Blank System Settings Tab in NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX)

Issue Details

In NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), my System Settings tab shows up as a blank grey screen on my Windows 10 computer or Real-Time target.

I may see different behaviours on different networks, where one network doesn't show any pop-up when using self-test or reset on the device in NI MAX. It does not show me the status of either button.

How can I troubleshoot this issue?

Solution

​Note: If you have Group Policy Security Settings applied on your computer, see the note below this list.
 

1. Make sure that the appropriate Services for NI MAX are running.
   • If one of these necessary services is stopped, the data that it provides will not be available in NI MAX.
2. Ensure that the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service is enabled and running and that the information about your PC is accessible from the System Information utility. For more information about how to access the utility, please refer to System configuration tools in Windows - Microsoft Support. 
   • If you get a Can't Collect Information error message when launching the utility, as shown in the image below, refer to Fix for Msinfo32.exe Error Can’t Collect Information for some troubleshooting steps. Note: if more assistance is required, please contact the Microsoft Support Team.  

3. If the correct Services are running, try resetting the MAX database.
   • This will eliminate any corruption in the configuration file for NI MAX. 
   • Note: This step will clear any saved NI-DAQmx tasks or custom scales. If you want to save these, you can export these settings before clearing the database, and then import them back in afterwards.
4. If you are not using the most recent version of NI MAX, try upgrading to the most recent version.
5. If you are using the most recent version, perform a force reinstall on the NI System Configuration installer.
   • You'll need the setup.exe that installs with the NI System Configuration package; if you don't have this on your computer, you can download it from the link above.
6. Check to see if FIPS is enabled on your computer.
   • Having FIPS enabled has been known to cause this issue in some cases on Windows 10.
     1. In Windows Desktop go to Start >> Run and type "gpedit.msc” and press Enter, to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
     2. In Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to Windows Settings >>Security Settings >> Local Policies >> Security Options.
     3. In the details pane, double-click System cryptography: Use FIPS-compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing, and signing.
     4. Disable this setting and reboot the computer.

For users with Group Policy Security Settings:

A Corrective Action Request (CAR) has already been filed for this issue. The CAR number is 600347. This CAR number can be checked in the documentation of future releases of NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX) to see if the issue has been addressed.

In the event that options must be configured from the blocked System Settings tab, there are two available workarounds:

• Configure system with System Configuration API in LabVIEW.
• Configure system using the Web Interface (WIF): http://localhost:3582

Additional Information

This behavior has also been known to result in NI MAX crashing with a noncontinuable exception when closed.

FIPS Mode can interfere with many of the NI software offerings, and the symptoms can vary from one to another. You can find more information in the Microsoft Security Guidance blog: Why We’re Not Recommending “FIPS Mode” Anymore