IMAQ failed initialization

[AstroMed_Glen]

Hello,

     I am trying to use a PCI-1410 frame grabber on a very specific computer and I am having some trouble. The technical specs of the computer are as follows: A Microbus MAT 915 SBC with a Celeron 733 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM. The OS is a custom configured version of Windows XP embedded.

      I have installed IMAQ 3.5.1, the included version of MAX and the hardware all without a problem. The hardware in listed in the system Device Manager without error. I test the hardware by opening up MAX and I immediately get the following message: "The following IMAQ devices failed initialization: Serial Number 0x00000000 Error 0xFFFF3C1A: The error code passed into imgShowError is unknown.... (see attached jpg).

      I realize that its a low power system and if I do get it to run performance would be very limited. However, I would like to get it to run to some degree. I could not find any material as to minimum system requirements. Perhaps I am not making them... Also I realize that a custom version of XP embedded is an open ended can of worms, but perhaps some insight can be provided as to what is required from the OS... I would be grateful for any help or suggestions.

Thank you,

Glen

[AstroMed_Glen]

I have a little more info: I increased the Ram to 256 MB. It had no effect. This is PC100 Ram.......

[T-Route]

Glen,
Thank you for contacting National Instruments.  I think some more information is needed so I can evaluate this issue further.  Some things to try would be to make sure you can install the board on a regular PC with MAX and the same driver version and be able to capture images.  This is to insure the board is working properly.  The next thing to try would be to reinstall the driver.  I would install the latest IMAQ driver which is bundeled into the Vision Acquisition Software located HERE. 

Let me know how this turns out.

Regards,
Mark T
Applications Engineer | National Instruments

[AstroMed_Glen]

yes, this board was previously in my usual computer. It works fine.

Ok, I will try the new drivers and repost...

[AstroMed_Glen]

Ok, I tried  the latest drivers (vision 8.2.1 with IMAQ 3.7) and I got the same exact error message.

[T-Route]

Glen,

The only thing left to try would be to make sure the PCI card is using the IMAQ driver.  You can uninstall the board from Device Manager on your computer and then do a "scan for hardware changes".  Let Windows automatically install the driver.  I do not think this will change anything but it is worth a shot.  If the board works fine on another computer running windows XP then I am afraid I do not have anymore advice to give you.  We do not support windows XP embedded and so therefore do not have anyway to gain access to a computer with that operating system to test this error.  I am very sorry for the inconvience but I invite anyone with experience using XP embedded to post with any helpful ideas.

Regards,
Mark T
Applications Engineer | National Instruments

[AstroMed_Glen]

Ok, fair enough. I will drop the issue with the machine running a version of windows embedded... too many open ended variables. However, I also have a second machine running a full version of XP professional with similar problems. It is a Celeron 1.2 GHz processor with 128 MB of PC133 ram. Again the card is installed and recognized just fine. When I run MAX I am able to get a little further. I am able to get as far as being able to press a SNAP or a GRAB button. However, when I do I get the message "Error BFF6001F Cannot detect a recognizable video source.". I have a standard RS-170 camera selected in MAX and the RS-170 camera is connected to the card and powered on. This is the same problem as mentioned in my contributions to the thread: Power on problem 1407 and IMAQ 3.1.1. At the time of that thread I was using a 1407. I get the same problem with the 1410 I am using now. I don't beleive there was any resolution to the thread.

Also, I am using the latest IMAQ 3.7.1 drivers too.

[T-Route]

Glen,
Is the same card that was in the embedded machine in this 2nd XP machine?  If so you should really reinstall it in the computer you know it worked in and make sure it is still working.  It is possible that the card has gone bad.  The next thing is to make sure your camera is outputting an image by connecting it to a TV.  Then I would make sure the camera is plugged into a proper power supply.  There have been a few issues of the camera not getting enough power that can cause this error.  One last thing to do is when you click on the camera name in MAX right click and click the option to browse for a camera file.  Then point to the right camera file for your camera to make sure it isn't corrupt.  You can also download the camera file from ni.com/camera and replace the camera file in the directory where all the camera files are stored.  This will ensure the camera file isn't corrupt.  Let me know how these tests go. 

Regards,
Mark T
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[AstroMed_Glen]

Mark,

     Thank you. I have ran the card in my machine since it has been in the XP embedded machine. It is still fine. Although I do not have a TV available in the lab I don't have any reason to suspect a power issue. I know the power outlets in the lab are good and I know that the camera is on. I feel as though it is unlikely that camera is getting "enough" power.

      As for the camera files, these have all been fresh installations of IMAQ and MAX. I just did it again and verified that the camera files got deleted and reinstalled fresh. I have also made new ones from the default RS-170 camera file and used the "standard" RS-170 camera file.

      I have initiated a service request for this problem now too. I figured now that I have tested a system that is within minimum system requirements I'd go that route.

[T-Route]

Glen,
Would you mind posting your SR # so I can find out who is handling your issue?  A Celeron 1.2 GHz processor should work fine with the board.  What are the specifications for the computer that works? 

Regards,
Mark T
Applications Engineer | National Instruments