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Force Reinstall NI Software from the Command Prompt in Windows



Primary Software: NI Installers>>Installer Framework
Primary Software Version: 1.1
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A

Problem:
When I reinstall NI software, how can I force all the files to reinstall?

Solution:
You can force all of the files in an installation to reinstall by running the setup.exe file from the Command Prompt and using the /reinstall switch. You will need your original installation disc or installation files to do this. Complete the following steps to force reinstall your NI software:
  1. Open a Command Prompt window.
  2. Navigate to the directory where your setup.exe file is located by typing cd <path to software install directory> and pressing <Enter>. An example command is as follows: cd "C:\National Instruments Downloads\NI-VISA\". You should see the directory change in the command prompt. In this example specifically, the user wishes to force reinstall NI-VISA driver whose installation files are located in C:\National Instruments Downloads\.
  3. Run the installer by typing setup.exe /reinstall and pressing <Enter>. The image below shows how your command should look before you press <Enter>. This will reinstall all of the files instead of only ones that appear to be damaged or missing.

Note: The directory C:\National Instruments Downloads\ is the default location used by the standard self-extracting executable to decompress software downloads. In addition to your installation discs, you will likely find most of your installation files in this directory, unless you deleted them or explicitly pointed the self-extracting executable to another location.

If you are using a suite installer, you will need to find the directory for the piece of software you are trying to reinstall. Each piece of software will have its own folder within the distributions folder. This command will not function if used to call a suite installer.
 
You can easily navigate to a directory in the Command Prompt by using Windows Explorer to navigate to a folder location, holding <Shift> and right-clicking empty space in that folder, and choosing Open command window here.


Related Links:
Knowledge Base 2V97P72H: How Do I Uninstall or Repair National Instruments Software?
Knowledge Base 5CJFIUGL: Creating Custom Install Options (Including Silent Installs) from the Device Driver DVD
Knowledge Base 4CJDP38M: Automating the Installation of a Single Installer

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Report Date: 04/26/2012
Last Updated: 08/22/2016
Document ID: 5WPFGB1V

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