I don't understand clearly your question. However, I will try to help you as much as possible.
If you mean how to know if the pci board is working, you must install either the board in another pci slot of the same computer, or install it in another computer to see if it is still being recognized by MAX.
Also, if you mean how to know if the pci bus of your computer is working. Try to install the board in another computer, and see if it works there. This is the link which helps you to install NI daq boards: http://www.ni.com/support/install/. Moreover, you can try to install another pci card that has nothing to do with NI, to see if the pci bus is still being able to recognize something there.
Finally, if you mean that you changed the pci board for another on
e of the same model, and the software does not respond, follow the suggestions of the first case, to see if it works.
Hope this information is helpful.
Aguila