Installing Multiple Versions of NI-DAQmx on the Same Machine

Issue Details

• I want to install two or more separate versions of NI-DAQmx on my computer because I am using multiple versions of LabVIEW, Measurement Studio, Visual Studio, LabWindows™/CVI™ or other supported application development environments (ADE). Can I do this?
• I see one or more of the following issues. Can I install multiple versions NI-DAQmx to resolve these issues?
  • My older code no longer works after installing a newer version of my ADE.  I installed compatible driver support for my newer version of my ADE.  When I open an old project or code with I am missing my DAQmx functions and VI's or get other errors.
  • When I try to reinstall driver support for the older versions of my ADE, the installation fails with an error message that I already have a newer version installed.
  • The drivers for the newer version of my ADE do not offer the retro or backwards compatibility with my older ADE.

Solution

You cannot have more than one version of NI-DAQmx installed at the same time on the same machine. Installing a newer version of DAQmx will automatically update the driver. To downgrade DAQmx, you will have to uninstall the current version first and then install the required version.
Note: You can only have one version of the DAQmx Runtime driver installed. However, because the DAQmx Runtime driver is backward compatible, it can run code compiled with an older version of DAQmx.

Try the suggestions below as an alternative to having multiple versions of NI-DAQmx:

1. Try to find a single version of NI-DAQmx that supports all versions of your ADE.
   • For LabVIEW review NI-DAQmx and LabVIEW Compatibility. You may need to upgrade or downgrade DAQmx to ensure it is compatible with your installed versions of LabVIEW.
   • For other ADEs (in addition to LabVIEW), check the NI-DAQmx readmes to see which ADEs are supported by individual DAQmx versions.
2. If you can not find a single version of NI-DAQmx to support your ADEs, consider the following options:
   • Upgrade your code to a supported version, and perform a mass compile to avoid issues.
   • Use one or more virtual machines to contain support across your versions.