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DAQmx/Software package not working in Windows 7

I have a bit of a complex issue running tests in Windows 7.

 

Background:

 

I have a test machine built by my company that uses NI DAQmx Run-Time Engine (core) v9.0.2.  It also uses software we developed based on NI software.  I'm not exactly familiar with how that software was developed.  In fact I'm not a software guy and I don't know how it works exactly.  I simply use the machine.  This software communicates with a signal conditioner, extensometer, and load cell during tensile tests of materials to graph stress strain curves.

 

Our machine has traditionally used Windows XP or prior versions of Windows as an operation system.  Additionally, I also use our software on my desktop computer which uses Windows 7 as it's OS to view test reports from the test machine.  It has some options (dealing with  machine calibration and testing) that do not come up as options on my desktop since the software detects that I don't have the proper hardware to perform the test (thus crashing the software if I attempted to read a test).  Our current machine had a motherboard failure.  Therefore we decided to purchase a new one.  The question arose regarding compatability between the software and Windows 7 but since I can use it in limited capacity on my desktop I assumed it would be compatable.

 

Upon installing the drivers and running some tests we found that about 90% of the time the software would either not open or would create an error and close upong attempting to perform a test.  I don't recall the specific errors (I'll look through my e-mail and see if I can find them) but it always appeared to be some kind of memory error.

 

We tried to run the software in administrator mode and in all of the compatability modes.  I also tried to reinstall all the software and drivers and to install them in the C drive instead of in the Program Files folder.  We also added more RAM.  Finally, I downloaded and installed the latest version of the NI DAQmx drivers.  None of these attempts resulted in any improvement in the performance of the software.


So my question is multi-faceted.  Has anyone else experienced these kind of issues?  Is there any way to narrow the possible causes to either our software, our hardware, or the drivers themselves?  Finally, if it is in fact a conflict between the software and Windows 7 does anyone know what would be the best route to resolving these conflicts?  It seems we may need to build a new software version from the ground up for use with Windows 7 or Windows 8 but again, I'm not a software guy.

 

Thanks in advance.

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ADDITION:

 

It doesn't appear that I can edit my original post so here's an addition.  After quite a few successful tests on the machine running on Windows XP I just started getting the exact same errors that I was getting on Windows 7.  So it appears it isn't an issue with Windows 7.  

 

Basically when I try to run the test it cascades the following error message:

 

"NI Platform Services:  no transfer is in progress because the transfer was aborted by the client.  The operation could not be completed as specified.  Task Name:  _unnamed task <1>  Status Code:  -50405"

 

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Hi ghillisniper,

 

NI-DAQmx 9.0.2 is compatible with both Windows XP and Windows 7, so if the drivers are installed correctly, that should not be a problem. If you are receiving the errors on both Windows XP and Windows 7, it is probably most likely something to do with the hardware. Which hardware does your system use? Is it recognized by the Windows Device Manager and does it show up under "Data Acquisition Devices"? If it is a USB device, is the device connected to a powered USB port?

 

For a USB device, there may be some other troubleshooting steps in this KnowledgeBase article:

 

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/AE7F2281D910D0E286257950005C5131?OpenDocument

 

Regards,

Matthew B.
Offering Manager
NI
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Thank you for your response and I apologize for not responding sooner.  I've been busy with some other projects.  

 

So we use a USB-6009 OEM.  It was hooked to a powered USB port and was showing up in the Windows Device Manager.  One of my more experienced coworkers suggested it might be a bad USB-6009 so we ordered another.  I installed it today and now my software doesn't "see" the USB-6009.

 

The new board seems to be showing up in Windows Device Manager (as "USB-DAQ" - I'll have to check again to see what device type that shows up under but I know it has the NI symbol next to it) but it does not show up in NI Measurement and Automation Explorer.  In our software we don't have any options for testing or calibrating our instruments, which is how we know the software doesn't "see" the device.  If there is no hardware detected the software eliminates those options from the menu lists.

 

I have tried to uninstall and reinstall the NI drivers with multiple restarts.  I saw a good suggestion about the NI Device Loader service but it appeared to be running properly.  I'll keep working at little potential fixes that I find for this new issue and I appreciate your help.

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Hi ghillisniper,

 

Could you provide a screenshot of your Windows Device Manager as well as confirm what version of the DAQmx drivers you have installed on the computer? If the USB-6009 OEM is showing up in the Windows Device Manager under the Data Acquisition Devices category, it should be showing up in MAX. In addition, if you are able to locate the original errors you were receiving, that might give us an idea of where to look next.

 

Regards,

Matthew B.
Offering Manager
NI
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I may not have mentioned this before, but we have also reverted back to Windows XP on this test machine.  I wanted to make sure I started with that in case I had not mentioned it before.

 

Here is a screenshot of the primary error we've gotten intermittently.  I can't find the screenshot of the other but it was far less common and usually occured after this error when we restarted the program.

 

Also, here is a screenshot of the Windows Device Manager and the Driver Details.  I'll follow up with some other screenshots for more information.

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Here is a screenshot showing the NI Device Loader has started properly, one showing the lack of the device in Measurement & Automation Explorer, and a final screenshot showing the downloaded zip file contents of the NI DAQmx drivers that I've installed.


At one point I installed the latest version of the NI DAQmx drivers; however, the system behaved in the same manner so I rolled back to the one we usually use (the once shown in the screenshot).

 

Thanks.

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Hi ghillisniper,

 

Thanks for the screenshots. Can you try repairing your DAQmx drivers? You can do this by right-clicking on Software in MAX, then choosing Add/Remove Programs from the context menu. From there, you should be able to find the DAQmx Device Drivers and the repair button should be to the right.

 

I also located a KB related to the USB-6009 and the specific error you are receiving. It looks like that there is a higher chance of the error occuring in Windows 7 due to a bug in the USB stack, which might explain why you didn't see the error until you upgraded to Windows 7:

 

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/611475F9BE62881E86256FDC0062B1BB?OpenDocument

 

Let me know if repairing the driver helps.

 

Regards,

Matthew B.
Offering Manager
NI
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Thank you for the response.  I checked that article again to see if I missed anything.  The computer we run our tests on has no other purpose on Earth so the only other items running are whatever the basic OS pulls up on startup and a touch screen driver for the monitor.  Also, we've reverted back to Windows XP and continue to see the intermittent errors.

 

I did attempt to repair the driver install in the Measurement and Automation interface.  After it was complete I allowed the computer to restart.  The device was still not present in that interface although our software was able to find it again.

 

Thanks.

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Hi ghillisniper,

 

How often does the error occur on Windows XP now? I also wanted to confirm that your software can detect the USB-6009 OEM, but it doesn't show up in MAX.

 

Regards,

 

Matthew B.
Offering Manager
NI
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