PC Card (PCMCIA) Devices Can Exhibit Interrupt Failures on Windows 2000 and XPPrimary Software: Driver Software>>NI-DAQPrimary Software Version: 7.0 Primary Software Fixed Version: 7.2 Secondary Software: N/A Hardware: Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6062E, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6036E, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6023E, GPIB>>Plug-in Controllers>>PCMCIA-GPIB, GPIB>>Plug-in Controllers>>PCMCIA-GPIB+, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-AI-16E-4, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6034E, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6035E, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-6024E, Multifunction DAQ (MIO)>>E Series>>DAQCard-AI-16XE-50, GPIB>>Plug-in Controllers>>PCMCIA-488
Problem: When using a PCMCIA card on my Windows machine, I've noticed that there is a performance decrease in a CardBus-enabled PCMCIA slot or I am getting error: DAQCard not responding to first IRQ level. What does this mean, and can I fix it? Solution: This issue should be resolved by installing NI Driver Software released in April of 2004 or later. Some examples of software released after April of 2004 include NI-DAQ 7.2, NI-CAN 2.2, NI-488.2 2.2, and NI-VISA 3.2. Alternatively, you may consider contacting your computer manufacturer to see if an alternative PCMCIA adapter is available. (See KnowledgeBase 29KA6NQI linked below.) Why does this happen? Some National Instruments PC Card (PCMCIA) devices may exhibit interrupt failures on systems that use the IO-APIC for interrupt handling. You can determine if your system is using an IO-APIC by looking in the Windows Device Manager at View » Resources By Connection » Interrupt Request (IRQ). If you see any interrupt request value larger than 15, then your system uses the IO-APIC and may be impacted by this issue. Multiprocessor-ready (including hyper-threading capable) systems have an onboard IO-APIC. The IO-APIC must be enabled if multiple processors are in use or if hyper-threading is enabled. Also, many vendors are now following Microsoft's recommendation to include and enable the IO-APIC on single processor systems including laptops. Some vendors provide a BIOS setting to disable the IO-APIC when the system is used in uniprocessor mode, though this may require a BIOS update. Examples of how this issue may manifest itself:
Example Device Manager snapshot of system impacted by this issue (IO-APIC enabled):  Related Links: KnowledgeBase 2DN9MOHR: What Is PCMCIA; What Is CardBus? KnowledgeBase 29KA6NQI: Issues Using National Instruments DAQCards in CardBus-enabled PCMCIA Slots KnowledgeBase 2FSFI7YP: DAQCard Devices Fail to Recognize Through PCMCIA-to-PCI Adapte Attachments: 
Report Date: 03/04/2004 Last Updated: 09/17/2009 Document ID: 373FLOA6 |
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