Remote Launch of Executable Not Working

[mhester]

I am trying to launch an executable remotely and am having trouble getting it to work.  I am using LabView 7.1 and Windows XP.  I followed the steps in the KnowledgeBase "How Do I Launch a LabView Executable Remotely using ActiveX/DCOM."  Is there something I am missing?  Thanks.          

[smercurio_fc]

Yeah, a big bottle of Tylenol.

DCOM is a pain, and typically problems have to do with permissions. Usually the tact I take to ferret these out is to make sure I have full administrative rights on the remote computer. If the program works, it's a DCOM permission issue, as it usually is.

[mhester]

I have allowed about everything I know to allow, and it still does not work.  The firewall is also off.  If you have any suggestions on other things to check, please let me know.  I am not familiar with DCOM, so any help would be great.  I get error -2147024891 occurred at Access is Denied and Error Code is undefined at Automation Open.  Thanks.        

[smercurio_fc]

That pretty much tells you it's a permission problem. Try the stuff discussed in this article [broken link removed 12/17/25; article no longer available].

The other thing to do is to do a generic search on the web for DCOM permissions, as this is not really a problem with LabVIEW, but with the OS. Here's one: http://www.codeproject.com/com/dcomcnfg.asp (deals with ASP, but same concept). Usually you might get an event logged in the Event Viewer, with an error code which can (sometimes) help in tracking down the problem.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but DCOM is a complete mess, and I usually stay away from it.

[.avi file]

Greetings !
   Please let us know if you tried the steps mentioned earlier by smercurio_fc and how did it turn out!
Thanks
Avi H

[mhester]

It is still not working.  The vi runs fine to open the exe on the local computer, but when I try the remote computer, it is blocked.  So, it is a permission error.  I did discover that the two computers are on different domains, but trusts have been set up.  Do you know of anything else that may be required for this to work on different domains?  I will try it on a computer on the same domain next and see if it makes a difference.     

[domatitu]

Hi!

I am new here and would like to appologize in case I asked questions which have their answers already posted. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything that helps me.

My problem is the following. I am trying to write a Macro in Excel using Visual Basic, which is supposed to open a LabVIEW 8.5 executable using ActiveX, to pass to it some input parameters, run the .exe and then retrieve the output and write it back to Excel. I still haven't managed to do this.

I am able to run the Macro with a VI, but not with the .exe :o(

I already read some info how to do this at "How Do I Launch a LabVIEW Executable Remotely using ActiveX/DCOM." It didn't help much. There is an example code supposed to be posted on the site, but for whatever reason I cannot see it 😞 I managed to open the .exe but using additional VI, but I am still not able to pass any parameters to the .exe and keep on geeting the same error message: 6559: unexpected file extension.

Could you please shed some light on this issue or eventually offer some alternatives of coping with the problem?

Looking forward to your replies!

[Aashish_M]

Hey Domatitu,

You might want to refer to ActiveX and LabVIEW.

This document provides information on various ways of using ActiveX within LabVIEW.

[domatitu]

Hey Aashish_M,

Thank you for the reply but I have read this article even before and still it doesn't help.

I read somewhere that after LabVIEW version 8.2 access restrictions to the .exe files has been imposed due to security reasons, which means that the .vi's included in the generation of the .exe file are no longer directly accessible, rather one has to use Automation Open to execute the .exe files.

So, my problem is exactly this remote execution through ActiveX server. I am attaching a simple .vi I managed to create which opens the required .exe file, but I cannot access any control values in my .exe and I keep on getting the same error. Could you please take a look and in case you have any ideas how I can make this thing work - please share?

Cheers!

[Aashish_M]

Hey Domatitu,

Could you provide the .exe file you're trying to run as well?

Have you thought about using the Call Library Function Node to access a VB DLL instead?
Also you might be able to use the System Exec.vi under the Connectivity palette. It's just like command prompt!!