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Example Code

NI myDAQ Troubleshooting Code

Products and Environment

This section reflects the products and operating system used to create the example.

To download NI software, including the products shown below, visit ni.com/downloads.

    Hardware

  • myDAQ Student Data Acquisition Device

Code and Documents

Attachment

Description

Use this troubleshooting example code to test functionality and diagnose problems with your NI myDAQ. If you are unable to find the root cause of the issue, please use the Academic Hardware Product (myDAQ and myRIO) Community Forum.

 

Note: This code package uses legacy NI hardware and software products, has not been tested on new systems, and is not supported by NI.

 

 

How to Use

Using the myDAQ Troubleshooting Code

To begin, download and unzip the NI myDAQ Troubleshooting Code Installer.

Double-click the setup.exe file to to install the Utility on your computer. After installation is complete, navigate to Start»All Programs»National Instruments»myDAQ Troubleshooting Utility to launch the code and begin testing your NI myDAQ.

 

Materials Required for Testing

You will need the following materials to complete the test procedure:

  • 4 wires (16 to 26 AWG)
  • 1 resistor (any resistance)
  • 2 digital multimeter (DMM) probes
  • 1 male-to-male 3.5 mm audio cable
  • 1 flathead screwdriver
     

If not all materials are available, you can skip the test steps that require the missing item. The rest of the test results will be reported normally.

 

Starting the Test

After launching the utility, the available built-in testing options are shown on the left.

  Click Run Test to begin the testing procedure
  Click the Launch Test Panel button to access the NI myDAQ channels directly for more advanced testing options.
  Click the Help button to open the help file.
  Click the Exit button to close the NI myDAQ Troubleshooting Utility.

 

The Testing Interface

After the basic test begins, the testing interface displays. This interface window contains the Test Status display in the left pane and the test step information in the right pane.

Test Status
The Test Status display provides an overview of the steps in the test and its current status.


 Each test name has a corresponding icon to indicate the status.


Idle—The test was skipped or has not yet executed.
Running—The test is currently executing or waiting on user configuration.
Passed—The test passed successfully.
Failed—The test failed. Refer to the test report for more details on the failure.
Error—An error occurred while executing the test. Refer to the test report for error details.

The Test Status display also allows the user to navigate between tests at any time by clicking the test name or icon to jump to that test. Execution will continue sequentially from that test as normal.

Step Information

The step information section contains detailed information on any required hardware setup for the test. This section also allows you to configure test parameters, such as expected measurement values and power sources.



When setup and configuration is complete, click the Run Step button to run the step. The test results will be updated in the Test Status Display as you run through the tests. To skip the current test, either click the Skip Step button, or use the Test Status display to navigate to the next test.

For more information on the specific tests, refer to the Specific Test Details topic of the myDAQ Troubleshooting Code Help. To access this document, click the Help button in the Utility start window, or navigate to Start»All Programs»National Instruments»myDAQ Troubleshooting Utility»myDAQ Troubleshooting Utility Help.

 

Viewing the Test Results

After completing the test, a detailed report is generated and displays in the code. This report contains detailed information on the test result, a diagnosis of the problem based on the results, and suggestions for following tests. The report will help you to conduct the troubleshooting steps necessary to either fix or diagnose the problem.




To save the report to a file in HTML format, click the Save Report button. To view the report as a page in your default browser, click the View In Browser button. 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information

Troubleshooting Tips

The NI myDAQ Troubleshooting Code requires that both NI-DAQmx 9.1.6 or later and NI ELVISmx 4.2.2 or later be installed on the computer, and that the NI myDAQ be plugged into the computer.

 

Correct Installation of NI myDAQ

If you are unable to communicate with the NI myDAQ, complete the following steps to verify that the NI myDAQ is successfully recognized by the computer. 

Note: Before starting this process, close all NI software completely.

  1. Plug the NI myDAQ into an available USB port and check that the blue power LED lights.
     a. The LED is on: the NI myDAQ has power. Proceed to step 2.
     b. The LED is off: the device is not being powered. Try using a different USB port on the computer, a different USB cable, different computer. If the power LED still does not light, contact Studica to replace or repair your NI myDAQ.
  2. When plugging in the NI myDAQ in step 1, note whether the NI ELVISmx Instrument Launcher automatically launches.


      a. The NI ELVISmx Instrument Launcher loads:
     the driver software recognizes the device. Proceed to step 4.
      b. The NI ELVISmx Instrument Launcher does not load: the system may not recognize the device. Proceed to step 3.
  3. Verify that the device dislays in Device Manager.
      a. Launch the System Properties dialog by right-clicking My Computer, then selecting Properties.  

     
      b
    . On the Hardware tab, click the Device Manager button. In the Device Manager dialog that opens, look for the NI myDAQ device entry, usually located under Data Acquisition Devices.
      c. Check the icon for the NI myDAQ device:
           i. NI myDAQ is present with no errors (as shown): proceed to step 4.



           ii. NI myDAQ device is not present: Ensure that both ends of the USB cable are securely seated, then right-click the computer icon at the top of device manager and select Scan for hardware changes to check for the device. If it is still not present, try using a different USB port, USB cable (if available), or computer to narrow down the cause of the problem. If the problem still persists, contact Studica to replace or repair your NI myDAQ.
           iii. NI myDAQ device is present, but with a red "X", yellow "!", or as an unknown device: right-click the NI device entry and select Update Driver from the shortcut menu. After Windows finds the driver automatically, restart the PC to finish the driver installation. If the device still does not appear correctly in Device Manager, reinstall the NI-DAQmx driver, then try again. If the problem still persists, contact Studica to replace or repair your NI myDAQ.



  4. After the device is recognized by Windows, you can use the NI myDAQ Troubleshooting Code to diagnose any problems with the NI myDAQ device

 

 

 

 

 

Example code from the Example Code Exchange in the NI Community is licensed with the MIT license.