Appendix B Troubleshooting; Troubleshooting Ni-Pnp Error Messages - National Instruments AT-GPIB/TNT Getting Started

Appendix B
Troubleshooting
This appendix describes how to troubleshoot problems.

Troubleshooting ni-pnp Error Messages

The ni-pnp.exe program should be located in the root directory of your boot drive,
usually C:\. It should be run from your autoexec.bat file, so that ni-pnp executes
every time your system is started. ni-pnp normally produces very little output when it
is run, displaying only the name of each National Instruments interface board it detects.
Most errors that ni-pnp might detect are handled transparently. If ni-pnp finds an
error from which it cannot recover, it displays a message and describes the best method
for fixing the problem.
Some possible problems that ni-pnp might report include boards with unassigned
resources and boards for which resource conflicts exist. If ni-pnp encounters a board
with no assigned resources, it displays the following message:
This interface has no assigned resources.
If you get this message, you must run ibconf and assign resources to the board. If
ni-pnp detects an I/O address conflict, it displays the following message:
I/O Address Conflict.
If you get this message, you must run ibconf and change the base I/O address for the
board.
You can run ni-pnp in a verbose output mode. In this mode, ni-pnp displays more
information about each interface, including its assigned resources. To run ni-pnp in
verbose mode, change to the directory which contains ni-pnp.exe. This is the root of
the boot drive (usually C:\). Run ni-pnp with the verbose output flag by typing
ni-pnp /v.
Another, more serious error can also occur on systems that are not Plug and Play ready.
Since ni-pnp must assign resources to the boards, it must first perform the Plug and
Play ISA isolation sequence. The isolation sequence is a method by which all Plug and
Play boards can be detected. It is possible, although rare, that this isolation sequence
could lock up your computer. If this occurs, restart your computer. ni-pnp will then
detect that your computer was locked up and display an error message describing the
problem. ni-pnp can enter a fail-safe detection mode where it records each I/O port
before testing that port. If your computer locks up while testing a port in this mode,
ni-pnp will exclude that I/O port from future testing. If you know that you do not have
any National Instruments Plug and Play boards in your system, you can configure
© National Instruments Corp. B-1 AT-GPIB/TNT (PnP) for DOS