Error 1921 When Installing or Uninstalling NI Software

Issue Details

While installing or uninstalling NI software and drivers, such as LabVIEW, NI-VISA, NI-488.2, Vision Acquisition Software, NI-IMAQ, etc.. I get Error 1921.

The error is in the format shown below:
Error 1921. Service 'full-service-name-here' (abbreviated-service-name) could not be stopped.  Verify that you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.

Below are two example error messages:
Error 1921. Service 'NI Configuration Manager' (mxssvr) could not be stopped.  Verify that you have sufficient privileges to stop system services.
 

Solution

Error 1921 can occur when you have NI software running while you are trying to uninstall it. Make sure you have closed all NI software before trying to install/uninstall anything.

If you still get this error when you have closed out of all NI software applications, complete the following steps to stop the service mentioned in the error message.

1. Exit all NI software (including canceling installation / uninstallation)
2. Go to the Start Menu and select Run
3. Type in cmd and click OK, this will launch the Command Prompt window
4. Type the following command:  net stop XXXXX and press Enter. Where XXXXX is the abbreviated-service-name such as mxssvr or nimDNSResponder.
5. You will be asked if you want to continue type Y and press <Enter>

Once this process has been stopped you can retry installing or uninstalling the software, which should automatically restart the service. 

Note: You can manually restart stopped processes using the command net start abbreviated-service-name.  e.g.: net start mxssvr

If any processes fail to stop using this method, try to manually disable all NI Services on startup and restart your computer. Steps to disable all NI Services are provided below:

Windows 7:

1. Go to the Start Menu
2. Type in msconfig and press <Enter>
3. Navigate to Startup tab
4. Disable all National Instruments services
5. Click OK and restart when prompted

Windows 8/8.1/10:

1. Open Task Manager
2. Select the Startup tab
3. Right-click and disable all National Instruments services
4. Close Task Manager and Restart the computer

Once the system has restarted you can retry the installer. After the installation is complete you can enable all the National Instrument services by repeating the process above and restarting.

Additional Information

The mxssvr is a service that manages NI configuration data and is required for most NI hardware and software to function correctly. When you install or modify certain software packages the mxssvr service must be stopped so it can be changed then restarted.