GPIB-32.DLL Error from Third-Party Software
This section contains information specific to the Windows product.
Problem:
A third-party application, such as National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI-MAX), reports problems with NI-488.2. A common error message is "Missing or Damaged GPIB-32.DLL".
Probable Causes:
When the Keysight 488 library is enabled, some third-party software reports errors in performing certain operations, such as GPIB card configuration.
Suggested Steps:
Use third-party configuration utilities only when necessary to configure that vendor's interface hardware or software. Always use Keysight Connection Expert to configure Keysight interfaces.
Disable Keysight 488: in Connection Expert, click
, then Settings, then Keysight 488 options, and clear (unselect) the check box labeled Enable Keysight GPIB cards for 488 programs.
You may be prompted to restart your PC and retry this operation if gpib-32.dll is locked by the third-party software. If prompted, you must restart your PC and then immediately (before running any third-party software) run Connection Expert and re-enable Keysight 488 as described above.
Perform the operation that caused the error (such as changing the properties of an National Instruments GPIB board).
Re-enable Keysight 488: in Connection Expert, click
You may be prompted to restart your PC and retry this operation if gpib-32.dll is locked by the third-party software. If prompted, you must restart your PC and then immediately (before running any third-party software) run Connection Expert and re-enable Keysight 488 as described above.
You need to enable Keysight 488 only if you are running Keysight 488 or NI-488.2 programs with Keysight interface hardware. If you are not doing this, you can leave Keysight 488 disabled to prevent future error messages from National Instruments software.
More Information:
Enabling Keysight 488 causes a dynamic-link library (DLL) called the Keysight 488 software router to be copied to the standard 488 DLL location (gpib-32.dll in your system directory). The software router directs 488 calls to the Keysight 488 DLL (kt488.dll) or to a third-party 488 DLL (gpib-32.orig.dll) as appropriate, depending on the interface invoked by the call. This allows your program to use 488 calls transparently for all GPIB interfaces in your system, regardless of vendor.
If Keysight 488 is disabled, the third-party 488 DLL (if any) is left in the default location, gpib-32.dll. All 488 calls from your program go to this third-party DLL, so only calls to that vendor's interface hardware will be successful.
When you enable Keysight 488, the Keysight 488 software router renames and then replaces any third-party 488 DLL, in order to achieve full communications with all hardware. Some third-party software tools, such as certain versions of NI-MAX, detect this condition and report it as an error ("Missing or Damaged GPIB-32.DLL"), although 488 programs run correctly in this situation.
In some cases, National Instruments software locks the gpib-32.dll file, preventing it from being moved or replaced. If this happens, you will not be able to enable or disable Keysight 488 until the file is unlocked. To unlock the file, first close all National Instruments applications (such as MAX). If this is not effective, restart your PC.