NI Configuration Manager: Insufficient disk space to perform backup

[cos29]

Hi,

I'm having an issue with my PXI-8110 controller running LabVIEW Real-Time 10.0.1.  On start-up, I receive a message is displayed saying "NI Configuration Manager: Insufficient disk space to perform a backup"  This message just appeared.  Upon starting an FTP session I was able to see that there is only 181 megs of data on the hard drive.  In MAX, when I view the system settings of the remote PXI controller, it says that there are 0 bytes available.  I'm not sure why this is the case.  I'm not able to deploy any Veristand projects to the controller as a result.  Has anyone experienced this problem?

Thanks,

Cosimo

[WillPwr]

Hello, Cosimo!

This should be solved by a simple reformat of the controller, followed by a re-install of all necessary software.

Please let me know if you have any questions on this process!

[BigEv]

Hello WillPwr,

I have now had 2 different systems develop this exact error.  After the first occurrence, I assumed that it was a problem with the HD and replaced it.  Now, I am starting to worry that there may be an issue with the file management routines in LabVIEW RT.  I understand how to fix the issue, but do you have any idea of what causes the issue.  In my application, I create a temporary file to store DAQ data then save the data to a log file.  After a test is complete, the log file is transferred to a "Host" computer and the process is started again by the user when they initiate a new test.  My question: can the continuous creating and deleting of temporary files be causing the file management in the RT system to become corrupt?

It is annoying for a customer to have to go through the process of formatting the hard drive and re-installing the software.  Not to mention that it makes the software appear to have issues...  Which it may have, but I have been very careful to close and open new files as to not develop open file references.

Any Thoughts?

Big Ev.

[Branch_Support-NIC]

Hello!

We actually have a team that deals more directly with the specifics of RT, I will pass your questions along to them and they should be able to assist. They should be contacting you soon.

Best,

Will H | Applications Engineering | National Instruments

[Joseph-S]

Hi BigEv,

What version of LabVIEW Real-time is running on your target systems? There is a related issue pertaining to the hard disk being filled and files being removed to free up space, but MAX and LabVIEW would still report 0 bytes free. This issue, which seems closely related to the behavior described here, is being worked on by R&D and will be fixed in subsequent releases of the Real-time module. 

[BigEv]

Hi Joseph S,

Thanks for the reply.

I am currently using LV 2011 SP1 for this project.  I have 2012, but have not re-compiled the code, created the installers, etc.  The issue I'm having sounds very much like the issue being worked on, however, the files are being removed before the disk is filled up.  From my perspective, it appears that the file management code never really deletes files and slowly fills up drive space as time goes on even if files are overwritten instead of deleted.

I take it that moving to 2012 at the moment will not necessarily solve this issue...  In the mean time, is there any way to "defrag" the drive using RT?  Or is there another way to help resolve this issue?

Thanks & Kind Regards,

BigEv

[Joseph-S]

Hi BigEv,

The reported behavior does indeed seem related, but since the root cause is still being fixed, at this moment it is still unclear whether or not the behavior you are seeing will be resolved under the same bug report.

I actually hadn't thought of defragmenting, but that is definitely worth a shot. This KnowledgeBase article describes the process, but it seems a bit outdated and is missing some details. I'll see if I can try this out on a test system and then report back. It might take me a couple days to get the tests done, so feel free to take a look in the meantime. I have seen people load FreeDOS onto a bootable USB key for RT PXI controllers, so perhaps something like FreeDOS defrag would work well for this.

[BigEv]

Hi Joseph S,

Were you able to duplicate this issue.  I've had another 2 system have the same issue.  The I've had some luck with defrag, but it is a labor intensive proposition.  The best way I've found is to remove the hard drive, put it in an external enclosure, defrag it with another computer and re-install it.  If there were a vi that could be used to defrag the hard drive that would be a nice utility to have.

Thanks & Kind Regards,

BigEv

[Joseph-S]

Hi BigEv,

I just checked the release notes for LV RT 2012 SP1 and the related CAR 364292 has been fixed. I also checked the R&D test procedure for this bug and it does also pertain to scenarios in which you do not completely fill up the hard drive, contrary to what I implied in my earlier post. With that in mind, I would recommend installing the SP1 patch. Please let me know if that does not resolve the issue and I will relay the information to R&D.