Status Code: -235140 Internal Hardware Error occurred in Power_Supply hardware. Please contact National Instruments Support.

[fabiofdantas]

Hi, I'm completely stuck with this problem:

Status Code: -235140
Internal Hardware Error occurred in Power_Supply hardware. Please contact National Instruments Support.

That's the output when I try to calibrate the 4145 SMU (I've two of them and got the same error for both). No red or orange LED is displayed and self-test works nicely.

When I run my python code, I got a slightly different message:

nidcpower.errors.DriverError: -225130: Internal Software Error occurred in Power_Supply software. Please contact National Instruments Support.

Device: 4145_1

Component Name: nipsdk
File Name: r\nidcpowerPALDistribution\nipsd\source\nipsd\primitives\sequenceEngine\tSequenceEnginePrimitive.cpp
Line Number: 869

Source:
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???

Status Code: -225130

or

nidcpower.errors.DriverError: -235140: Internal Hardware Error occurred in Power_Supply hardware. Please contact National Instruments Support.

Device: 4145_1

Component Name: nipsdk
File Name: r\nidcpowerPALDistribution\nipsd\source\nipsd\primitives\sequenceEngine\tSequenceEnginePrimitive.cpp
Line Number: 955

Source:
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???
unknown (0): ???

Status Code: -235140

I tried to install different versions of ni dc power without success (versions 20.5 and 21.0).

I opened Instrument Studio and I'm able to set the voltages I want and probe them on the output (this means to me that the SMU is working properly).

Hope you can provide me some help. Thank you.

[TobiasG]

This error in the reported locations typically occurs when there is a hardware error present on the device. NI-DCPower 21.5 and newer may give a more explicit error which can help debug this further.

That said, my first guess would be that you have active voltage applied to the input.

When you say that you are trying to calibrate it, do you mean Self Calibration or External Calibration? I'm assuming the former for the purposes of this reply.

It would be helpful to know the following:

1. Hardware configuration (host system, chassis model, slot location, etc.). A MAX system report would give us this, plus (2) below

2. Software configuration

3. Precise, narrowed down reproduction steps, including code

Suggested next steps:

1. Upgrade to NI-DCPower 21.5 or newer. Report the error output using that version.

2. Ensure there is no load connected to any of the channels when performing Self Calibration.

[fabiofdantas]

System information:

Operating System(OS) Windows 10 Professional
OS Version 10.00.19044
OS Info
Processor 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K / Intel64 Family 6 Model 151 Stepping 2 / GenuineIntel / 3187 MHz
Number of Processors 24
Physical Memory 31.7 GB of RAM
Drive C:\ 822 GB of 953 GB free

Using thunderbolt 4

NI Software: Version (Is this the MAX system report that you wanted?):

CVI Runtime 20.0.1.49152
NI-DAQmx Device Driver 21.0.0f164
NI-DAQmx MAX Configuration 21.0.0
NI-488.2 Runtime 21.0.0
NI-488.2 21.0.0
InstrumentStudio 21.0
NI I/O Trace 21.0.0f584
IVI Engine 21.0.0.f0
IVI Driver Toolset 1.5
LabVIEW Runtime 2019 SP1 f4 19.0.1
Measurement & Automation Explorer 21.0.0f0
NI-DCPower
Configuration Support 21.0
Development Support 21.0
NI 416x Device Support 21.0
NI 411x, NI 413x, NI 414x, and NI 4154 Device Support 21.0
Runtime 21.0
NI PXI Platform Services Configuration 21.0.0f196
NI PXI Platform Services Runtime 21.0.0f196
NI-Sync Runtime 21.0.0f384
NI-Sync 21.0.0f382
NI-PAL Software 21.0.0
NI 1588-2008 Network Management 21.0.0 21.0.0f380
NI System Configuration 21.0.0f2
NI-VISA 21.0
NIvisaic.exe 1.1.1.1
NI-VISA Runtime 21.0
LabVIEW Runtime 2020 SP1 20.0.1
LabVIEW Runtime 2021 21.0.0

NI Hardware: PXIe-1095 with 4145 in slot 4 and 5

I tried self-calibration both without loads (one was successful and the other one not - 4145 on slot 5 failed).

I also installed version 21.5 and I do get the same error message.

Best regards,

Fabio Dantas.

[fabiofdantas]

I got some update on this. I've installed all the versions of NI DC Power and no one is capable of fixing the error and the message is still the same.

I've tried to use another computer that uses the same drivers/software and it's working with this PXI system.

The main difference between these two computers is the thunderbolt version. The one with the error is version 4 and the other one is version 3.

Is there a known limitation regarding this?

[santo_13]

---

@fabiofdantas wrote:

I got some update on this. I've installed all the versions of NI DC Power and no one is capable of fixing the error and the message is still the same.

I've tried to use another computer that uses the same drivers/software and it's working with this PXI system.

The main difference between these two computers is the thunderbolt version. The one with the error is version 4 and the other one is version 3.

Is there a known limitation regarding this?

---

I guess this would have been an important piece of information, the 8301 thunderbolt cards are spec'd to work with Thunderbolt 3 but may be still compatible with Thunderbolt 4 as long as the drivers of Thunderbolt 4 are completely backwards compatible with 3, given you confirmed that it does not work with Thunderbolt 4, it might be the case of incompatible driver.

[TobiasG]

Ah, a different MXI connection could explain this difference in behavior.

I would suggest next following the steps in https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA03q000000x0MKCAY

Check and update your PC's BIOS version.

You can gather a MAX System Report by following these steps.

[fabiofdantas]

I've verified my BIOS version and it's up to date.

I tried to follow the steps on the article, but it did not help.

I'm attaching a list of the devices being recognized and also a NI Max report.

Also, I've replaced this thunderbolt 4 with a thunderbolt 3 card and it's working just fine. Unfortunately, I really need to make this version 4 to work on this computer.

Best regards,

Fabio Dantas.

[TobiasG]

Given the behavior you are describing, this is most likely a Dell BIOS issue.

It could be a bug in the MXI driver. Determining which will likely require some significant investigation, and more support than we can provide on the forums.

I would recommend one or more of several options:

1. Update the Dell Thunderbolt controller/driver firmware (if you haven't already).
2. See if you can work around this by moving the instruments around to different slots. You could get lucky and be able to work around this issue.
3. Use a different PC as host for this application.
4. Open a Service Request with NI for further investigation.
5. Contact Dell to see if they know of any known issues or limitations here.

[fabiofdantas]

I will come back here if I got a solution for the problem, that is not replacing the thunderbolt 4 with version 3.

Best regards,

Fábio Dantas.

[cahyo_pri]

I encountered the same problem and I might have a clue about what the root cause is.

Setup:

• NI-PXI system controlled through a Thunderbolt controller, PXI-8301.
• Two SMU modules: PXI-4138 and PXI-4144
• The controlling PC has Thunderbolt 4, with Windows 11 installed.

Observation:

• Error (-235140) encountered on different environments: Digital Pattern Editor, Instrument Studio as well as Python environment.
• The error happened intermittently, but mostly happened when trying to connect/disconnect the SMU (e.g. session.output_enabled, session.output_connected) through Python environment. PXI 4138 also shows the error when controlling the voltage level (session.voltage_level).
• When the error happened in Python environment, it can be recovered with Instrument Studio by doing the following sequence:
  1. Disable all channels
  2. Set voltage level for selected channels.
  3. Enable output for selected channels.
  4. Hit run and make sure the output voltage is correct, and no error.
  5. Run the python program to take control of the SMUs.

Hypothesis:

• The error happened because the device was not able to switch between states effectively.
• The idea came from the following article: https://www.ni.com/docs/de-DE/bundle/ni-dcpower/page/programming-states.html
• When a dcpower parameter is configured when the SMU is in "running" state, it should have implicitly returned to "uncommitted" state, apply the changes and run the SMU again.

Verification:

• Before re-configuring the SMU, always run abort() command explicitly first, and re-initiate the SMU again. For example:

  session.abort()                  # SMU returns to uncommitted state
  session.voltage_level = 0
  session.output_enabled = False
  session.output_connected = False
  session.initiate()               # SMU moves to running state
  

• Result: No more intermittent error encountered after explicitly calling abort() and initiate() command as above.

Conclusion & Proposal:

• This error (-235140) is not related to Thunderbolt version differences between PXI-8301 and the controlling PC.
• The permanent fix should come from NI, possibly to update the dcpower drivers. At the very least, the error message should clearly indicate what actually happened or offer some suggestion.
• The workaround described above (explicitly calling abort) is only valid when using Python to control the NI PXI system. This should not be treated as the permanent solution.