. Is she planning to take a look at those? (I expected follow up by the same Applications Engineer.)

Neil

[Allison_M]

Hi Neil,

I was out of office since my last post and was just able to take a look at this forum today. LabVIEW Load Error Code 3 is a very generic error but this KB has some great information on possible causes of the error: http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/82799E89AFC6BB7C86257642007A2C31?OpenDocument.

Have you noticed any patterns as to when the VI becomes corrupt (i.e. after several runs, certain inputs entered, etc)?

Regards,

[Shazlan]

Hi Neil,

I just had the same problem yesterday to one of my VI's and I am using Windows. So, I don't think the error is OS specific. Now, the file is corrupted and I got the LabVIEW Load Error 1 (see attached) every time I try to open the file. 

This happens when I was troubleshooting my code for memory leaks. I found the bugger, fixed it but before I could save it, I got the full memory error dialog. I clicked OK and stubbornly tried to resave the file. The memory is full pops-up again but this time, LabVIEW crashed after I clicked OK... and now, the VI is already corrupted. Is there a way to save this? Unlike Neil's case, this VI is one of my major subVI's in my program.

Shazlan

[nbf]

Sorry to hear about the corrupted VI. I was not able to recover my own corrupted VI and started from scratch. I also added more memory to my MacBook and this has not happened since.

I received very useful tips on memory management from another NI representative in response to my complaints on another thread about LabView's memory footprint. In my opinion, LabView should do something to prevent such file corruptions from occurring. Having to rewrite a VI from scratch is a steep penalty to pay for the sin of not managing memory well.

Neil