PXIe-8370 PWR LED Flashing Red After Upgrading the Connected PC's Software

Issue Details

• We have a PXI chassis, controlled from a computer using an MXI-Express remote controller connection. It uses a PXIe-8370 in the PXI chassis and a PCIe-8371 in the PC. After we updated the NI software on our PC, when we boot it, the cards' PWR LEDs start to flash red.
• The power indicator on PXIe-8370 fitted on slot 1 of our PXIe-1082 chassis, shows solid green when powered. When the PC is turned on, the LED starts flashing red. While trying to open the device and interface in MAX, it gives a timeout error, and MAX cannot read the device name properly, nor allow us to update firmware.

Solution

The above issues can occur when using a PXIe-8370 card that has the original firmware, which is connecting to a computer running NI software released in or after 2016. The issue is fixed by updating the PXIe-8370 firmware to version 2012.07.10.10.

Follow these steps to upgrade the firmware:

1. Connect the PXIe-8370 to a computer that uses an earlier version of NI software (15.0 or older).
   • Ensure that all necessary software and drivers are installed for your PXI system.
2. Download the PXIe-8370 firmware version 2012.07.10.10 , and save this to a location of your choice.
3. Open Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX) on the computer.
4. Select the PXIe-8370 in NI MAX. (NB: If the link cards start to blink red at this step, follow the advice listed in the Additional Information section).
5. Click Update firmware
6. When prompted, navigate to the folder in which you saved the download from Step 2, and select the .bin file.
7. After the firmware update has completed, power down the PXIe chassis.
8. Remove the PXIe-8370 card from the chassis.
9. Plug the card in again.

Additional Information

You can find the current firmware version of a card by selecting it in MAX.

If the link cards' PWR LEDs stays solid green while booting up the PC, but starts blinking red the moment you try to communicate with the PXI from NI MAX, a database reset of NI MAX might be necessary: How to Fix or Reset the NI MAX Database File