Fatal Error: Unable to Find Initialization File While Installing NI Software

Updated Apr 20, 2020

Reported In

Driver

  • NI-DAQmx
  • NI-RIO

Issue Details

  • I am attempting to install either DAQmx or NI-RIO from the zip file I downloaded, but I can not find the setup file.
  • I am attempting to run an installer I created in LabVIEW.
Additionally, I receive the following error:
"Fatal Error. Unable to find initialization file."


 

Solution

Make sure you unzip the folder before attempting to run the installer. One way to unzip a folder is to right-click on it, and select Extract All...

This error can also occur if there are 2 byte characters in the file paths that your installer references. Rebuild the installer such that 2 byte characters are not used in file paths/file names.

Additional Information

Running the .exe file while the installation folder is still compressed will likely result in unexpected behavior.  Note: Opening the compressed file in Windows Explorer or a viewer such as 7-zip does not necessarily unzip the file.