Labview 7.0 DAQmx Assistant Problem

[MattA1]

Hello, I tried searching for this problem a few times but I couldn't find a thread that matches my problem. I only started using LabVIEW yesterday so please forgive my inexperience if I make obvious mistakes. The problem I am having is as follows:

I have two computers, both running LabVIEW 7.0 on Windows 7, one with a NI-DAQmx card (PCI 6221, driver version 9.3) and one without. The one without the card has MAX version 3.0.2 and the other has the latest version (4.8). So far I have been following the tutorials in the "Help" files called "Getting Started with LabVIEW", using the machine without the DAQ card. In the fourth chapter it talks about an Express VI called "DAQ Assistant" which is in the I/O palette of the functions window. When I attempt to bring it into a VI block diagram, instead of opening the assistant it hangs on a loading splash. This I expected as the machine doesn't have the hardware.

Next, I moved over to the other machine, which has the card installed. I opened up MAX, did the self-test, checked the test panels and carried out self-calibration; everything reported ok. When I open up LabVIEW, however, any function relating to DAQ is missing from the palette. I've tried rolling back the drivers to version 7.1 and MAX to 3.0.2 in the hope that replicating the condition on the other machine would fix it, but no luck there so now I'm back to square one with no idea what to do. I really need to be able to use this card with LabVIEW for my project so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[JÞB]

LabVIEW 7.0 on Windows 7, one with a NI-DAQmx card (PCI 6221, driver version 9.3)

Driver incompatable.  There is no version of DAQmx that will work with both Win7 and LabVIEW 7.0. You will need to Upgrade LabVIEW or Downgrade the OS

[smercurio_fc]

You have several compatibility issues.

• One, LabVIEW 7 is not officially supported on Windows 7. It might work, it might now.
• Two, DAQmx 9.3 does not support LabVIEW 7. For LabVIEW 7, DAQmx 8.1 is the latest version that supports it (meaning it will have the necessary functions in the LabVIEW functions palette).
• Three (consequence of (2)), Windows 7 requires a minimum version of DAQmx of 8.9.5.

[MattA1]

Thanks for your prompt and helpful replies, I was worried it would be something like that. At least now I know that it's a compatibility thing and I can follow your advice to get it working.

[MattA1 · Accepted solution]

Ok guys, I now have Windows XP running in a Virtual Box on the computer with the DAQ card installed. Outside the Virtual Box, I still have the driver versions 9.3 and MAX 4.8 and the card is available on the device tree in MAX, as before. Within the VB I am using LabVIEW version 7.0 and DAQmx drivers version 8.1 (MAX 4.0.3.3003) as suggested, but the card isn't appearing in the device tree, even though I have tried refreshing a few times. The Create New... window has no option for a PCI-6221 card, only for PXI and SCXI hardware. Any clues? 

[smercurio_fc]

You will not be able to work this through a VIrtual Box. You need direct hardware access.

[JÞB]

the Windows virtual machine does not expose the PCI resource.  VMWare has been used by other with some success although there is no "Official support" for that OS.  On the other hand, it has been 10 years since LabVIEW7.0 came out.  Many bug fixes and new features have been added to the IDE since then.  The cost of upgrading to something "maintainable" is pretty small compared to maintaining obsolete systems.

<Set horror story mode = True>

A Manufacturing company I know of has a legacy product with a production test system on a 286 PC.  They scour e-bay to find replacements on a regular basis.

[smercurio_fc]

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Jeff Bohrer wrote:

<Set horror story mode = True>

A Manufacturing company I know of has a legacy product with a production test system on a 286 PC.  They scour e-bay to find replacements on a regular basis.

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You mean like the way NASA had to scour for parts? http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/12/us/for-parts-nasa-boldly-goes-on-ebay.html

[MattA1]

Thanks for all that! Sadly, I spent the last few hours finding out the hard way.  I am aware that it would probably be a better solution to upgrade; sadly, I am not in charge of the departmental purse-strings. Oh well, time to format the hard-drive and clean install XP, I suppose!