NI Measurement & Automation Explorer Does Not Load When Launched

Issue Details

• The NI-MAX application does not show up or open
• The NI-MAX application shows up and opens but gets stuck on a splash screen with one of the following messages: ​​​​​​
  • Loading plug-ins
  • There was a problem updating the settings for this device. The operation timed out.

Solution

• Try launching the software by right-clicking the launcher and choosing Run as Administrator.
• Restart your computer and disable the antivirus. Note: This is different for every operating system, but you can disable it in Windows using External Link: How Do I Disable My AntiVirus Program in Windows?
•  NI Device Loader (nidevldu) and NI Configuration Manager (mxssvr) services may have stopped without restarting. Follow these steps to restart the service:
  1. Log in as an administrator or as a user with administrative privileges. Note: If you do not have administrator privileges these options might be grayed out.
  2. Open Windows Services by going to Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security >> Administrative Tools >> Services.
  3. Find NI Configuration Manager >> Right Click >> Restart.
  4. Find NI Device Loader >> Right Click >> Restart.
• Manually reset the MAX database . This will revert MAX files to their default state, clearing any corruption. 
• Upgrade and download NI System Configuration if you don't already have the latest version compatible with your other software. This will install a newer version of MAX.
• Uninstall NI-MAX using Uninstall or Repair National Instruments Software or Drivers in Windows by selecting to remove NI Measurement & Automation Explorer. Note: This will remove all software tied with NI-MAX, and should be done only as a last step. 
• Reinstall MAX by Downloading the Latest Version of Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX).
• Repair NI-DAQmx to fix any corruptions around NI-MAX. You can use Package Manager to repair NI software installed on your system if the software does not run correctly. Software may not run correctly due to corrupt or missing files. Here are the steps on how to repair your driver: Repair Option in NI Package Manager (NIPM)

Additional Information

If the above steps don't work, or if you run into Error 1053 when attempting to restart the NI Device Loader Service, then you might want to try a more thorough uninstallation process before reinstalling NI-DAQmx. To do so, please try the following additional steps found in this article: Perform a Clean Uninstall of NI Software on Windows.

As a last resort, you might need to reimage the PC to start from a clean installation.