why is my PXIe-1073 "Unidentified" in NI MAX?

[marco.ricci]

Dear Ben,

in the last post I forgot some details.

1: we have verified that the PXI chassis works correctly by exploiting the PCIe adapter with a DELL desktop PC

2: we'd like to know if there are other PXIe chassises that can use express card to link a laptop PC.

Marco

[Benjamin38]

Marco - 

If you are working with the ExpressCard8360-PXIe8360, there is no limitation to the chassis that "will work" with this MXI interface as long as it is a PXI Express chassis.  However, it is highly unlikely that the issue is with the chassis.

Can you navigate to your C:/Windows and confirm that you have a "pxiesys.ini" file?  Can you attach it to this reply please?  

At this point there really isn't much more troubleshooting I'll likely be able to help with.  I will compile all of the information you have given me throughout this forum post and forward it on to the R&D team to see if they are able to give us any additional insight.   

[Benjamin38]

Marco - 

Can you also reply with the Dell PC that you were able to get the PXI chassis to work on and which PCIe MXI card you used?   

[marco.ricci]

Dear Ben,

we cannot find the file pxiesys.ini in the hard disk.

We have tried to generate this file by using both PXI platform 2.5.6 and 3.0.1 with and without the MXIe compatibility software.

we have also tried to add a PXI chassis in MAX.

MAX seems to recognize the chassis it not appear in the devices list.

this is a screenshot of the error reported

On the other hand, with the Desktop PC DELL Optiplex 980, the PXI chassis is identified, as indicated in the previous posts, and the modules are recognized to belong to it.

we used the NI PCIe-8361, 1 Port MXI-Express Interface

In this case the file pxiesys.ini is generated and its content is reported below:

[Version]
Specification = "PXI-6"
Major = 1
Minor = 1

[System]
ChassisList = ""

Marco

[Benjamin38]

Marco - 

Can you attach that error picture to your reply as opposed to embedding it?  It's too small to view any error and I can't zoom in to decipher anything on the screen shot.  

In MAX does your PXIe-1073 show up with a yellow exclamation mark on it similar to the picture below? 

You are correct in trying the PXI Platform Services to generate a pxiesys.ini file.  The MXI Compatibility software is independent of creating or interfering with that INI file, as it's made to allow the BIOS to work with the MXI interface.  If this file is not created, then it will never properly recognize a PXIe chassis and the appropriate cards' addresses in the chassis they are installed in.  

Please do the following Marco: 

1) Can you attach a copy of the pxiesys.ini file that was generated on the Desktop PC? 

2) Attach the jpg file of that error screen shot in your last post.  

3) You mentioned trying to generate this file with two different versions of the PXI Platform Services.  If you uninstall and reinstall PXI Platform Services 

( http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/2683/lang/en ) to see if it generates that ini file.  

4)  If it does not, or you still have the error.  COPY the pxiesys.ini file from the Desktop PC that WORKED.  Shut down MAX and any disconnect the PXI system.  Paste it in the c:/Windows folder.  Shut Down laptop > Insert the ExpressCard8360 > Boot the PXI Chassis > Start the Laptop.  Open MAX and see if the chassis is appropriately identified now.  

Let me know how this goes and we can go from there.  I appreciate your assistance with the information requested and going through these steps.  I want to help you get this resolved ASAP!  

[marco.ricci]

Dear Ben,

I attach the screenshots of the last version of our problem.

Now the MAX is recognizing the devices and the PXI chassis but, as you can see, we have problems yet.

We think that the main problem is that who is visible in the attributes included into the resources of PXI0:1:Backplane (VISA Interactive control). In fact, this error is linked with "Timeout" in the attributes table.

Moreover I attach the pxiesys.ini file that is located in the Windows folder at the moment.

We however hope this will be a stride to a solution of our problem.

Regards

Marco

[Benjamin38]

Hi Marco - 

It's good to hear back from you.  There is something that I noticed right off the bat when I saw your error message screen shots.  If you look at my last reply to you you will notice that in the 'My System' tree of MAX there should be a 'PXI System' option.  In the picture below it says PXI System (External PC) > Chassis 1 (PXI-1044) and in this case has an exclamation point on the icon (if everything is working as it should be, this wouldn't be there).  You are however missing the 'PXI System' in the tree.  This leads me to believe that you are missing some component(s) of the PXI software that provide the essential PXI functionality.  There are three components, the PXI Provider, PXI Resource Manager and PXI Services.  

The first, PXI Provider can be installed from the KnowledgeBase here if you look at the bottom of the document you will see an msi file.  Download and run this to install the Provider.  

Second, PXI Resource Manager, would be an NI Service that is running in Windows.  You can go to the 'Run...' command window in Windows and type in 'services.msc' to show you all the services running on your machine.  Scroll down and confirm that you have 'NI PXI Resource Manager Service' and that is running properly.  You can also double-click it and 'Stop' and then 'Start' to restart the service just as a double-check troubleshooting step.  

Third, PXI Platform Services should be listed under your 'Software' tree in MAX.  If you expand the Software tab and scroll down you should see 'NI PXI Platform Services x.x (3.0.1 is the latest).  If this isn't in your list of installed software you can download it here

Finally, because I hadn't hear back from you until now...can you describe in detail what you did to get to the point you are at right now?  The last time I heard from you you did not have an pxiesys.ini among other things.  

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What your 'My System' tree should look like with a 'PXI System' listed under 'Devices and Interfaces'

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[hosa]

Hi All,

I did get the same error earlier. There was an indicator "unidentified" on my PXI and another message "time-out" in the MAX. The solution was

1- turn off everything. 

2 wait a little

3- turn on the PXI 

4- wait a little

5- turn on the PC

And everything worked fine then.

Good luck

[InsightNDT]

I have the same problem with a Panasonic Toughbook CF-30, I've installed the BIOS compatitability software version 1.4.1 and still can see the PXIe-1073 in MAX.  Do you have any suggestions?

[MikhailK]

Hi!

What is the MXI card that you have in your laptop? Also what is the card in your PXIe-1073 chassis? Does this chassis work with a different computer? This might be a BIOS limitation on Panasonic Toughbook CF-30. Can you run the following software to check the size of your bus:

Determining the Number and Range of PCI/PCI Express Root Bus Devices

Also, does the PCI-to-PCI Bridge show up in Windows Device Manager? Does Windows Device Manager contains any unrecognized devices?