trouble setting up new cRIO

Hi. The team bought a new cRIO (4 slot) and we are trying to set it up so that we can use it.
We’ve set the address and are communicating (it pings), but for some reason the modules installed (in the correct slots) are not showing up in the imaging tool.
There is a disk that comes with the cRIO - drivers disk - and the instructions on loading the drivers is a bit confusing. The ‘quick reference guide’ states that the drivers must be loaded, but other than the autorun file on the driver disk, there aren’t any instructions.
There are other instructions that state that the drivers should be loaded through MAX, but when we look at the menus there doesn’t seem to be a way to load the drivers.
I mention ‘loading drivers’ because I can’t see any other reason that the cRIO does not see the modules. I am guessing that in order to see each module loaded in the cRIO, the cRIO needs a way to know what to look for as there are many possible configurations for this hardware.
We tried reading the modules on the ‘older’ 8 slot cRIO and we are able to see them using the imaging tool.
Anyway - we are stumped. Any help would be appreciated. Step by step instructions would be fantastic.

Since the cRIO is an industrial product, there are many ways to configure it. It seems that you’ve found directions for the professional user.

For FRC, you want to use the compactRIO Imaging Tool that is installed by the Utilities Update. It requires that the cRIO and laptop be on the same subnet and that the firewall be turned off, but will simplify the process to a single screen that asks about the programming language and other features related to CAN and debugging.

Greg McKaskle

Ok - thanks. To make sure I understand - will the imaging tool (utility updated) have all the necessary information to configure the cRIO (i.e. internet network connection or additional drivers not needed)?
The reason I ask is that the imaging tool was used initially, but the modules were not showing up in the scan. I do not know if the team downloaded the latest utility update (which could possibly be the issue).

It should upgrade the cRIO to version 47 I believe. It will not show the modules if the image on the cRIO is too old. It will show them after it has been upgraded.

Greg McKaskle

Thank you Greg - I will make sure the update was/is done.

It’s funny…I chastise students (and some adults) to just follow the instructions.
I was way off base with the “professional user” instructions!

Lance

I’ve never known NI to ship a “drivers disk” with the FRC version of a cRIO. What exactly did you buy, and how did you buy it?