Appendix D
Common Questions
VXI-1394 Interface for Windows NT/98
D-4
www.ni.com
Which NI-VXI utility program must I use to configure the VXI-1394?
Use the T&M Explorer program to configure the VXI-1394.
T&M Explorer is located in the
NIVXI
and
VXIpnp
program group folders.
Use the Measurement & Automation Explorer to configure your
GPIB system.
Which NI-VXI utility program must I use to initialize the VXI-1394?
The VXI-1394 initializes itself at chassis power-up.
How do I handle VME devices?
Although there is no way to automatically detect VME devices in a system,
you can add them easily through the Add Device Wizard in T&M
Explorer. Through this procedure, you can reserve resources for each of
your VME devices and configure T&M Explorer to show VME devices on
the screen with all your other devices.
Which NI-VXI utility program must I use to perform startup Resource
Manager operations?
Use the Resman program to perform startup Resource Manager operations.
It is located in the
NIVXI
directory. Resman uses the settings configured
in T&M Explorer. It initializes your VXI/VMEbus system and stores the
information that it collects in the
RESMAN.TBL
file in the
TBL
subdirectory
of the
NIVXI
directory.
You can also run Resource Manager operations from T&M Explorer.
Through T&M Explorer, you can also configure Resman to run
automatically at computer startup.
What can I do to make sure that my system is up and running?
The fastest method for testing the system is to run Resman. This program
attempts to access memory in the upper A16 address space of each device
in the system. If Resman does not report any problems, the VXI-1394
communication system is operational.
To test individual devices, you can use the VIC or VISAIC program to
interactively issue NI-VXI functions or NI-VISA operations, respectively.
You can use the
VXIin()
and
VXIout()
functions or the
VXIinReg()
and
VXIoutReg()
functions to test register-based devices by
programming their registers. If you have any message-based devices, you
can send and receive messages with the
WSwrt()
and
WSrd()
functions.