right-clicking on sub-vi crashes LabView 7.0

[BVSmith]

When I right-click on a sub-vi on the block diagram, LabView crashes completely without any error messages.
I have uninstalled LabView and re-installed it and the device drivers, but it still happens. It doesn't matter which vi is open and which sub-vi is right-clicked on.
It only started doing this last week.

[SVences]

Hello �

When you say that LabVIEW crashes with no error messages, do you mean that all windows are closed and everything LabVIEW related disappears from the task bar?
When restarting LabVIEW after the crash, does it prompt you whether you want to investigate the error or not?
Do you see an error log file in the \My Documents\LabVIEW Data\lvfailurelog directory (it will be something like lvlogxx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx.txt, where the x are numbers)?
Would it be possible for you to post and example of a main VI with a subVI that demonstrates the behavior?

S Vences
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[BVSmith]

Yes, all the LabView windows closed, and when I restarted it, it did not ask to investigate any error.
In the meantime, I uninstalled LabView and then deleted the whole Program Files\LabView directory because there were many files left there.
I also deleted several keys from the registry with "National Instruments" in the name (in particular, several with values "National Instruments Data Navigator Configurator Control".
Then, after reinstalling all of LabView it works now.
So the key was either deleting all the Labview folders or that key in the registry, because simply uninstalling LabView and reinstalling it didn't fix it.
Thanks for your reply.

[BVSmith]

I'm back. LabView is crashing again in the same way. I had completely removed it from my system and reinstalled it, and it worked for a few weeks but is bad again.
Also, besides crashing when I right-click on a subvi, now when I right-click on a control reference in a block diagram it crashes.
Again, all of LabView goes away without any error messages and when I restart it there is no dialog asking me to report it.
I have attached a simple vi with one control and its reference, which on my system, right-clicking on the reference crashes LabView.

[SVences]

Hello �

Unfortunately I was not able to reproduce the behavior with the example VI you provided. I can right click on the control reference in the block diagram and show/hide the label, create an indicator, etc, without any problems.

Was this a VI that contained more code and during the troubleshooting only the control and the control reference were left? Or is this a VI that was created from scratch just with the numeric control and its reference? Does the same thing happen if you create the VI from scratch?

Please go to Tools >> Options and select Debugging from the pull down menu. Make sure the Prompt to investigate internal errors on startup check box is selected. This way we can guarantee that if this is a LabVIEW internal e
rror, an error log file will be generated and that can help us to find the problem.

Please let me know how it goes.

S Vences
National Instruments

[BVSmith]

That minimal VI was all I created to show the problem. I started LabView fresh, dropped the numeric control on a new, blank vi, created the reference to it and right-clicked on the reference to make it crash.

Obviously, the problem is not in the vi but something that has been corrupted in LabView or the Windows Registry for LabView.
Rebooting Windows doesn't fix the problem.

Yes, the "Prompt to investigate internal errors on startup" is already set, but after restarting LabView it doesn't know that it died from this error.
I don't know if a log file was generated. Where does it reside?

Normally, if my LabView crashes for some other reason it does popup the dialog to report the problem.

[SVences]

Hello �

As I mentioned in my first reply, the error log file, if generated, would be stored in the \My Documents\LabVIEW Data\lvfailurelog directory.

Information about the LabVIEW installation is stored in different keys of the Windows registry. It is possible that when you went into the registry and deleted some of the keys, you might have missed some. There is a specific procedure you need to follow in order to clean the registry from NI products and start from a clean install. I cannot post this procedure on the web since it is a delicate procedure (editing the registry is a last step before reformatting the computer).

In order to take this off-line and be able to provide you with the tools and steps to follo
w to clean the registry, please send us an email at support@ni.com referencing this discussion forum thread.

Thanks,

S Vences
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[BVSmith]

The failure log file is not written when LabView crashes after I right-click on a sub-vi or a control reference.

I just sent email to support@ni.com explaining what you told me and I got an automatic reply saying that I need to send them email via the "ask" web page. I'm afraid this will go in circles because I think this is where I started with the process.

Here is the reply I got:

Thank you for contacting National Instruments. Your technical support
questions are important to us. In order to ensure a high level of service
and fast resolution, we ask that all new electronic support requests be
submitted through our web site. Please resubmit your new technical support
question on our Ask an Eng
ineer Page at http://www.ni.com/ask. Your
original question is included below.

Our Ask an Engineer page saves you time by remembering your system
information and allowing us to ask important configuration questions up
front. This eliminates the need for multiple clarification e-mails and
makes the support process more efficient on both sides. After you have
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If you do not have access to the Web, as an alternative you can contact us
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If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact us
at AECustIS@ni.com.

Best Regards,

National Instruments Support

[SVences]

Hello �

We received your email and I have sent you the step by step procedure to clean the Windows registry of NI software.

Please disregard the automatic email response and let me know how everything goes.

S Vences
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[jonwilson]

I am having the same problem. Reinstallation of labview did not help. Can you please send me instructions to clean the windows registry.

Thanks
Jon Wilson
jonwilso@cisco.com