Select partition for RT format?

[dch2]

I currently am using an NI PXI machine for my LabView code.  I'd like to also have the option of using it as a Real Time target.  In hopes of doing this, I created another partition on the hard drive for installing the real-time software.  However, when I boot from the USB Utility disk and select "fromat hard disk" I get three options: "1. Reformat the first RT-compatible partition on the drive", "2. Erase all partitions andcreate a single new partition." and "3. Cancel Format".  There seems to be know way to select my newly-created partition for these purposes.  If I select "1" I run the risk of losing my c:\ drive, or maybe the "Acronis" partition that came with the computer.  Is there any way around this, or do I need to re-partition my hard drive so that the new partition is "before" the c:\ drive?

Incidently, most of the other menu options "1. Boot using software installed on the hard disk", "2. Boot into safe mode" etc. seem to cause the computer to hang.  Any fixed for this?

My USB Utility disk was created with LabView 8.6 using MAX 4.5.0.

Thanks,

Doug

[Caseyw · Accepted solution]

Hi Doug,

I am glad to help with your question! To start with, I would not recommend using the Desktop PC Utility USB Drive with most PXI systems. Many recent PXI controllers from National Instruments ship with the ability to boot into LabVIEW Real-Time Safe Mode via an EEPROM (with no external USB drive needed), and so this is typically a better option. 

What PXI controller are you using? If you enter the BIOS on startup of the system and see LabVIEW Real-Time boot options, then you are using one of the controllers with LabVIEW Real-Time safe mode built-in. One note of caution: you do need a LabVIEW Real-Time Deployment License to run LabVIEW Real-Time on your PXI controller. If you purchased the controller and it shipped without LabVIEW Real-Time installed, it probably did not include this license. 

Assuming that you are using one of these controllers, you have two basic options:

1) Install LabVIEW Real-Time files and Windows on the same partition (FAT32). Upon boot of your system, you can use the BIOS options to specify either LabVIEW Real-Time or Windows. The first time you boot the system before loading LabVIEW Real-Time files, you will boot into safe mode and then install software from MAX. After that point, you will be able to run LabVIEW Real-Time and your application at startup using the BIOS options.

2) Install LabVIEW Real-Time files and Windows on different partitions. To accomplish this, you can either install Windows on the second or later FAT32 partition on your system, or (most commonly)  install Windows on an NTFS partition. LabVIEW Real-Time will use the first FAT32 or Reliance partition available. Once again, you can use the BIOS options to specify either LabVIEW Real-Time or Windows on startup.

At the end of the day, you could use the Desktop PC USB Utility Drive to install LabVIEW Real-Time on any PC with supported hardware (assuming you have purchased a LabVIEW Real-Time Deployment License). However, this will cause the real-time system to show up under MAX as a PC, and if you format using the utility drive you will replace the system boot record. It is possible to setup a dual-boot system using boot loader utilities like GRUB, etc, but I would strongly recommend using the built-in BIOS OS selection if possible.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions, and I am glad to help further. Have a great day Doug!

Regards,

Casey Weltzin

Product Manager, LabVIEW Real-Time

National Instruments 

[crandiba]

Hi Casey,

Actually, is there a way of formatting the PXI using the RT Utilities - Format VI, while specifying the partition it relates to? That way the RT target could format a partition of itself. 

Thanks again,

Cris

[SaileshK]

Hi Crandiba,

Since this thread is several years old, I would recommend creating a new post so it gets more visibility and just reference this one (by linking it). Also, if you are formatting the disk on your RT PXI, it will automatically partition the first RT compatible partition. Please check out the article I have linked below for more info:

Will the Format Disk Option in MAX Format All Partitions on My Dual Booted PXI Controller?

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z000000P6auSAC