Appendix B Troubleshooting and Common Questions
© National Instruments Corporation
B-7
CPCI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT
What is wrong if
ibwrt
or
ibrd
calls cause my system to hang?
If the Diagnostic utility passes, but
ibrd
or
ibwrt
calls cause your
system to hang, you might have the CPCI-GPIB installed in a slot that is
not configured for bus arbitration. Refer to the Install the CPCI-GPIB
section in Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, for more
information.
How do I communicate with my instrument over the GPIB?
Refer to the documentation that came from the instrument manufacturer.
The command sequences you use are totally dependent on the specific
instrument. The documentation for each instrument should include the
GPIB commands you need to communicate with it. In most cases, NI-488
device-level calls are sufficient for communicating with instruments.
Refer to Chapter 3, Developing Your Application, in the NI-488.2M User
Manual for Windows 95 and Windows NT, for more information.
Can I use the NI-488 and NI-488.2 calls together in the same application?
Yes, you can mix NI-488 functions and NI-488.2 routines.
What can I do to check for errors in my GPIB application?
Examine the value of
ibsta
after each NI-488 or NI-488.2 call. If a call
fails, the ERR bit of
ibsta
is set and an error code is stored in
iberr
.
For more information about global status variables, refer to Chapter 3,
Developing Your Application, in the NI-488.2M User Manual for
Windows 95 and Windows NT.
What information should I have before I call National Instruments?
When you call National Instruments, you should have the results of the
Diagnostic test. Also, make sure you have filled out the technical support
form in Appendix C, Customer Communication.
