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NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0 Readme

June 2016


This file contains release notes, patent information, and last-minute information for NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0. Some information in this file may be too recent to be included in the official documentation set.


Parts of this document are only relevant to a full installation and do not apply to a runtime-only installation.


This readme contains the following main sections:


Release Notes

Supported Interfaces

Supported GPIB Analyzer Interfaces

Compatible Software

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

Driver Version Naming Changes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Legal Information


Release Notes

Physical Address Extension on Windows 32-Bit Operating Systems

Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.


Win16 and DOS Support

Win16 and DOS support are available on 32-bit Windows operating systems.


NI-488.2 .NET Framework Help

When installing on a system on which a version of .NET Framework is already installed, NI-488.2 .NET Framework Help appears in the Start menu or (Windows 8) in NI Launcher. This help requires a viewer, available with Visual Studio or other .NET development environments. If you do not have a viewer installed, you will receive a Missing Shortcut error when you try to launch the help.


Upgrading from Released NI-488.2 Versions

This driver allows upgrades starting from NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.6. To install over software lower than Version 2.6, you must first uninstall the lower version. To uninstall on Windows, go to Programs and Features, select National Instruments Software, and then click Uninstall/Change. Select the software to uninstall, and click Remove Selected. Certain versions of Windows require that you run a clean-up utility after uninstalling the unsupported driver. To download this utility, visit ni.com/kb and search for 46BH366K.


Downgrading to Lower NI-488.2 Versions

You must uninstall any higher version of NI-488.2 software before you can install a lower (or previous) version.


Known compatibility issues with Windows 8

NI-488.2 has known compatibility issues with the Fast Startup feature introduced in Windows 8. Leaving Fast Startup enabled can cause GPIB hardware and NI-488.2 driver software to function improperly. To prevent problems with installing or removing hardware, National Instruments recommends disabling Fast Startup. The NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 15.5 installer disables Fast Startup by default. For more information about this issue, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code Win8FastStartup.


Known driver issues with Windows Upgrade

Upgrading Windows on a system with NI-488.2 already installed renders DOS Support unusable. To fix this issue, run installation repair. If the driver is unable to attach to GPIB hardware, run installation repair a second time.



For more information about changes in NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0, review the Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 16.0 section.



Supported Interfaces

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0, supports GPIB communication using the following hardware.


GPIB Interface Windows 10/8.1/8/7 SP1/Server 2012 R2/Server 2008 R2 SP1
GPIB-ENET/100 Yes[1]
GPIB-ENET/1000 Yes
GPIB-USB-B Yes
GPIB-USB-HS Yes
GPIB-USB-HS+ Yes
NI ExpressCard-GPIB Yes
NI PCIe-GPIB Yes
NI PCIe-GPIB+ Yes
NI PCI-GPIB Yes
NI PCI-GPIB+ Yes
NI PCI-GPIB/LP Yes
NI PCI-8212 Yes
NI PCI-8232 Yes
NI PMC-GPIB Yes
NI PXI-GPIB Yes
NI PXI-8212 Yes
NI PXI-8232 Yes
1 The GPIB-ENET/1000 has replaced the GPIB-ENET/100. Support for the GPIB-ENET/100 may not be maintained in future versions of NI-488.2 for Windows. The GPIB-ENET/1000 should be used for new designs.


Supported GPIB Analyzer Interfaces

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0, supports GPIB Analyzer functionality using the following hardware.


GPIB Interface Windows 10/8.1/8/7 SP1/Server 2012 R2/Server 2008 R2 SP1
NI PCIe-GPIB+ Yes
NI PCI-GPIB+ Yes
GPIB-USB-HS+ Yes


Compatible Software

This driver version is recommended for use with the following National Instruments software:


  • NI-VISA 16.0
    • Any version of NI-VISA prior to 5.1 on your system may cause NI-488.2 usability issues. Upgrade to NI-VISA version 5.1 or later before using any NI-488.2 devices.
  • LabVIEW 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016
  • LabWindows/CVI 2012, 2013, and 2015
  • Measurement Studio 2012, 2013, and 2015

Measurement Studio Examples

The Measurement Studio examples install to various directories, depending on the following:


  • The component installed
  • The Visual Studio or .NET Framework version that the example supports
  • The Measurement Studio version installed
  • The operating system

For detailed information on examples for Measurement Studio, refer to Where to Find Examples in the NI Measurement Studio Help.


Microsoft Visual Studio Support

The following table lists the programming languages and Microsoft Visual Studio versions supported by NI-488.2.


Programming Language Visual Studio Versions Supported by NI-488.2
Visual Basic 6.0[1]
Unmanaged C/C++ 6.0[2][3], 2003[2], 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012
.NET Framework 4.0 Languages
(C# and Visual Basic.NET)
2010
.NET Framework 4.5 Languages
(C# and Visual Basic.NET)
2012
.NET Framework 4.5.1 Languages
(C# and Visual Basic.NET)
2013
1 Visual Basic 6.0 does not support 64-bit GPIB applications.
2 Programs built in debug mode using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 cannot link to the current ni4882 object file. For how to solve this problem, go to ni.com/kb and search for 5DNDRI2F.
3 Microsoft Visual C/C++ 6.0 and 2003 do not support 64-bit GPIB applications.

For information on Visual Studio compatibility with earlier versions of NI-488.2, refer to ni.com/info and enter the Info Code NETLegacyDrivers. To find and download an earlier version of the driver, refer to ni.com/downloads.


For more information on NI-488.2 support for .NET Framework 2.0, including considerations for users upgrading from NI-488.2 3.1 or earlier, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code 488mvs05.


For more information on NI-488.2 support for .NET Framework 1.1 or Visual C++ MFC 2003, including considerations for users upgrading from NI-488.2 2.8 or earlier, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code 488mvs03.


Borland Support

NI-488.2 includes ANSI C support for Borland 5.02.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 16.0


The following issues were resolved in NI-488.2 16.0

582112: In rare cases, connecting a GPIB-USB-HS+ interface to a system could cause the computer to crash.


569142: Installer indicates that NI I/O Trace is required for NI-488.2.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 15.5


The following issues were resolved in NI-488.2 15.5

433395: Extra delay on ibwait and ibstop was removed for GPIB Ethernet-based hardware.


538997: An NI4882 API call in a multithreaded or multiprocess application results in an unexpected error due to unprotected API calls when opening a device handle.


542306: When an application exits while there is asynchronous IO pending on ENET interfaces, the application crashes.


557236: GPIB Analyzer crashes when exporting a large capture to a text file.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 15.0


Updated experience in NI-MAX

The configuration experience in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) has been updated to improve consistency with other NI products. Significant changes include:


  • GPIB properties have been moved to the Settings page for GPIB interfaces.
  • It is no longer necessary to run MAX as Administrator to change GPIB settings.
  • Reset and Self-Test features are now available for all GPIB interfaces from within MAX.
  • NI-488.2 DOS Support is no longer configurable through MAX; DOS Support is enabled by default on all compatible systems. Refer to the NI-488.2 documentation for instructions to manually disable NI-488.2 DOS Support.
  • Scan for Instruments no longer displays instruments at the bottom of the properties page, which has been removed. Discovered instruments only appear in the Devices & Interfaces tree beneath the GPIB interface.
  • GPIB-ENET/100 and GPIB-ENET/1000 interfaces now display additional information such as IP address and serial number.
  • Performance of MAX has been improved during startup and when expanding Devices & Interfaces tree.
  • GPIB-ENET/100 and GPIB-ENET/1000 interfaces which cannot be reached are marked as unavailable; some operations are disabled while they are offline. (386556)
  • Windows display language can now be changed without adverse affecting GPIB labels as they appear in MAX. (428596)
  • MAX now displays network info for GPIB-ENET/1000 interface that is configured with .local address. (409559)

Web configuration

GPIB interfaces are now fully configurable through the NI Web Configuration interface. Self-Test has also been added.



Removed troubleshooting utility

The NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Utility has been removed. GPIB interfaces may be tested using the Self-Test feature in Measurement & Automation Explorer, or programmatically through the System Configuration API.



Improved behavior when USB transaction errors occur

506688: The NI-488.2 driver is unable to recover from certain types of USB errors. These errors may occur on some systems when other USB devices are added or removed from the system while a GPIB operation is in progress. In prior versions of NI-488.2, this could lead to a hang in the process using a USB-to-GPIB interface. It could also result in a hang or blue screen error on system shutdown. This scenario now results in an EDVR error when an unrecoverable USB error occurs. To restore operation, the USB connection to the GPIB interface should be removed and reinserted, and the GPIB handle should be closed and re-opened.



The following issues were resolved in NI-488.2 15.0

518983: As a result of an issue introduced in NI-488.2 14.0, GPIB-USB-B or GPIB-USB-HS I/O bus communication can hang until the handle to the GPIB interface is closed when all of the following conditions are true:


  • The affected interface is not CIC (Controller in Charge)
  • A read or write is in progress
  • An ibwait including the DCAS bit is in progress
  • A device clear is received during the I/O transfer

507376: Installer hang might occur during installation of NI software on systems with NI-488.2 14.0 already installed.


478063: GPIB-USB-HS+ might become unresponsive upon rebooting in a virtual machine.


121091: Calling ibonl when a board level ibwait is in progress could result in application crash.


121181: A deadlock might occur when attempting to use a board handle with pending ibonl call on another thread.


476357: GPIB Ethernet Wizard can incorrectly add GPIB-ENET/1000 with hostname even if it is not reachable.


476487: GPIB Ethernet Wizard icon does not appear on Windows task bar.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 14.0


New hardware support

This release adds support for the GPIB-USB-HS+ GPIB controller and Analyzer. Along with this, the NI GPIB Analyzer utility has undergone changes to allow it to work with the new analyzer hardware. The NI GPIB Analyzer utility allows simultaneous use of multiple GPIB-USB-HS+ analyzers, along with up to one non-USB GPIB analyzer.



Windows Server Support

This release adds support for Windows Server 2012 R2. Refer to the Supported Interfaces table for the list of supported hardware.



API integer type changes

The integer types used in the NI4882 API (ni4882.h) have been updated. All uses of unsigned long have been replaced with unsigned int. These types are functionally identical with all supported compilers, and this change improves the portability of 64-bit GPIB applications to other platforms. Users of ibnotify will need to update the function prototypes for callback functions. In most other cases applications will compile cleanly. This change is fully binary-compatible with applications built against previous versions of NI-488.2 and does not impact users of the GPIB-32 API (ni488.h).



Runtime Installer

NI-488.2 for Windows is now available in a smaller Runtime form. The NI-488.2 Runtime is a minimal installation which does not include many of the utilities and supporting software included with the full NI-488.2 distribution. When building installers from LabVIEW or other NI development environments, you will now have the option of including this smaller subset of NI-488.2 in your distribution.



The following issues were resolved in NI-488.2 14.0

319093: Attempting to bring a non-existent device online after setting the IbcSendLLO board configuration option causes an ENOL error instead of EBUS. This problem impacted all USB based GPIB interfaces. This has been fixed.


122997: The EOIP status bit could remain set incorrectly if an ibwrta or ibrda call returned an EDVR error.


171688: An ibnotify callback could fail to be triggered by END if the notify condition included END but not CMPL.


205182: Asynchronous transfers could sometimes report EABO even though the transfer completed successfully.


372832: A callback from ibnotify might not be invoked after an asynchronous transfer was completed if the notify mask only contained END.


374822: Calling ibonl while ibnotify is pending could cause the process to crash under some circumstances.


380705: Aborting an ibrda very quickly after starting it could allow a PCI-based GPIB interface to receive data when addressed as a listener, without a read in progress. This data was lost, and could not be recovered.


404267: In some situations, the GPIB-ENET/1000 could hang while performing asynchronous transfers. This included fixes in both the NI-488.2 driver and the GPIB-ENET/1000 firmware. Users of the GPIB-ENET/1000 should update the GPIB-ENET/1000 firmware to version 1.1.0 to receive the full benefit of this fix.


405414: In some cases the DCAS bit was not correctly cleared after being reported, causing it to be reported with subsequent calls.


418661: In some situations, when an ibnotify callback function was triggered due to the completion of an asynchronous transfer, the ibcnt and ibcntl variables would be incorrect.


425931: Calling ibstop with an asynchronous operation in progress would sometimes not report an EABO error as expected.


464114: When using a GPIB-USB-B controller, the call immediately following an ibstop call could be incorrectly aborted.


463966: Severe performance degradation when performing large writes to GPIB-USB-HS hardware through USB 3.0 ports on Windows 7.


332479: On GPIB-USB-B and GPIB-USB-HS controllers, the first I/O operation after device insertion could be terminated prematurely.


240000: On GPIB-USB-B and GPIB-USB-HS controllers, ibwait and ibnotify could fail to detect the CIC, LACS, and TACS bits.


191044: The GPIB Analyzer did not automatically append the correct file extension when saving a capture.


87073: The GPIB Analyzer did not prompt to save if the application is closed while capturing data.




Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 3.1.2


Improved stability with Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)

379939: An exception could be reported by System Configuration API when initializing the ni4882 plugin if NI Configuration Manager service is not running. This could manifest itself as crashes in any application using the System Configuration API or be reported as unhandled exceptions in niGPIBsys.dll when using MAX.


373644: Several issues have been resolved when scanning for instruments in MAX. These issues may have caused MAX to crash or the discovered GPIB instruments to not be displayed correctly.


This version improves the stability of NI-488.2 with MAX and Scan for Instruments.




Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 3.1.1


Start Screen Shortcuts on Windows 8

When installing on Windows 8, NI-488.2 no longer pins shortcuts to the Start screen. Shortcuts which are available from the start menu on earlier versions of Windows may be accessed through the NI Launcher utility, or by searching from the Start screen.



.NET Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 3.1.1, adds .NET Framework 4.5 support. It is available as an option in the Feature tree during installation.




Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 3.1


Windows 8 Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 3.1, adds support for Windows 8. Refer to the Supported Interfaces table for the list of hardware supported on Windows 8.



Direct Entry Availability for ni4882.dll

351266: NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 3.1, adds support for direct entry into ni4882.dll. Previously there was only support for gpib-32.dll.



Slow Performance of PXI Interfaces

311091: In certain PXI Express chassis, the performance of GPIB writes through PXI-GPIB interfaces is very slow. This has been fixed.



Blue Screen Error After Disconnecting USB Hub with GPIB Hardware Connected

370676: When disconnecting a USB hub with GPIB hardware connected, the GPIB hardware will not be properly removed from the system. This will prevent the use of the device until the system is rebooted. During the following reboot or shutdown, a blue screen error may occur. This has been fixed.


371371: When disconnecting a USB hub shortly after connecting a GPIB-USB-HS to the hub, a blue screen error may occur immediately. This has been fixed.



Blue Screen Error While Resuming from Hibernation or Standby

144103: Removing PCMCIA-GPIB interfaces while Windows is hibernated or suspended causes blue screen error during resume. This has been fixed.



GPIB Interface Inappropriately Returns ELCK

122048: GPIB interface remains in locked state after the locking process is terminated unexpectedly. This generates an ELCK error on subsequent attempts to open the interface. This problem impacted all USB based GPIB interfaces. This has been fixed.




Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 3.0.2


Possible System Crash After Driver Upgrade

329737: A crash could occur after an upgrade if a GPIB interface was removed prior to the upgrade. The crash would occur after reinstalling the previously removed hardware. This is known to happen if the prior version installed was earlier than 2.8, and the driver is upgraded to version 2.8 or later. This issue is now resolved.



PCMCIA and AT Interfaces Not Visible

329127: PCMCIA and AT interfaces did not properly appear in Measurement & Automation Explorer or the System Configuration API when using NI-488.2 for Windows, version 3.0. This problem has been fixed.




Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 3.0


Display Changes in Measurement and Automation Explorer

GPIB interfaces are now displayed in MAX according to how they are connected to the system. Ethernet devices will now be located in the Network Devices section, and PXI interfaces are located with their associated PXI chassis.



System Configuration API Support

GPIB interfaces supported by NI-488.2 for Windows will now be visible through the NI System Configuration API.



DOS and Win16 Support

Previous versions of NI-488.2 for Windows did not install DOS and Win16 support on Windows 7 or Vista. It is now installed on all 32-bit versions of Windows. The feature is enabled by default, but may be disabled through Measurement and Automation Explorer.



USB and ExpressCard in VirtualPC

USB and ExpressCard interfaces failed to install properly in VirtualPC, including Windows 7 XP Mode. These interfaces now enumerate correctly.



Reset Configuration Data

GPIB configuration data can now be reset to default through Measurement and Automation Explorer.



Replacing NI Spy

NI Spy is replaced by NI I/O Trace.



GPIB-ENET/1000 Fails to Load Default HS Cable Length

299874: Setting the default HS Cable Length in Measurement and Automation Explorer for the GPIB-ENET/1000 did not work. This problem had been fixed. Note: This fix requires the GPIB-ENET/1000 firmware to be updated to version 1.0.1 or later.



Driver Hangs on Closing Device Handle

279530: When closing device handle, the process may hang if a USB or ExpressCard interface was removed with a call to ibwait pending. This problem had been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.8.1


.NET Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.8.1, adds .NET Framework 4.0 support. It is available as an option in the Feature tree during installation.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.8


New Hardware Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.8, adds support for the GPIB-ENET/1000. For information about the differences between the GPIB-ENET/1000 and the GPIB-ENET/100, visit ni.com/kb and search for 5BPER2G2.



Windows Server Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.8, adds support for Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit only) and Windows Server 2008 R2. Refer to the Supported Interfaces table for the list of supported hardware.



Windows 2000

Support for Windows 2000 is discontinued in this release.



Traditional Chinese

Traditional Chinese translations are discontinued in this release.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.7.3


Decrease in Performance in NI-488.2, Version 2.7.2 or older

A significant performance decrease may be encountered when performing I/O with DMA enabled. This issue impacted all PCI, PCI Express, PXI, and PMC interfaces, including the built-in GPIB ports on PXI and VXI controllers. This will happen with NI-488.2, Version 2.7.2, and older versions of NI-488.2 on systems where other NI software has been updated. This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.7.2


Windows 7 Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.7.2, adds support for Windows 7 x86 (32-bit) and Windows 7 x64 (64-bit). Refer to the Supported Interfaces table for the list of hardware supported on Windows 7.



Possible Failure on ibln() and FindLstn()

182620: PCI type GPIB interfaces (PCI, PCI Express, PMC, PXI) were not waiting the recommended time of 1.5 ms for instruments to respond to ibln() and FindLstn() calls. This typically would affect only older instruments with significantly slow response time and does not affect most recent instruments. This has been fixed.



NI PXI-GPIB Communication Failures Across MXI-Express

173210: BIOS incompatibilities on some systems prevented NI PXI-GPIB DMA from functioning properly across a MXI-Express link. Affected systems would fail all transfers larger than 32 bytes when configured for DMA mode. This issue has been fixed.



Possible Hang with USB GPIB Interfaces

171428: Terminating a process that is using a USB GPIB interface could cause the process to hang and possibly a bluescreen. This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.7.1


.NET Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.7.1, adds support for 64-bit user mode in .NET Framework 3.5. You now can create 64-bit applications with .NET Framework 3.5.


For additional information, refer to Working with 64-bit .NET Support for NI-488.2 in the NI-488.2 .NET Framework 3.5 Help. This help file is available at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-488.2»NI-488.2 .NET Framework 3.5 Help when the .NET Framework 3.5 Languages Support is installed on the system.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.7


New Hardware Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.7, adds support for the NI PCIe-GPIB+ Controller/Analyzer board.



Analyzer Support

This release adds support for the GPIB Analyzer on Windows Vista x64 (64-bit).


35095: Updated message displayed when using the Analyzer application without analyzer hardware present.


128461: The analyzer button is enabled in Measurement & Automation Explorer only when an analyzer interface is selected.



.NET Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.7, adds Measurement Studio 2008 support. Measurement Studio 2008 support is selectable in the Feature tree during installation.



GPIB-ENET/100

The serial number of a GPIB-ENET/100 can now be queried using the ibask function call.



USB

135269: If a USB interface was removed while the system was shutting down, a runtime error could occur. This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.6


64-bit Application Interface

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.6, adds a 64-bit application interface that allows users to create 64-bit applications on Windows Vista x64 (64-bit) using ni4882.obj. Using the 32-bit version of ni4882.obj, users can use the same NI4882 API to build corresponding 32-bit applications with no source code changes. The 32-bit applications based on ni4882.obj are compatible on systems with NI-488.2 for Windows, versions 1.7 and later.


For more information about the new NI4882 API, refer to the NI-488.2 Help.



Portable Configuration

This release adds support in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) for the standard Export and Import wizard. This allows you to transfer the NI-488.2 configuration settings for supported GPIB interfaces.



Configuration Privileges

By default, only users with Administrator privileges can update NI-488.2 configuration settings in MAX. For less restrictive environments, this release adds an option in the MAX Tools menu to allow privileges to all users for updating configuration settings. Only a user with Administrator privileges can set the option.



.NET Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.6, adds .NET Framework 3.5 support and Visual Studio 2005 support fixes. They are options in the Feature tree during installation.



Application Interface and Examples

The Application Interface (formerly called Language Interface) and example files have moved.


The NIEXTCCOMPILERSUPP environment variable is provided as an alias to the location of C language support files. You can use this variable when compiling and linking an application. The Application Interface files (header and library files to include in applications) moved to a centralized location to prevent users from accidentally overwriting them and to provide this NIEXTCCOMPILERSUPP environment variable.


You can access the examples through Start»Programs»National Instruments»NI-488.2»Examples. The examples require the new NI4882 API.


For more information about the new NI4882 API, refer to the NI-488.2 Help.



Real-Time Option

This release includes the option of installing NI-488.2 for LabVIEW Real-Time parts from the Feature tree during installation. See the ReadMeRT.html file for more information about NI-488.2 for LabVIEW Real-Time.



Serial Poll Bluescreen

41151: In rare cases, a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA bluescreen appeared while the driver executed a serial poll. This has been fixed.



ibnotify Error

40815: In rare cases, using ibnotify with GPIB USB interfaces produced an error message, where x and y represent memory addresses: The instruction at x referenced memory at y. The memory could not be "read." This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.5.2


Windows Vista

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.5.2, adds support for Windows Vista x86 (32-bit) and Windows Vista x64 (64-bit). Refer to the Supported Interfaces table for the list of hardware supported on Windows Vista.



Usability

This driver includes several usability improvements, including the following:


  • The GPIB Getting Started Wizard is replaced with a new Welcome screen.
  • The Add New Hardware Wizard is replaced with a new Add GPIB-ENET/100 Wizard.
  • The Troubleshooting Wizard is replaced with a new Troubleshooting Utility.
  • Changing GPIB configuration properties is better integrated into Measurement & Automation Explorer.

For more details about these utilities and tools, refer to the NI-488.2 Help.



Power Management

NI-488.2 for Windows, Versions 2.2 through 2.4.x, attempt to prevent the system from going to standby or hibernate if there is an application with an open NI-488.2 handle. To satisfy Windows Vista requirements, this has changed to no longer prevent the system from going to standby or hibernate. After the system returns from standby or hibernate, take the handle offline and open a new handle, because any subsequent calls from the previously opened handle will return the EPWR error code, except for ibonl 0.



.NET Support

This driver adds .NET 2005 language support and .NET 2003 language support fixes via the native .NET API. They are options in the Feature tree during installation.


Note that prior versions of NI-488.2 for Windows offered two options for .NET support to make it easier to update existing applications. The NI-488.2 wrapper interface, which previously was available on the CD in the Microsoft .NET Language Interface directory, has been removed from the current distribution. The NI-488.2 wrapper interface is still available at our Web site, ni.com.



Language Interface and Examples

The Language Interface and example files have moved from the Program Files\National Instruments\NI-488.2\Languages directory to the Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\NI-488.2\Languages directory on Windows Vista and the Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\National Instruments\NI-488.2\Languages directory on Windows XP/2000. This change satisfies Windows Vista requirements, when allowing users to save changes or add files to the directory. Note that the NI-488.2 Help incorrectly describes the location for .NET examples.



Analyzer NMI Parity Error

3Q4GJOAU: On certain machines, a bluescreen describing an NMI Parity Error appeared on installing a NI PCI-GPIB+ interface. This has been fixed.



GPIB-USB-HS

GPIB-USB-HS performance has improved and is optimized for whether it is connected to a full-speed or high-speed port.



SRQ

3R296C5E: If an event handler was installed to handle service request (SRQ) events, the events could fail to trigger if the session was currently locked exclusively. This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.4


New Hardware Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.4, adds support for GPIB-USB-HS, NI ExpressCard-GPIB, and a revised version of the NI PCI-GPIB+ Controller/Analyzer board.



GPIB-USB-A

Support for the obsolete GPIB-USB-A interface is discontinued in this release.



ibcmd and Serial Poll Performance

3I191NAK: Driver version 2.3 performance during ibcmd and serial poll calls was lower than version 2.2. This has been fixed and improved over version 2.2.



Documentation

Documentation has been updated for various features.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.3


New Language Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.3, adds language support for Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), and Korean. This is in addition to English and Japanese languages supported by the previous versions of NI-488.2 for Windows. All components of this release have been localized with the exception of:


  • NI-488.2 Interactive Control Utility
  • GPIB Analyzer Software
  • Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX)
  • NI-VISA
  • User documentation

This release also includes new getting started documentation in all languages supported, available through the View Documentation utility on the NI-488.2 for Windows CD.



Windows 98/Me

Windows 98/Me support is discontinued in this release.



Microsoft Sysprep Utility

3BI8A578: The Sysprep utility would cause a crash in some cases of deployment. This has been fixed.



ibcmda and ibstop

3D9ES759: An ibstop call was unable to stop asynchronous ibcmda calls. This has been fixed.



Utilities

Some cosmetic issues with GPIB utilities have been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.2


AT-GPIB/TNT (PnP)

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds support for the AT-GPIB/TNT (PnP) interface.



PCI Express Interface for GPIB

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds support for the NI PCIe-GPIB, a PCI Express Interface for GPIB.



Power Management

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds the EPWR error code. This error indicates that the interface lost power. This may occur when the system goes to standby or hibernate mode. The NI-488.2 driver attempts to prevent the system from going to standby or hibernate if there is an application with an open NI-488.2 handle.



.NET Support

National Instruments provides two interfaces for developing GPIB-based applications in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 or later:


  • The native .NET API
  • The NI-488.2 wrapper interface

We recommend the native .NET API as the preferred method of developing GPIB .NET applications because of its superior integration into the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET IDE. The native .NET API can be installed from the NI-488.2 CD by selecting it from the custom installation section. It is installed in the National Instruments\Measurement Studio subdirectory. Full integrated help for this API is available inside the Visual Studio .NET environment. The NI-488.2 wrapper interface can be found on the CD in the Microsoft .NET Language Interface directory.



New ibask option

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds the IbaSerialNumber option to ibask. This allows customers to query the serial number of the board that they are using. The ibask call will return a 32-bit serial number for supported interfaces. The driver will return with ERR bit set in ibsta, and iberr set to ECAP for unsupported interfaces. This feature is not supported with the Visual Basic language interface. The VB language interface for ibask does not handle unsigned 32-bit numbers.



NI PCMCIA-GPIB

34EHULAW: Older National Instruments PCMCIA-GPIB devices would not enumerate properly with the 2.1 driver. This has been fixed.



ibnotify

2Q379FSL: The driver sometimes would not call the ibnotify callback, or call the ibnotify callback improperly when waiting for RQS. This has been fixed.



ibconfig

35LEK99F: The driver would hang if a device-level ibconfig was called with IbcSPollTime, IbcPAD, or IbcSAD when an ibnotify call on the same device descriptor was in progress. This has been fixed.



Memory leak

36NARLXY: The driver had a small memory leak when being used by VISA. This has been fixed.



Analyzer

2SJC9C00: The GPIB Analyzer application would crash when launched with some video cards. This has been fixed.



DOS

2XFEF2Q6: Enabling DOS support worked improperly when logging in as a different user than it was enabled as. This has been fixed.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.1


NI PCMCIA-GPIB

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.1, adds support for the NI PCMCIA-GPIB interface. Following the precedent of Version 2.0 of the driver, which unified the driver for the PCI, ENET, and USB interfaces, this version ensures that those interfaces along with the NI PCMCIA-GPIB can function simultaneously with the same driver.



Analyzer

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.1, supports the GPIB analyzer portion of the NI PCI-GPIB+ and NI PCMCIA-GPIB+ on the Windows XP/2000 operating systems. This support was previously only available on Windows NT/98/95.



Enhancements and Bug Fixes in Version 2.0


Installer

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, improves the installation experience for the user.



Windows XP/2000

In the past, there were separate drivers for plug-in interface boards (NI PCI-GPIB, etc.), the GPIB-ENET family, and the GPIB-USB-A. Only one of these three could be installed and used at any one time. NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, removes this restriction. All supported interfaces function simultaneously with the same driver.



User Mode

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, resolves the issue that prevents users running the software in USER mode (as opposed to ADMINISTRATOR mode).



Internationalized Software Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, offers an improved localized solution in Japanese.



Win16 and DOS Support

NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, does not support Win16 applications for Windows Me/9x platforms. Win16 support is available under Windows XP/2000. To use these applications under Windows Me/9x, you must use a previous version of NI-488.2 for Windows. DOS support is available on all operating systems this driver supports.



Driver Version Naming Changes

NI-488.2 versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. The last version released under the old numbering scheme was NI-488.2 3.1.2. The first version released under the new numbering scheme was NI-488.2 14.0.



Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.


For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:



Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.



Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.



NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0 Drops Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

With this release, NI-488.2 drops support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack), Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0 and later will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 16.0, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.


For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does my LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Measurement Studio, or TestStand Built Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003?.



Legal Information

Copyright


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Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.


NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.


End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices


You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


Patents


For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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