Can you describe (in broad strokes) the steps that you go through? Installing LabVIEW without any experience in doing this can be tricky.
When the process starts, you should be confronted with the NI Package Manager (called NIPM, for short). This installs LabVIEW "packages" on your computer. There are a lot of packages that you could install, but if you are a beginner, you should install the bare minimum, and then add a package when you need to "go to the next level".
Here (a bit from memory, so I might not have things exactly right) is how I would advise you to proceed:
- Start with nothing installed. [If you have already some things installed, I would advise you to "safely remove all NI Software" (see below, there's really only one safe way to do this without risking having to reinstall Windows)].
- Download an installer (I'm still running 32-bit LabVIEW, as I don't have need for a huge amount of "in memory" storage). When it starts, it should bring up NIPM.
- From the first screen, install LabVIEW and VIPM (the VI Package Manager, which gives you access to the LabVIEW Tools Network). For now, you need almost nothing else on the first page except some Drivers.
- Under Drivers, install DAQmx (to connect to NI hardware) and VISA (to connect to serial devices. For now, you probably don't need anything else. VISA will let you communicate with Arduinos and other such devices that use Serial communication (typically over USB).
- You'll next be given a list of "additional things" to install. Do not just click everything -- you are better off installing almost nothing else (but look and see if there are items that seem to especially complement what you've already installed and what you might be wanting to do).
- Now sit back and let this installation proceed. Because you installed so little (but certainly enough to start learning LabVIEW and playing with some peripheral devices, this installation should take about 10-15 minutes.
Should you need to "Start Over", the first step should be to "undo everything", safely. Here is my suggestion for the easiest and safest way to do this:
- You can only uninstall LabVIEW safely if NIPM (the Installer) is already on your system. If you've "force-removed" it, you may need to re-image your PC and start over. I'm assuming NIPM is still present.
- I recommend using Control Panel (left over from much-earlier versions of Windows, but the simplest and easiest uninstaller I've experienced). Go to the Start menu and type "Control Panel", and it will pop up.
- Click "Programs and Features", which opens the Uninstaller.
- Go down looking for "National Instruments". There should be two entries, one with the name "NI Package Manager", the other (probably) "NI Software". Choose "NI Software" (you'll need Admin rights to do this). This should open NI Package Manager, which will do the uninstall.
- You want to uninstall everything. Make sure the box "Products Only" is not checked, then check the top box under the "REMOVE" button to select everything (except NIPM). Proceed when ready.
- When the uninstall finishes, reboot, and repeat steps 2 and 3. Now you should only see NI Package Manager. Select it and ask it to remove itself. It will ask "Are you sure?", answer "Yes". After rebooting, do this step one more time -- sometimes more NI software appears, and can be removed.
Whew. Good luck.
Bob Schor
