Changing PXI slots on a PXI Instrument

[Mwright]

I would like to change slots on a couple of PXI Instruments. When I do so, MAX no longer sees them, even after refreshing. What is the easiest way to change slots in an already-configured PXI chassis?

[Dustin_W]

Mwright-

If they are NI boards you should see them under Devices and Interfaces >> DAQmx Devices. If you switch the slots they were in, it may rename the devices to something like "Dev1". This alias is used for virtual channels or your programs. Once you have moved the device, you either need to rename the device to whatever it had been in the previous slot, or change your program/virtual channels to point to the new name of the device. I reccommend picking a neam that makes sense such as "DMM", then base your programs or virtual channels off of this. Then, when you do switch slots, all you'll need to do is find the device again under devices and interfaces and rename it from "Dev1" (or what ever MAX gives it as a default) and rename it to "DMM" everything el
se should work the same after that.

Hope this helps-

Dustin

[Mwright]

Thanks for the answer Dustin. Unfortunately, even though they are NI boards, they do not show up at all under Max. Not even under a different alias. The PXI chassis shows up, as well as the controller, but the category "NI-DAQmx Devices" goes away. Under the PXI chassis listing, all slots are listed as Empty. As soon as I put the cards back the way they were, all the cards show up again.

[Jack_A.]

I have never heard of that happening. Could you describe your system a little more thoroughly (i.e. what kind of controller, which cards, slot numbers, software versions, etc.)? Which cards are you swapping slots with? Does the same thig happen if you only have a single card in the chassis and add one card at a time? After you swap slots, do the device still show up in the device manager?

Jack

[Mwright]

Jack-
Here's a JPEG of how things show up in MAX. This is the original configuration, and so far, the only one that seems to work. To answer your questions, I had a need due to connector layout to swap cards in almost the inverse order that they were in. And, yes, the same thing happens when I just work with one card at a time. As long as the one card is in the original spot, it works fine. Otherwise, it does not show up at all.

[Jack_A.]

"As long as the one card is in the original spot, it works fine. Otherwise, it does not show up at all."

Which card are you talking about here?

From your screenshot, it looks like your original configuration consists of a PXI-2566 in slot 2, a PXI-4060 in slot 3, and a PXI-6030E in slot 4. If you take out or swap any of these cards from this original configuration, nothing is detected in MAX?

What happens if you place any one of these cards alone in slot 2 of the chassiS? Are any of them detected in MAX when they are by themselves?

Jack

[Mwright]

Jack-
Sorry for the confusion. I should have said, as long as any one card by itself is in its original spot, that one card works fine. Here is a screenshot of your suggestion. I placed the 4060 into slot 2, and removed all other instruments. I did refresh a few times too.

Matt

[Jack_A.]

Matt -

And in each of these instances, the cards all show up fine in device manager, correct?

If so, this definitely sounds like something funny is happening from within MAX. I think the solution will involve trying to repair Measurement & Automation Explorer. Some ideas on things to try:

Go into Add/Remove Programs and select National Instruments Software. Next, select MAX and try to do a repair on it. After it is done, reboot the chassis and see if MAX will detect a single card in the chassis, not in its original slot.

If this doesn't work, try uninstalling MAX from Add/Remove Programs. Then reinstall it by doing a repair on NI-DAQmx in Add/Remove Programs.

Jack

[Mwright]

FYI- I was actually able to get this working, but I had to go through the Windows Device Manager on the "System" icon on the Windows Control Panel. The devices all had a question mark by the name. I right-clicked on the device, selected "Update Driver", and Windows was able to automatically locate the correct driver. The instruments then showed up correctly in MAX. I never could get it to work by only using MAX though.