USB-6008 from Windows back to OS X

[pianos101]

Hi All-
    I am somewhat new to using DAQ equipment for experiments, though I do have some experience from classes and other student projects i've been on. My current goal is to get our usb-6008 working with labview 8.0 on my mac (with os x). I'm pretty sure that this device originally was used with a windows machine, under daq mx, which i understand is not compatible with os x (i know i need to use mx base). On a fresh windows machine i installed the latest versions of mx base and mx (to have both driver sets as required) to switch the firmware back to mx base (i was getting the firmware error using mx base on my mac). I was able to see the device correctly both in MAX and windows device manager, but i could not switch the driver or even see the usb device in the Tools> MX Config> USB Drivers screen of MAX. I tried uninstalling mx and mx base, and this is where i think i ran into more trouble. After re-installing both drivers and plugging in the deivce, the green led does not come on and I get a "invalid property id" error when windows tries to install the device (using the usb-6xxx firmware loader driver for some odd reason). I can reinstall the device with the usb-6008 driver and see "a" device in MAX, but it does not say -6008 and the green light is still not on (and i can't see the device in the usb driver swithc screen). When I run lsdaq on my pc or mac with the device plugged in, nothing comes up (no errors, just "nothing"). Right now I'm pretty confused about how to simply wipe the device clean and start totally from scratch to get the usb-6008 working with os x and labview 8.0. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!
Seth

[Jesse_O]

Hello Seth,

You are correct in that if you ever used the USB-6008 on a windows machine with NI-DAQmx installed, you will need to switch the driver on the device to DAQmx base so you can use it on a MAC.  It appears that you did this correctly, however to be sure can you verify that you performed steps similar to what is described here?  In this KB they switch from DAQmx base to DAQmx, however you want to switch to DAQmx base.

After you switch the device to DAQmx base, you will no longer see the device under NI-DAQmx Devices in Measurement and Automation explorer (MAX).  The utility you need to use after you install DAQmx base on the 6008 is called lsdaq.  It can be found in your Start menu >> Program >> National Instruments >> NI-DAQmx Base >> Utilities >> NI-DAQmx Base List Devices.

In OS X, you can find lsdaq in your Applications folder under National Instruments >> NI-DAQmx Base.  This utility will list all devices it detects that can run off DAQmx base.  When you plug the device into your system you should see a flashing LED, just like you previously had with DAQmx. 

The error you are currently getting sounds like you have a corrupt driver.  I would try uninstalling and reinstalling DAQmx and DAQmx Base on your machine.  You can find the latest version of DAQmx Base here, and DAQmx here.

You could also install these drivers on another windows machine to make sure that everything installs correctly. 

I hope this helps,

Jesse O.
Applications Engineering
National Instruments

[pianos101]

Thanks for your response. I actually ended up calling tech support today, just because I thought I was in way too deep. Everything you described I had already known/done (including installing mx base and mx on two fresh windows machines), but thanks for your reply. The engineer I spoke to said to remove everything completely (including all registry entries) and start from scratch by first installing mx, then mx base, then plugging in the device. I haven't gotten around to trying that yet, but I'm hoping that will solve the problem (and get that led back on...). I'll keep you posted. Thanks.