You must install your application development environment (ADE) first and then your driver software. This document includes detailed instructions for installing NI LabVIEW, NI-VISA, and NI-488.2.
**If you are not using LabVIEW in your application, follow the installation guidelines for your chosen software environment before following the included installation instructions for NI-VISA and NI-488.2. If you have already installed your chosen environment, proceed to the Installing Drivers section.
If you do not have the original media that shipped with your NI products, visit ni.com/downloads/products to find the latest version of NI-VISA, NI-488.2, and the LabVIEW evaluation software.
If you are upgrading an existing system, National Instruments recommends that you back up any applications, projects, or other related files before continuing.
The LabVIEW Platform DVDs that ship with your product include several pieces of software, including the LabVIEW development environment and several add-on modules and toolkits. If you purchased any of these add-ons, you can install them using the LabVIEW Platform DVDs. If you want to evaluate any of these add-ons before purchasing them, you can install these add-ons from the LabVIEW Platform DVDs and try them free for 30 days.
- Log on to Windows as an administrator or as a user with administrator privileges.
- Disable any automatic virus detection programs before you install. Some virus detection programs may interfere with installation.
- Insert the LabVIEW Platform DVD Disc 1. If you have autorun disabled or you downloaded LabVIEW, browse to your DVD drive or download location and double-click setup.exe. You may have to wait a few moments while the installer loads. Click Next to begin.
Figure 1. NI LabVIEW Platform DVD Installer
- Select whether you wish to enter a serial number to install products you have purchased or to install software in evaluation mode. If you choose to enter serial numbers, the installer can select the appropriate software to install for you. If you choose to evaluate products, proceed to Step 7.
Figure 2. Choose to install and activate purchased products or to install in evaluation mode.
- Enter serial numbers for the LabVIEW development system you purchased. If you have serial numbers for LabVIEW add-ons, such as modules and toolkits, you can also enter these now.
Figure 3. Enter serial numbers for purchased products you wish to install.
- View the Licensed Product List for the LabVIEW environment, modules, and toolkits you have valid licenses for in addition to device drivers. They will all be selected by default, but you may choose to not install any product in the list.
Figure 4. LabVIEW Platform DVD Licensed Product List
- Review the Evaluation Product List and select any additional products (modules or toolkits) you want to install and evaluate. For each product, you may select “Install” to minimize user interaction or “Custom Install” to further configure your installation.
Figure 5. LabVIEW Platform DVD Evaluation Product List
- The installer checks for patches or updates relevant to the products you are about to install. You can download the updates before continuing with the installation.
- Choose the installation directory for National Instruments software.
- Accept the License Agreement(s) and then click Next.
- Enter your full name and organization. This information will be used to complete your software registration.
- Review the summary before continuing to ensure all your products will be installed. Any products listed with (User interaction required) require user interaction to complete. Otherwise, the installation may be left unattended.
Figure 6. LabVIEW Platform DVD Installation Summary
- Follow the instructions on the screen to finish installing and activating LabVIEW and any module or toolkit that you selected.
At the end of the LabVIEW installation process, you will be prompted to insert the NI Device Drivers DVD if you chose to install device drivers from the product list. Otherwise, you will be prompted to activate your software. You can activate now or wait until you have finished installing the rest of your software.
After installing LabVIEW and any applicable modules or toolkits, you should install NI-VISA and NI-488.2 driver software. You should install NI-VISA to facilitate communication with your instrument. Additionally, you should install NI-488.2 if you plan on using a NI GPIB device in your application. You must install NI-488.2 driver software before installing any new NI GPIB hardware devices so Windows can detect them. There are three options for installation:
- From an NI Device Drivers DVD: If you selected to install Device Drivers from the LabVIEW Platform DVD, you will be prompted to insert the NI Device Drivers DVD before continuing.
- From an NI-488.2 CD: All NI GPIB Controllers include a CD with the drivers you need to use the device. The NI-488.2 CD also includes NI-VISA. NI-VISA is preselected for installation/update purposes if it is currently installed on the target machine. If NI-VISA has not been installed on the target machine, it must be manually selected during the installation process.
- From a download: You can always find the latest driver software on the Drivers and Updates page.
- Insert the NI Device Drivers DVD when the LabVIEW Platform DVD installer prompts you. You may have to wait a few moments while the installer loads.
Figure 7. Insert the NI Device Drivers DVD
- Choose the installation directory for your National Instruments software. This should be the same root directory as your LabVIEW installation.
- Review the NI Device Drivers Feature List, which includes all NI device drivers and associated software. By default, Instrument Control (including both NI-488.2 and NI-VISA), NI Spy, Data Acquisition, and NI Measurement & Automation Explorer are selected.
Figure 8. NI Device Drivers Feature List
- Select any additional device drivers you want to install for your NI hardware and click Next.
- Download updates before continuing with the installation. The installer checks for patches or updates relevant to the products you are about to install.
- Accept the License Agreement(s) and then click Next.
- Review the summary before continuing to ensure all your device drivers will be installed.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Reboot your system when you are prompted.
- Ensure that once installation is complete, you enable any virus detection programs you disabled.
Complete the following steps to install NI-488.2 and NI-VISA from the NI-488.2 CD that shipped with your NI GPIB hardware or from your NI-488.2 or NI-VISA driver download.
- 1. Insert your NI-488.2 media into the CD drive. If the NI-488.2 installer does not open automatically or you downloaded the files, select Start»Run. Enter x:\autorun.exe, where x is the drive letter for your CD drive.. You may have to wait a few moments while the installer loads.
Figure 9. NI-488.2 Main Screen
- Choose the installation directory for National Instruments software. If you are using LabVIEW, this should be the same root directory as your LabVIEW installation.
- Click Next to keep the current settings. A typical installation includes the NI-488.2 device driver, Measurement & Automation Explorer, and NI Spy. The installation will also preselect NI-VISA for update purposes (if currently installed). To add NI-VISA or support for additional environments (for example, ANSI C or .NET) to the installation, click on the associated box (marked with an “X”) and select “Install this feature to a local drive” for all applicable features. Then click Next.
- Review the feature tree, which includes all support and associated software. By default, NI-488.2, NI Spy, and NI Measurement & Automation Explorer are selected.
Figure 10. Choose features during NI-488.2 installation.
- The installer checks for patches or updates relevant to the products you are about to install. You can download the updates before continuing with the installation.
- Accept the License Agreement(s) and then click Next.
- Review the summary before continuing to ensure all your device drivers will be installed.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Reboot your system when you are prompted.
- Ensure that once installation is complete, you enable any virus detection programs you disabled.
To complete your installation, you must activate your software. You can activate licenses you have purchased for LabVIEW, modules, and toolkits during installation. If you do not activate a valid license for LabVIEW or any modules or toolkits that you install, the unlicensed product operates in evaluation mode. After you install the product, the evaluation begins the first time you launch the product and lasts 30 consecutive days. When the evaluation period expires, you must activate a valid license to continue using the product.
To activate the product license, use the serial number you received on the Certificate of Ownership included in the software kit. If your software kit does not include a Certificate of Ownership, you can find the serial number on the product packing slip or on the shipping label. If you have purchased the version of a product you want to activate, you also can use serial numbers from a previous version of the product to activate it. You can activate the LabVIEW license in any of the following ways:
- After installation is complete, enter the serial number when prompted and complete the installation and activation process.
Figure 11. NI Activation Wizard
If you do not activate LabVIEW, modules, or toolkits during installation, LabVIEW prompts you to activate when you launch LabVIEW. After you activate the licenses for all LabVIEW products you installed, you no longer see this prompt.
