Installing LabVIEW and Instrument Control Drivers

Included in the Section

• Installing LabVIEW
• Installing Driver Software

Before you start building your instrument control application, you must install your application development environment first, and then your driver software. This document includes instructions for installing LabVIEW, NI-VISA, and NI-488.2 software.

Note: 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 Driver Software section.

You must first install LabVIEW before installing the required driver software. To do this, insert the LabVIEW Platform DVD and follow the onscreen instructions. If you do not have the original media that was shipped with your purchase of LabVIEW, you can download the latest version of LabVIEW online.

If you have questions about installing LabVIEW, consult the LabVIEW Installation Guide or the LabVIEW Installation Troubleshooting Guide.

After installing LabVIEW and any applicable modules or toolkits, you should install the NI-VISA driver 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Online Download You can always find the latest NI 488.2 driver software on the Drivers and Updates page.