Need Help with NI MAX

[h64]

Hello,

I need some help with re-installing NI MAX. This issue started when I was consistently getting an "Error -201003" message when trying to run data acquisition tasks in LabVIEW 2016. I was following this guide which requires the use of NI MAX. However, when I opened NI MAX, it would freeze at the "loading plug-ins" while opening. To fix this problem, I was following this guide. Repairing NI MAX didn't resolve the issue, so I moved onto step 2, which is to uninstall and reinstall NI MAX. I've uninstalled NI MAX using the package manager and am now working on reinstalling it. I'm having concerns since NI MAX always needs to installed alongside something else. I thought to reinstall the NI DAQmx version that we use since uninstalling NI MAX had also uninstalled some add-ons from NI DAQmx, but the DAQmx installer won't take any actions. So, I want to try to install the package from the System Configuration as the NI MAX installation guide recommends. It also recommends installing the latest version (which would be version 20.5 since our OS is Windows 7 32-bit), but I'm not sure if that would mess with our version of LabVIEW. Even if I deselect every add-on aside from the NI MAX, it was still going to upgrade the NI System Configuration .Net runtime to 20.0.0 and the LabVIEW runtime to 2019 SP1 f1. I would like to know if these upgrades would interfere with our ability to run LabVIEW 2016.

Potentially useful information:

We use LabVIEW 2016.

Our OS is Windows 7 32-bit.

We use NI DAQmx v19.0 (which is the latest driver that is compatible with both the above as well as our data acquisition devices).

Any advice on what steps would be best for me to take from here would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[h64]

Would it be a good idea to uninstall and reinstall the current NI DAQmx driver? I'm thinking should restore both the driver and NI MAX without messing with anything else.

[Bob_Schor · Accepted solution]

Ouch.  You are running a very old Windows OS and are using a very old version of LabVIEW (2016), but much of the "support" structure you have (NIPM, System Config .NET runtime 20.0.0, LabVIEW Runtime 2019 SP1 f1).

I would recommend "doing some careful experiments" on another PC, or on a VM running Windows 7.  I think you should try to work towards one of two possible configurations:

1. A Windows 7 system running LabVIEW 2016, LabVIEW Runtime 2016, LabVIEW Toolkits, Modules, and Drivers 2016, and not installing NIPM (which wasn't "invented yet" in 2016).  This will be a very old system, but should be compatible with what you have.
2. A (probably) better choice would be to build a Windows 10 system running LabVIEW 2019 32-bit SP1, with Drivers, Toolkits, Modules, etc. from the same version, installed with (probably the latest, or possibly with a 2019 SP1 version of) NIPM.

Again, you should try building these systems on a separate computer to see if you can construct a Working System.  If you can get working Windows 7 system, you can try to clone your existing Windows 7 LabVIEW PC, uninstall all National Instruments software, then repeat the installation as in Step 1 above.

Otherwise, try to migrate to LabVIEW 2019 on Windows 10 that you constructed in Step 2, above.

Good luck!

Bob Schor

[h64]

Hello,

Thank you for the advice! I started with your first suggestion and began installation of System Configuration 16.0.1, which would also install NI MAX 16.0.1 (which I have gotten to open now, thank you). Unfortunately, when I went to open the Package Manager in order to uninstall the drivers, so I can change them to the 2016 versions, the Package Manager now fails to load. It immediately crashes with a "CLR20r3" error message. After looking online, it seems this can occur when software files become corrupted. Since the Package Manager itself is needed to repair programs, I assume the only fix would be to uninstall/reinstall the Package Manager since I still need it to downgrade the drivers.

Does that make sense, or is there a better solution?

[Bob_Schor · Accepted solution]

Sigh.  You may have gotten yourself in the "Rebuild the PC" pickle.  The NI Package Manager, released with LabVIEW 2017, is the only way to install NI Software that was released on or after LabVIEW 2017.   Up until then (i.e. LabVIEW 1 through 2016), each version came on a set of floppies, a few CDs, or (most recently) a USB stick.

Now, however, NIPM has taken over.  NIPM is the (probably) only safe way to remove LabVIEW software, other than the Sure Fire Method I'll tell you about in the next paragraph.  It is certainly the only save way to remove itself.  I know, because I ran into this on two occasions on 2017 (I'm a slow learner).

Once NIPM gets in and "can't get out" (or can't be "reloaded"), you probably need to use the Sure Fire Method to be able to load LabVIEW on your PC.  Here are the steps:

1. Backup everything, especially your data.
2. Make a list of all the software you have installed, and gather the installation disks or procedures.
3. A step I didn't think to do -- replace your C: drive with a new one (so you'll have the Drive as its own backup).  The alternative (which I did, twice) is to reformat the C: drive.
4. Reinstall Windows.
5. Reinstall Office, Browsers, Editors, Acrobat, other software you need to use.
6. Restore your documents.

Now you have a system with no NI Software and with a "clean" Registry.  [Don't even think of trying to "fix things" using Registry tools -- you can only make it worse, and waste your time].

     If I were doing this, and attempting to build a "pre-NIPM" installation of LabVIEW (like LabVIEW 2016), I would definitely use "contemporaneous Installation Media", like a LabVIEW 2016 USB Flash Drive.  I'm not sure that you would be able to install a 2016 edition if you went to the NI Download Site, as that would start off by having you load NIPM, and 2016 might be too far back for it to want to proceed.  I've not tried to build a 2016 system since 2018 (and when I did, I definitely used a USB Stick).

     Unfortunately, it seems like your present PC is NIPM-resistant, which suggests that LabVIEW is unlikely to be installable.  Ooh, I didn't even think of this until I just wrote the previous sentence -- now is a great time to get a new PC, which will come with a fresh set of working software all working.

     I hope this reply is helpful.  Once you do get LabVIEW installed, there is a safe way to remove it, should you need to in the future.  I've posted a How To several times on the Forum (as have others), but I hope it doesn't come to that for you.

Bob Schor