National Instruments PXI/CompactPCI Embedded Computer NI PXI-8108 User Manual
Summary of PXI/CompactPCI Embedded Computer NI PXI-8108
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Pxi ni pxi-8108 user manual ni pxi-8108 user manual september 2008 372561b-01.
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Support worldwide technical support and product information ni.Com national instruments corporate headquarters 11500 north mopac expressway austin, texas 78759-3504 usa tel: 512 683 0100 worldwide offices australia 1800 300 800, austria 43 662 457990-0, belgium 32 (0) 2 757 0020, brazil 55 11 3262 3...
Page 3: Important Information
Important information warranty the ni pxi-8108 is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defect...
Page 4: Contents
© national instruments corporation v ni pxi-8108 user manual contents about this manual how to use the documentation set...............................................................................Ix conventions .........................................................................................
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Contents ni pxi-8108 user manual vi ni.Com security menu ................................................................................................. 2-14 save & exit menu........................................................................................... 2-14 system cmos ..................
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Contents © national instruments corporation vii ni pxi-8108 user manual chapter 5 troubleshooting appendix a specifications appendix b technical support and professional services glossary index.
Page 7: About This Manual
© national instruments corporation ix ni pxi-8108 user manual about this manual this manual contains detailed instructions for installing and configuring your national instruments pxi-8108 embedded controller kit. How to use the documentation set begin by reading the ni pxi-8108 installation guide ,...
Page 8: Related Documentation
About this manual ni pxi-8108 user manual x ni.Com monospace text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax examples. This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, su...
Page 9: Introduction
© national instruments corporation 1-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual 1 introduction benefits of pxi the pxi (pci extensions for instrumentation) industry standard, an open specification governed by the pxi systems alliance (pxisa), defines a compact modular pc platform for test, measurement, and control s...
Page 10: Ni Pxi-8108
Chapter 1 introduction ni pxi-8108 user manual 1-2 ni.Com ni pxi-8108 description the ni pxi-8108 pxi/compactpci embedded computer is a high-performance pxi/compactpci system controller. The ni pxi-8108 controller integrates standard i/o features in a single unit by using state-of-the-art packaging....
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Chapter 1 introduction © national instruments corporation 1-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual figure 1-1. Ni pxi-8108 block diagram the ni pxi-8108 consists of the following logic blocks on the cpu module and the i/o module. The cpu module has the following logic blocks: • socket 479 cpu is the socket defin...
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Chapter 1 introduction ni pxi-8108 user manual 1-4 ni.Com • the mobile intel gm45 express chipset (graphics and memory controller hub) connects to the cpu, ddr2 sdram, dvi-i video, and gpib. • the smb to pxi trigger provides a routable connection of the pxi triggers to/from the smb on the front pane...
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Chapter 1 introduction © national instruments corporation 1-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual if you prefer to use microsoft’s visual basic, visual c++, and visual studio .Net for the core of your application, measurement studio adds tools for measurement and automation to each language. For more informatio...
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Chapter 1 introduction ni pxi-8108 user manual 1-6 ni.Com ni-visa is the national instruments implementation of the visa specification. Visa is a uniform api for communicating and controlling usb, serial, gpib, pxi, vxi, and various other types of instruments. This api aids in the creation of portab...
Page 15: Installing The Ni Pxi-8108
© national instruments corporation 2-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual 2 installation and configuration this chapter contains information about installing and configuring your ni pxi-8108 controller. Installing the ni pxi-8108 this section contains general installation instructions for the ni pxi-8108. Cons...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-2 ni.Com figure 2-1. Removing protective screw caps 5. Make sure the injector/ejector handle is in its downward position. Align the ni pxi-8108 with the card guides on the top and bottom of the system controller slot. Caution do not ...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual 7. Raise the injector/ejector handle until the module firmly seats into the backplane receptacle connectors. The front panel of the ni pxi-8108 should be even with the front panel of the chassis. ...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-4 ni.Com figure 2-2 shows an ni pxi-8108 installed in the system controller slot of a national instruments pxi-1042 chassis. You can place pxi devices in any other slots. Figure 2-2. Ni pxi-8108 controller installed in a pxi chassis ...
Page 19: Bios Setup
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual bios setup you can change the ni pxi-8108 configuration settings in the bios setup program. The bios is the low-level interface between the hardware and operating system software that configures a...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-6 ni.Com • —use this key to select time and date fields. • —use this key to load the optimal default values for bios configuration settings. The optimal default values are the same as the shipping configuration default values. Main s...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-7 ni pxi-8108 user manual the advanced setup menu includes the following settings and submenus: • sata configuration —use this setting to access the sata configuration submenu. Refer to the sata configuration submenu secti...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-8 ni.Com cpu configuration submenu use this submenu to apply alternate settings to the cpu. Normally, you do not need to modify these settings, as the factory default settings provide the most compatible and optimal configuration pos...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-9 ni pxi-8108 user manual expresscard configuration submenu use this submenu to apply alternate settings to the expresscard configuration. These settings determine how much memory space, i/o space, and pci bus numbers will...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-10 ni.Com in addition, the following option is available for each detected device if a usb mass storage device is present: • emulation type —this setting specifies how the bios will present the usb mass storage device to the system. ...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-11 ni pxi-8108 user manual • change settings —this setting changes the base address and interrupt request level (irq) information for the onboard parallel port. The default value is auto . Note that the options available v...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-12 ni.Com boot setup menu use this menu to configure settings related to the boot process and boot device priority. • boot settings configuration —use this setting to access the boot settings configuration submenu. Refer to the boot ...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-13 ni pxi-8108 user manual • cd/dvd rom drive bbs priorities —use this setting to access the cd/dvd rom drive bbs priorities submenu to re-order or disable bootable cd/dvd rom drive devices. Refer to the cd/dvd rom drive b...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-14 ni.Com floppy drive bbs priorities submenu • boot option #1, boot option #2, boot option #3 —these settings specify the boot priority of floppy drive devices. The highest priority device is displayed on the main boot option priori...
Page 29: System Cmos
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-15 ni pxi-8108 user manual • discard changes and reset —any changes made to bios settings during this session of the bios setup program are discarded. The setup program then exits and reboots the controller. The key can al...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-16 ni.Com 3. Press and hold down push-button switch sw2 for 2 to 3 seconds. The switch location is shown in figure 2-3. 4. Reinstall the controller in the chassis. Figure 2-3. Clearing the cmos contents 1 p us h-b u tton s witch s w2...
Page 31: Labview Rt Installation
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-17 ni pxi-8108 user manual labview rt installation this section explains software installation and switch configuration for labview rt on your pxi controller. Labview rt software installation the following section describe...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-18 ni.Com note when any ip or identification settings are changed, you will be prompted to reboot the controller for the changes to take effect. Click yes to automatically reboot the rt target. You may also reboot the controller by r...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-19 ni pxi-8108 user manual 8. Install the labview real-time software and device drivers that you require on the rt target. Refer to the ni web site at ni.Com/info and enter the info code etspc for the latest information ab...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-20 ni.Com figure 2-5 shows the location of the labview rt configuration switches. The switches are shown in the off position. Figure 2-5. Labview rt configuration switches 1 s witch 1—boot l ab view rt 2 s witch 2—boot sa fe mode 3 s...
Page 35: Drivers and Software
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-21 ni pxi-8108 user manual drivers and software files and directories installed on your hard drive your hard drive includes a directory called images in its root that contains software and soft copies of manuals for the in...
Page 36: Chassis Configuration
Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-22 ni.Com chassis configuration configuration of the pxi system is handled through measurement & automation explorer (max), included with the software pre-installed on your controller. Max creates the pxisys.Ini file, which defines t...
Page 37: Upgrading Ram
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-23 ni pxi-8108 user manual 3. If the pxi system controller has not yet been configured, it is labeled pxi system (unidentified) . Right-click this entry to display the pop-up menu, then select the appropriate controller mo...
Page 38: Hard Drive Recovery
Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-24 ni.Com figure 2-7. Installing a ddr2 so-dimm in an ni pxi-8108 controller hard drive recovery the ni pxi-8108 controller ships with an os recovery cd that allows you to reinstall your operating system onto your hard drive through ...
Page 39: Installing An Os
Chapter 2 installation and configuration © national instruments corporation 2-25 ni pxi-8108 user manual installing an os ni pxi-8108 controllers include a pre-installed os. In some cases, you may want to install a different os. When doing so, consider the following guidelines. Installing from a cd-...
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Chapter 2 installation and configuration ni pxi-8108 user manual 2-26 ni.Com removing an expresscard to remove the expresscard module push in the module and then release to eject the card. Slide the card out of the slot. Caution to avoid data loss and other potential issues, stop communication with ...
Page 41: I/o Information
© national instruments corporation 3-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual 3 i/o information front panel connectors table 3-1 lists various i/o interfaces and their corresponding ni pxi-8108 external connectors, bus interfaces, and functions. Table 3-1. Ni pxi-8108 i/o overview i/o interface external connector ...
Page 42: Front Panel
Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-2 ni.Com front panel figure 3-1 shows the front panel layout and dimensions of the ni pxi-8108. Dimensions are in inches [millimeters]. Figure 3-1. Ni pxi-8108 front panel layout and dimensions 4.393 [111.5 8 ] 3.551 [90.2] 3.022 [76.76] 2.063 [52....
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual dvi-i figure 3-2 shows the location and pinouts for the dvi-i connector on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-2 lists and describes the dvi-i connector signals. Figure 3-2. Dvi-i connector location and pinout table 3-2. D...
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Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-4 ni.Com 11 tmds data1/3 shield 12 reserved 13 reserved 14 +5 v power 15 ground (for +5 v) 16 hot plug detect 17 tmds data0– 18 tmdsdata0+ 19 tmds data0/5 shield 20 reserved 21 reserved 22 tmds clock shield 23 tmds clock+ 24 tmds clock– c1 analog r...
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual com1 figure 3-3 shows the location and pinouts for the com1 connector on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-3 lists and describes the com1 connector signal. Figure 3-3. Com1 connector location and pinout table 3-3. Com1 c...
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Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-6 ni.Com ethernet figure 3-4 shows the location and pinouts for the ethernet connector on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-4 lists and describes the ethernet connector signals. Figure 3-4. Ethernet connector location and pinout note the ethernet controller...
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-7 ni pxi-8108 user manual parallel port figure 3-5 shows the location and pinouts for the ieee 1284 (parallel) connector on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-6 lists and describes the ieee 1284 connector signals. Parallel port adapter cables are ...
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Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-8 ni.Com table 3-6. Parallel port connector signals pin default configuration (lpt) signal name signal description 1 busy device busy 2 slct select 3 ack# acknowledge 4 fault#(error#) fault 5 paperend paper end 6 pd0 data bit 0 7 pd1 data bit 1 8 p...
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-9 ni pxi-8108 user manual universal serial bus figure 3-6 shows the location and pinouts for the universal serial bus (usb) connectors on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-7 lists and describes the usb connector signals. Note install a noise-supp...
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Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-10 ni.Com trigger the trg connector is the software-controlled trigger connection for routing pxi triggers to or from the backplane trigger bus. Figure 3-7 shows the trg connector location on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-8 lists and describes the trigg...
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-11 ni pxi-8108 user manual gpib (ieee 488.2) figure 3-8 shows the location and pinouts for the gpib connector on the ni pxi-8108. Table 3-9 lists and describes the gpib connector signals. National instruments provides a gpib mating conne...
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Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-12 ni.Com expresscard/34 slot the ni pxi-8108 controller is equipped with an expresscard/34 slot on the front panel, which provides i/o expansion and options for removable storage, ethernet, and a variety of other i/o. Figure 3-9 shows the location...
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Chapter 3 i/o information © national instruments corporation 3-13 ni pxi-8108 user manual table 3-10. Expresscard connector signals pin signal name signal description 1 gnd ground 2 usbd– usb data – 3 usbd+ usb data + 4 cpusb# usb presence 5 reserved reserved by spec for future use 6 reserved reserv...
Page 54: Front Panel Features
Chapter 3 i/o information ni pxi-8108 user manual 3-14 ni.Com front panel features the ni pxi-8108 controller has the following front-panel features: • a controller reset pushbutton (press the button to generate a reset to the controller) • two front panel leds that show pc status – the power ok led...
Page 55: Common Configuration
© national instruments corporation 4-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual 4 common configuration questions this chapter answers common configuration questions you may have when using the ni pxi-8108 embedded controller. General questions what do the leds on the ni pxi-8108 front panel mean? Refer to the led st...
Page 56: Cables and Connections
Chapter 4 common configuration questions ni pxi-8108 user manual 4-2 ni.Com • an external usb mass storage device such as a usb hard drive or cd-rom • an external usb floppy drive • most pci-based boards that provide an option rom note there are some limitations when booting from a usb device. Windo...
Page 57: Software Driver Installation
Chapter 4 common configuration questions © national instruments corporation 4-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual what if i don’t have a y-splitter cable? Can i still use a mouse and keyboard? If you do not have a y-splitter cable, plug a usb keyboard into any usb connector. You can also plug a usb mouse into...
Page 58: Upgrade Information
Chapter 4 common configuration questions ni pxi-8108 user manual 4-4 ni.Com how do i install software from a cd? The compact size of the ni pxi-8108 does not allow for an integrated cd-rom drive. You have the following options: • usb cd-rom —you can install from a usb cd-rom using a bootable install...
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Chapter 4 common configuration questions © national instruments corporation 4-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual figure 4-2. Installing a ddr2 so-dimm in an ni pxi-8108 controller how do i flash a new bios? You can download the new bios from ftp.Ni.Com/support/pxi/ . For more information, refer to knowledgeb...
Page 60: Pxi Configuration
Chapter 4 common configuration questions ni pxi-8108 user manual 4-6 ni.Com pxi configuration how do i use the smb trigger on the front panel? For details, refer to the pxi features section of chapter 2, installation and configuration . Why doesn’t the ni pxi-8108 work with the pxi-8220 or pxi-8221?...
Page 61: Troubleshooting
© national instruments corporation 5-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual 5 troubleshooting this chapter answers common troubleshooting questions you may have when using the ni pxi-8108 embedded computer. What if the ni pxi-8108 does not boot? Several problems can cause a controller not to boot. Here are some ...
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Chapter 5 troubleshooting ni pxi-8108 user manual 5-2 ni.Com my controller boots fine until i get to windows, at which point i cannot read the screen. This may include garbled output, white screen, black screen, or an out of synch message from the monitor. This problem usually results from having th...
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Chapter 5 troubleshooting © national instruments corporation 5-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual as an alternative method, complete the following steps: 1. Power off the chassis. 2. Remove the controller from the chassis. 3. Press and hold down push-button switch sw2 for 2 to 3 seconds. The switch location ...
Page 64: Specifications
© national instruments corporation a-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual a specifications this appendix lists the electrical, mechanical, and environmental specifications of the ni pxi-8108 embedded computer. Features ni pxi-8108 cpu intel ® core ™ 2 duo processor t9400 (2.53 ghz dual core processor), 800 mhz...
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Appendix a specifications ni pxi-8108 user manual a-2 ni.Com electrical physical board dimensions ...................................Pxi 3u-size module 8.1 cm × 13 cm × 21.6 cm (3.2 in. × 5.1 in. × 8.5 in.) slot requirements ....................................One system slot plus three controller e...
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Appendix a specifications © national instruments corporation a-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual operating environment ambient temperature 1 base................................................. 5 to 50 °c 2 (tested in accordance with iec-60068-2-1 and iec-60068-2-2) extended temperature ......................
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Appendix a specifications ni pxi-8108 user manual a-4 ni.Com shock and vibration operational shock ...................................30 g peak, half-sine, 11 ms pulse (tested in accordance with iec-60068-2-27. Test profile developed in accordance with mil-prf-28800f.) random vibration operating ......
Page 68: Rohs
Appendix a specifications © national instruments corporation a-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual note for the standards applied to assess the emc of this product, refer to the online product certification section. Note for emc compliance, operate this device with shielded cabling. Ce compliance this product...
Page 69: Technical Support and
© national instruments corporation b-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual b technical support and professional services visit the following sections of the award-winning national instruments web site at ni.Com for technical support and professional services: • support —technical support at ni.Com/support inclu...
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Appendix b technical support and professional services ni pxi-8108 user manual b-2 ni.Com • declaration of conformity (doc) —a doc is our claim of compliance with the council of the european communities using the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity. This system affords the user protection for e...
Page 71: Glossary
© national instruments corporation g-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual glossary symbol prefix value n nano 10 –9 μ micro 10 – 6 m milli 10 –3 k kilo 10 3 m mega 10 6 g giga 10 9 t tera 10 12 symbols ° degrees. Ω ohms. % percent. A a amperes. Ac alternating current. Asic application-specific integrated circu...
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Glossary ni pxi-8108 user manual g-2 ni.Com b b bytes. Backplane an assembly, typically a printed circuit board, with connectors and signal paths that bus the connector pins. Bios basic input/output system—bios functions are the fundamental level of any pc or compatible computer. Bios functions embo...
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Glossary © national instruments corporation g-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual dram dynamic ram (random access memory)—storage that the computer must refresh at frequent intervals. Dvi-i direct video interface, integrated—a video technology enabling the use of both analog and digital video signals. E ecp e...
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Glossary ni pxi-8108 user manual g-4 ni.Com i i/o input/output—the techniques, media, and devices used to achieve communication between machines and users. Ide integrated drive electronics—hard disk and built-in controller. Ieee institute of electrical and electronics engineers. In. Inches. Instrume...
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Glossary © national instruments corporation g-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual mb megabytes of memory. Mtbf mean time between failure. Mttr mean time to repair. N ni-488 or ni-488.2 the national instruments software for gpib systems. Ni-daq the national instruments software for data acquisition instruments...
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Glossary ni pxi-8108 user manual g-6 ni.Com r ram random access memory—the computer’s primary workspace. Ramdac random access memory digital to analog converter—the vga controller chip that maintains the color palette and converts data from memory into analog signals for the monitor. Resource hardwa...
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Glossary © national instruments corporation g-7 ni pxi-8108 user manual v v volts. Vga video graphics array—the minimum video display standard for all pcs. W w watts..
Page 78: Index
© national instruments corporation i-1 ni pxi-8108 user manual index a advanced setup menu, 2-6 b basic pxi system configuration, 2-22 bios checking settings, 4-1 flashing new bios, 4-5 setup advanced setup menu, 2-6 boot settings configuration menu, 2-13 boot setup menu, 2-12 cd/dvd rom drive bbs p...
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Index ni pxi-8108 user manual i-2 ni.Com driver installation, 4-3 general questions, 4-1 pxi configuration, 4-6 upgrade information, 4-4 connectors com1 connector and signals, 3-5 dvi-i connector and signals, 3-3 ethernet connector and signals, 3-6 expresscard connector and signals, 3-12 gpib connec...
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Index © national instruments corporation i-3 ni pxi-8108 user manual g gigabit ethernet, 1-4 gpib (ieee 488.2), 3-11 block, 1-4 connector location and pinout (figure), 3-11 signals (table), 3-11 driver installation, 4-3 h hard drive, 3-14 files and directories installed on, 2-21 recovery, 2-24 hard ...
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Index ni pxi-8108 user manual i-4 ni.Com ni pxi-8108 benefits of pxi, 1-1 bios setup, 2-5 block diagram, 1-3 connectors, 3-1 com1 connector and signals, 3-5 dvi-i connector and signals (table), 3-3 expresscard connector and signals, 3-12 gpib (ieee 488.2) connector and signals, 3-11 parallel port co...
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Index © national instruments corporation i-5 ni pxi-8108 user manual r ram ddr2 so-dimms from national instruments (note), 2-23, 4-4 upgrading, 2-23, 4-4 recycling hardware, a-5 related documentation, x s safety, specifications, a-4 sata block, 1-4 configuration menu, 2-7 save & exit menu, 2-14 seri...
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Index ni pxi-8108 user manual i-6 ni.Com v video, 3-1 driver installation, 4-3 video configuration menu, 2-8 w watchdog timer, 1-4 web resources, b-1 weee information, a-5 y y-splitter cable figure, 4-2 using mouse and keyboard without, 4-3 using with ps/2 mouse and keyboard, 2-3.