DAQmx package

[neurologic]

I (and others) have ran into a problem consistently when installing the DAQmx package.

Steps to get to issue

1. Install NI drivers and confirm the National Instruments device is operating correctly using NI-MAX
2. Download and install Bonsai from .org
3. Launch the Bonsai application
4. Install the DAQmx package from the package manager in the Bonsai application

Expected Behavior
Be able to find the Analog Input node in the DAQmx menu in the workflow editor

Issue
The DAQmx menu is not included in the workflow editor tools menu even after install with no error feedback.

See the google groups discussion. I forget if there were other threads in which it was discussed.

**and not having the nodes show up in the editor) when doing a fresh install of Bonsai (after messing up the old one somehow) on my computer.

Solution?
I have gotten it to work by unknown means in the past, but today I found something logical that consistently 'solved it' for me.
I did not notice this before, but when Bonsai.exe download does the install, it makes TWO separate 'Applications' that are stored in the default (for me user\AppData\Local\Bonsai). One of them is called Bonsai and the other is Bonsai32. I don't know what the difference between these is on the backend. But, after installing the DAQmx package, if I run the Bonsai32 application the editor has the DAQmx nodes, while if I run the Bonsai application the DAQmx nodes are nowhere to be found in the menu.
Hope this helps.
Let me know if anyone knows the "why" on this (or has other solutions).

[bruno-f-cruz]

Is there a chance you installed the 32bit version of NI MAX?

[neurologic]

It is possible. My system is 64bit.
I tried to re-do the process from the beginning to see if I could specify 64bit. I used the NI Package Manager to uninstall everything and then uninstalled the package manager itself. I started fresh with a download of DAQmx from NI. I never had the option to specify 64 versus 32bit during any of the install process.
I am still running into the same problem with Bonsai versus Bonsai32 after installing the DAQmx bonsai package from the package manager.
If there are any "silly" mistakes I might be making, it is a good possibility I am doing them.

Since I have the NI device working in Bonsai32 reliably now, this is not a major issue for me. But it would be nice to know why I am running into this and whether it is an issue with how I am installing, etc. Are there any downsides to working with the Bonsai32 version? Seems weird to do since my Windows is 64bit?

Thanks!

[glopesdev]

@neurologic Even when using a 64-bit version of Windows, it is still possible to install and run applications and drivers compiled for 32-bit architectures. Windows will support both, but a 32-bit driver or library will only work with a 32-bit application, so you cannot mix and match.

It is likely that the NI-DAQmx installer sets up both 32- and 64-bit versions of the drivers, to ensure they work with any application in the computer. What may be happening is that there is some missing or conflicted dependency that is missing for the 64-bit drivers.

I am moving this discussion to the DAQmx package repository, so we can continue pinning down the problem, but in the meantime, can you check if something like the following path exists in your system?

C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2010\DotNET\Assemblies (64-bit)

[jsiegle]

I'm having the same problem. The NI-DAQmx installer specifies an Application Bitness of 32 and 64-bit, but the list of supported operating systems are all 64-bit, so I assume I have the right version installed.

The directory you mentioned is present on my system.

[jbscherrer]

I'm also having issues, potentially caused by the same problem.

I'm migrating computers and trying to reinstall the National Instruments DAQmx package. However, after installing the package, the nodes do not show up in the Bonsai toolbox. When I try to open a workflow with DAQmx nodes included, I get this error:

[for search indexing: Could not load file or assembly 'NationalInstruments.DAQmx.dll' or one of its dependencies']

This issue has been described in multiple previous posts, but none of the solutions are working for me. I've made sure the National Instruments .NET Framework support is installed. I've also tried replacing the package folder in AppData with one from a working installation on a different computer, including NationalInstruments.DAQmx.dll. The problem persists in 32bit as well as 64bit applications.

I'm using NI-DAQmx version 2022 Q4, and Windows 11 Pro for Workstations version 10.0.22000.1219

[jsiegle]

I was also using 2022 Q4 – could it be a problem with recent NI-DAQmx installs? @glopesdev which version do you have on your dev machine?

[glopesdev]

@jsiegle I just checked and it looks like 2022 Q4... and the nodes do show up (here's a side-by-side screenshot):

This specific computer is a Windows 10 Pro machine, but I actually developed the new package version on my Windows 11 Pro laptop (also working) so I'm also scratching my head a bit at what the issue might be.

What I would do next is trace down which exact dependency is failing to load so we can pin down the problem. If you can collect some assembly binding logs as detailed below on the affected machines we should hopefully be able to learn more:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17681432/how-can-i-enable-assembly-binding-logging
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/e74a18c4%28v=vs.71%29.aspx

[jsiegle]

I just installed the DAQmx package on a different computer and everything was fine. Will try to collect the assembly binding logs when I'm back in lab on Monday.

[jbscherrer]

Here's what I get from fuslogvw. Looking in Default/Bonsai.exe/Bonsai.DAQmx.HTM, there's a series of outputs Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.

fuslogvw_output.zip

[jsiegle]

Yep, seeing the same thing. It doesn't seem to contain any info about which file could not be found.

[glopesdev]

Hmm, these tools can be quite painful to configure correctly unfortunately. Was checking that maybe there is this alternative: https://github.com/awaescher/Fusion

Looks active and maybe more intuitive to get right.

[jsiegle]

Based on the Fusion output, it seems like it could be looking for NationalInstruments.DAQmx.dll?

*** Assembly Binder Log Entry  (1/9/2023 @ 5:18:55 PM) ***

The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.

Assembly manager loaded from:  C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable  C:\Users\svc_aind_ephys\Documents\Bonsai\bonsai-2.7.2\Bonsai.exe
--- A detailed error log follows. 

=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = NationalInstruments.DAQmx, Version=9.3.40.219, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=dc6ad606294fc298
 (Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = C:\Users\svc_aind_ephys\Documents\Bonsai\bonsai-2.7.2
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL
LOG: Cache Base = NULL
LOG: AppName = NULL
Calling assembly : Bonsai.DAQmx, Version=0.2.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null.
===
LOG: This bind starts in LoadFrom load context.
WRN: Native image will not be probed in LoadFrom context. Native image will only be probed in default load context, like with Assembly.Load().
LOG: No application configuration file found.
LOG: Using host configuration file: 
LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Post-policy reference: NationalInstruments.DAQmx, Version=9.3.40.219, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=dc6ad606294fc298
LOG: GAC Lookup was unsuccessful.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/NationalInstruments.DAQmx/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/NationalInstruments.DAQmx/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/Packages/Bonsai.DAQmx.0.2.0/lib/net462/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/Packages/Bonsai.DAQmx.0.2.0/lib/net462/NationalInstruments.DAQmx/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/Packages/Bonsai.DAQmx.0.2.0/lib/net462/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/svc_aind_ephys/Documents/Bonsai/bonsai-2.7.2/Packages/Bonsai.DAQmx.0.2.0/lib/net462/NationalInstruments.DAQmx/NationalInstruments.DAQmx.EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and failed.

[jsiegle]

Ok, the DAQmx operators are showing up when I run Bonsai32.exe...any idea why they're missing for the 64-bit version?

[glopesdev]

Thanks @jsiegle now we are on to something. This line is key:

LOG: GAC Lookup was unsuccessful.

These assemblies are meant to be in the GAC (Global Assembly Cache). They are usually put there by the NI installer. Many years ago there were two versions of the installer, one for 32-bit and another for 64-bit. I believe they are now bundled together but it's worth double-checking.

Can you try uninstalling and reinstalling the NI software on that machine? I'm wondering if it could be something like the .NET framework not being installed at the time the NI software runs so it skipped that step.