Request for info on Spectrum.exe from windows xp days

[toml2099]

I have been tasked with recovering a pc used for a NI 6210.   the hard drive failed and there was no backup for it.  no one seems to have much information on this program except a file called spectrum.exe.

it seems to require Labview Runtime 7.1.  The program seems to run after installing the runtime and NI drivers, but it doesnt seem to work correctly and has an error on the top left corner.

Property Node DAQmx Timing (arg 1) in DAQmx Timing (Sample Clock).vi->Spectrum.vi <append>
<B>Channel Name: </B>VB_0

<B>Task Name: </B>VB_0:1

I am hoping for any information on installing the program correctly or where to find the installation files for this program.  please see my screen shots.

[Defaphe]

Hi,

From your description I would say that you have an issue with the Channel(s) name(s) as it is requesting Channel VB_0 to do Task VB_0:1.

Your best hope is to have somewhere a file XXX.nce that has all those tasks memorized. Otherwise you have to name and create all the tasks but the right ones ==> meaning you know what each task has to do.

Can you find such a file in your system?

[toml2099]

unfortunately, i cannot find any files named VB_XX in our systems or anything named   .NCE.

i think this pc was a standalone pc and no backup was made to any servers.  

[BertMcMahan]

You're going to need someone to do some real digging (i.e., hire a consultant to figure out what was going on and re-create the tasks, if that's possible at all) or get in touch with James Staley Co (which is still in business) or find Martin Opitz.

Right now you have the cover to a book and don't know what was inside it. Unless you can find the author or hire someone who knows what the book was about to try to recreate its functionality, you're going to be out of luck. This doesn't look like an off-the-shelf product to me.

[toml2099]

Thank you for the info.   From the looks of it, i assume the spectrum.exe is a custom made program using Labview?  So NI would be the wrong people to contact regarding support for this?   I have also tried contacting James Staley Co to see if i can get a hit somewhere.  

[BertMcMahan · Accepted solution]

Yes, that's correct. NI won't be able to help you, as they just provide the programming language.

Unfortunately, LabVIEW 7 was released in the '03/'04 timeframe, so your software could be nearly 20 years old by this point. Any idea if that software was simply purchased for your company or if it was developed for you specifically? Sometimes people have very old source code files on their server somewhere. Look for files ending in ".vi" or ".llb". Also, look around your physical test area for CD's or floppy disks. If your lab has been around a while there's probably a really dusty CD with some backup data on there. I'd say I find one of those about 30-40% of the time, and it's always VERY helpful.

If you have the source code, you would be miles ahead in getting the system going again.

BTW, my company does offer LabVIEW consulting, so if you wind up going that route let me know, or post on the job openings board. There are many people on here who offer similar consulting services. Just know it's going to be fairly pricey to get someone to rewrite the program from scratch, so hopefully you will be able to find either the original author or the source code.

(Hope this doesn't come across as me trying to get work- I've just seen this exact scenario play out before when people lose very old software and have to start over again. I recognize you're in a tight spot, there's just not a lot of things we can do from a forum online)