DASYLab 11.0 SP-2 crashing in Windows 8.1

[alexgieg]

I'm experiencing two crashes in DASYLab 11.0 SP-2 when running under Windows 8.1 32-bit while trying to get data from a cDAQ-9188XT. These are the two error messages I get. They're in Brazilian Portuguese but I guess they're understandable:

Crash #1:

Nome do Evento de Problema:	APPCRASH
Nome do Aplicativo:	dasylab.exe
Versão do Aplicativo:	11.0.2.12
Carimbo de Data/Hora do Aplicativo:	4c8ecbd3
Nome do Módulo de Falhas:	nicsru.dll
Versão do Módulo de Falhas:	15.1.1.49152
Carimbo de Data/Hora do Módulo de Falhas:	564e1beb
Código de Exceção:	c000008e
Deslocamento de Exceção:	000fbefc
Versão do sistema operacional:	6.3.9600.2.0.0.256.48
Identificação da Localidade:	1046
Informações Adicionais 1:	a830
Informações Adicionais 2:	a83094b201f36572f388e7cdd9c8e21b
Informações Adicionais 3:	efe5
Informações Adicionais 4:	efe5ea7e21fc941bb3fb5868431d0182

Crash #2:

Nome do Evento de Problema:	APPCRASH
Nome do Aplicativo:	dasylab.exe
Versão do Aplicativo:	11.0.2.12
Carimbo de Data/Hora do Aplicativo:	4c8ecbd3
Nome do Módulo de Falhas:	nidmxfu.dll
Versão do Módulo de Falhas:	15.1.0.49152
Carimbo de Data/Hora do Módulo de Falhas:	55cbbdc2
Código de Exceção:	c000008e
Deslocamento de Exceção:	001f1fee
Versão do sistema operacional:	6.3.9600.2.0.0.256.48
Identificação da Localidade:	1046
Informações Adicionais 1:	4206
Informações Adicionais 2:	42065ac0bc6fdb6d30245c9eff42824d
Informações Adicionais 3:	ce4a
Informações Adicionais 4:	ce4a6507623d70b93798c2d42e294288

The installed NI-DAQmx driver pack is most recent one, from the February 2016 DVD set, plus all the available updates provided by the NI Update Service.

Does anyone know what I can do to get these running together?

Thanks in advance!

[CJ_Butler__DASYLab_Pro]

How quickly does it crash? On opening the program? When you load a worksheet? When you start the worksheet? 

There was a bug that I thought was fixed in the the 11.0.2 update, but, you can try this:

Find the DASYLab.INI file. It will be in the Public User Documents folder, whatever that is in Portugues.

There will be a DASYLab 11.0.x folder, with an ENG or DEU folder - in that folder are the ini files and the other user files. 

Edit the DASYLab.INI file. Find the key called Reopen=. Delete the line. 

Find the section called [Panes} ... delete the whole section (up to the next [ ).

Save the file. Close it. 

Try starting DASYLab 11 again. 

[alexgieg]

Thanks for the answer! Here are the answers: DASYLab loads as if nothing was wrong, but as soon as I click the play button on a worksheet that uses a NI-DAQmx Analog Input icon, even if it's a very simple one, it crashes. I tried the DASYLab.INI changes you suggested, but they didn't help.

Below are a few step-by-step screenshots. As you can see in the first one, the cDAQ chassis and its modules are reserved, and the task ran without issues in NI MAX. Then I load DASYLab, make a very simple worksheet with just one icon that reads the first 16 channels from the task, and click play. As soon as I do it, there's a first crash windows, then a second one after I close the first, then DASYLab closes.

[CJ_Butler__DASYLab_Pro]

I always hate to say this... but, V11 is now really old, and there are no bug fixes for it. 

Can you try the DASYLab 13.0 Evaluation version? 

Download from here: http://www.mccdaq.com/products/dasylab.htm

The installer is in three parts -- the usual setup stuff, then it unpacks a bunch of stuff, and then the user information and driver setup is presented. 

Select the "Install Evaluation version" check box on the Registration page. 

Then, on the Packages page, enable the NI drivers. 

Try it there - make copy of the worksheet, and open that copy in V13... see if it works. 

Another thing to consider - if you made changes in MAX that were incompatible with the settings in the worksheet, then you may need to resynchronize the worksheet settings in the Hardware Menu - NIDAQmx menu. 

[CJ_Butler__DASYLab_Pro]

Samples to read -- 2,048K ???? 

For DASYLab 11, that shouldn't  be bigger than 32k.

[alexgieg]

Unfortunately we don't have the budget for v13. We have several DASYLab licenses and updating them all would be very expensive, particularly given our devalued currency. Besides, since the errors are in NI-DAQmx DLLs, not in DASYLab itself, I think the issue might be driver-related. Would perhaps trying an earlier NI-DAQmx version work?

About sychronizing DASYLab and NI MAX, yes, I did that.

As for that 2,048k number, it's an artifact of this Windows machine being in Brazilian Portuguese, meaning it uses commas as decimal separators and dots for thousands. The actual entered value is 2048 samples and 2048 samples/s, hence 1 second blocks, but since NI MAX localizes the number, it displays that as 2,048k, meaning 2.048k. This is matched in DASYLab, where the sample rate is also set to 2048 S/s and the block size to 2048 samples.

[CJ_Butler__DASYLab_Pro]

I cannot really advise on trying an earlier version of NI drivers -- you're on Windows 8.1. 

DASYLab 11 was never tested for Windows 8 - so, of course the NI driver in DASYLab is not tested with the latest versions of MAX and NI-DAQmx.

[alexgieg · Accepted solution]

An nice update to this.

By uninstalling the whole stack of NI software that got installed with the Feb. 2016 drivers set, rebooting, then installing the slightly older Aug. 2015 drivers set (plus its critical updates shown in NI Update Service, but nothing else), DASYLab 11.0 SP2 was able to run and acquire data from a cDAQ-9188XT without issues on Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit.

Those I checked the version of those two files that crashed, and their versions were downgraded as shown:

C:\Windows\System32\nicsru.dll
* Before: 15.1.1.49152 (15.1.1f0)
* After : 14.5.1.49152 (14.5.1f0)

C:\Windows\System32\nidmxfu.dll
* Before: 15.1.0.49152 (15.1.0f0)
* After : 15.0.0.49152 (15.0.0f0)

This points to a bug of some kind having entered the 15.1.x branch which is absent in the 15.0.x and earlier branches, which in turn crashes applications that would otherwise work. Too bad then that 15.1.x is needed for Windows 10. I guess that marks Windows 8.1 as the last Windows version in which DASYLab 11 can run, at least when it comes to communicating with modern NI hardware (unless the bug is corrected down the line, who knows?).

Now, I must recognize this is an achievement. For a software package this complex to continue running three OS versions after the one it was originally planned for isn't easy! Kudos to you guys!