GPIB-32.DLL is Missing or Damaged After Installing Agilent IO Libraries

Issue Details

I installed the Agilent's IO Libraries 14.1 and now my GPIB interface is not working properly. I see the message:

The NI-488.2 file 'GPIB-32.DLL' is either missing or damaged

Solution

Agilent IO Libraries 14.1 overwrites a portion of the National Instruments NI-488.2 driver when it is installed. The installer renames NI's GPIB-32.dll file, located in C:\Windows\SysWOW64, to GPIB-32.ORIG.dll and copies Agilent's GPIB-32.dll in place of NI's GPIB-32.dll.


Note: Agilent IO Libraries 14.0 and prior versions do not exhibit this behavior and thus should not produce this problem.

If you want to use your NI card on a machine that still has the Agilent and NI GPIB drivers installed, use the following procedure:

1. Launch the Agilent Connection Expert
2. Select Tools» Options
3. Select the Agilent 488 Options tab
4. Uncheck the Use the Agilent 488 driver library where possible checkbox

The Agilent software should no longer overwrite your NI GPIB-32.dll with Agilent's version.

If you want to use Agilent and NI boards at the same time, refer to Using Both NI GPIB and Keysight HPIB Controllers in the Same System.

Additional Information

Because NI's GPIB tools and accessories expect to communicate directly with NI's GPIB-32.dll file, NI-488.2 and Agilent IO Libraries 14.1 cannot coexist on the same system. The Agilent IO Libraries monitor the GPIB-32.dll and will continuously replace it with the Agilent version of the DLL if it is changed. This makes it impossible to just restore the NI version of the DLL without first removing Agilent IO Libraries 14.1.

Agilent IO Libraries are now Keysight Technologies IO Libraries Suite.