Labview 7.1 trouble with .dll file

[UWMstudent]

I am working on a research lab at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.  We have labview 7.1 installed and there is an error with the lvdaq.dll file.  I'm not sure if I can download and install something to fix this or not.  We would highly prefer not to upgrade as it is not in the budget for such an expense.  Is there any way to continue running experiments?

[smercurio_fc]

That DLL is part of the DAQ driver software. You should have this on the Device Driver CD that came with LabVIEW 7.1. Otherwise you can download it from the NI site. Note that you will need to see if you are using Traditional DAQ or DAQmx. You can check in MAX (Measurement and Automation Software - there should be an icon on the desktop, but there's also a link in the National Instrument program group) to see what software you have installed.

[UWMstudent]

Forgive my ignorance as I have only been working with this program for two days now, and some others in the lab know less than me.  The program was running fine until very recently.  The .dll file is in the correct folder, however its icon is different from the others and not recognized by the program.  I searched for a download to replace it but didn't see anything.

[UWMstudent]

The person in charge of daily operations in the lab claims we have no backup disk.  I tried downloading a different copy of the file I recently found though it didn't solve anything.  Is there anyway to get the program running again?  I'm not sure if this is an issue, but the file icon appears different from normal .dll files recognized by the program.  Is there some process that I can preform to the lone file to its former state, or is it corrupt?  If it is corrupt, can it just be replaced by a non corrupt version of itself?

[smercurio_fc]

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UWMstudent wrote:
The .dll file is in the correct folder, however its icon is different from the others and not recognized by the program.  I searched for a download to replace it but didn't see anything.

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What folder are you referring to, and what do you mean by "different from the others" as far as the icon? I also don't understand what you mean by "recognized by the program". What program?

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I tried downloading a different copy of the file I recently found though it didn't solve anything.

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Download from where? Are you arbitrarily downloading DLLs from the internet?

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Is there anyway to get the program running again?

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Yes, and I already told you what you need to do: Download the DAQ software from NI to repair your installation. As I noted, verify to see if you have Traditional DAQ or DAQmx and download the appropriate one from the links I gave you before.

If I were you I'd also scan your computer for viruses. 

[UWMstudent]

First of all, thank you for your patience as I am unfamiliar with this software.

What folder are you referring to, and what do you mean by "different from the others" as far as the icon? I also don't understand what you mean by "recognized by the program". What program?

Labview 7.1 fails to initialize the file lvdaq.dll.  WHen I say it is different, I mean that the icon of the file when looking at it in the C drive, it looks like a white page with two interlocking gears  while normal files that are working look like the labview symbol.

Download from where? Are you arbitrarily downloading DLLs from the internet?

No, I was searching the forum for help and I found a link to download the same file, though replacing it in the C drive didn't work. 

Yes, and I already told you what you need to do: Download the DAQ software from NI to repair your installation. As I noted, verify to see if you have Traditional DAQ or DAQmx and download the appropriate one from the links I gave you before.

This is my second time using the software (first on my own) and I unfortunately don't know what you mean by Traditional DAQ vs DAQmx.  I searched NI DAQ 7.1 and NI DAQmx 7.1 and found a couple of things though after installing them nothing changed.  Though the computer isn't linked to the internet I have installed an antivirus software in case someone did introduce something.

Thank you for your help. 

[UWMstudent]

 These are the files I downloaded and tried to use to fix the issue.

http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/106/lang/en

http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/790/lang/en 

[smercurio_fc]

lvdaq.dll is a DLL, not a LabVIEW file, so its icon will look like a DLL, not a LabVIEW VI.

DAQ is the driver software for talking to data acquisition products liken analog I/O and digital I/O. You can't arbitrarily download an lvdaq.dll file without knowing what version you have. As I noted, that file is part of the DAQ software. The best way to fix your problem is to rerun the installer to repair your installtion. You said the person "in charge" claims that you have no backup disk. I'm not referring to a backup disk. I'm referring to the CDs that you got with the sofware. You did get the software from NI, right? Well, you would have gotten several CDs. One of them would have been for LabVIEW. Other CDs would have been Device Driver CDs. On one of these other CDs is the DAQ software. The device driver software is free from NI, so you can download it from NI.

It's best to download the same version as the one you have to minimize the impact. To find out what version you have there are several ways:

1. Use Measurement and Automation Explorer:
   1. Run Measurement and Automation Explorer. If you don't have an icon for it on your desktop, then launch it from Start -> All Programs -> National Instruments ->  Measurement and Automation.
   2. Expand the Software tree item.
   3. Your DAQ software will be listed there. See attached image as an example. Note that in this example I show having DAQmx, along with the specific version number. Yours will be different. It will say either Traditional DAQ or DAQmx. I'm 99% sure that it will say "Traditional DAQ" only.
2. Use Add/Remove Programs:
   1. Launch Add/Remove Programs from the Windows Control Panel.
   2. Select "National Instruments Software" and click "Change/Remove".
   3. You will see all of the NI software installed. The DAQ software will be listed, and you can see which one you have, and which version you have. 
3. Navigate to the "C:\Program Files\National Instruments\NI-DAQ" folder. There should be a "readme" file in there. Open it, and it should identify the software you have.

Once you know the correct version of the DAQ software, then you can download it from NI and run the installer to repair your installation. Note that the version number of the DAQ software will not necessarily be the same as the LabVIEW version. In fact, the link you gave for the Traditional DAQ is Traditional DAQ 7.1. This is not compatible with LabVIEW 7.1. For LabVIEW 7.1 you need at least Traditional DAQ 7.2.

[Coq_Rouge]

You or person in charge of daily operations. Should give your locale NI office a phone call. Then tell them which Labview version you use, and which DAQ board you use. Then he/she may help you finding which DAQ driver you should download. After a residential of the DAQ driver, your setup should work again.