National Instruments PXI-8186 User manual

INSTALLATION GUIDE
NI PXI-8186
This document contains information about installing your NI PXI-8186
controller in a PXI chassis.
For complete configuration and troubleshooting information (including
information about BIOS setup, adding RAM, and so on), refer to the
NI PXI-8186 User Manual. The manual is in PDF format on the recovery
CD included with your controller and on the National Instruments Web site,
ni.com.
Installing the NI PXI-8186
This section contains general installation instructions for the NI PXI-8186.
Consult your PXI chassis user manual for specific instructions and
warnings.
1. Plug in your chassis before installing the NI PXI-8186. The power cord
grounds the chassis and protects it from electrical damage while you
install the module. (Make sure the power switch is turned off.)
Caution To protect both yourself and the chassis from electrical hazards, leave the chassis
powered off until you finish installing the NI PXI-8186 module.
2. Remove any filler panels blocking access to the system controller slot
(Slot 1) in the chassis.
3. Touch the metal part of the case to discharge any static electricity that
might be on your clothes or body.
4. Remove the protective plastic covers from the four bracket-retaining
screws as shown in Figure 1.

NI PXI-8186 Installation Guide 2 ni.com
Figure 1. Removing Protective Screw Caps
5. Make sure the injector/ejector handle is in its downward position.
Align the NI PXI-8186 with the card guides on the top and bottom
of the system controller slot.
Caution Do not raise the injector/ejector handle as you insert the NI PXI-8186. The
module will not insert properly unless the handle is in its downward position so that it does
not interfere with the injector rail on the chassis.
6. Hold the handle as you slowly slide the module into the chassis until
the handle catches on the injector/ejector rail.
7. Raise the injector/ejector handle until the module firmly seats into the
backplane receptacle connectors. The front panel of the NI PXI-8186
should be even with the front panel of the chassis.
8. Tighten the four bracket-retaining screws on the top and bottom of the
front panel to secure the NI PXI-8186 to the chassis.
9. Check the installation.
1 Protective Screw Cap (4X)
1

©National Instruments Corporation 3 NI PXI-8186 Installation Guide
10. Connect the keyboard and mouse to the appropriate connectors. If you
are using a PS/2 keyboard and a PS/2 mouse, use the Y-splitter adapter
included with your controller to connect both to the PS/2 connector.
11. Connect the VGA monitor video cable to the VGA connector.
12. Connect devices to ports as required by your system configuration.
13. Power on the chassis.
14. Verify that the controller boots. If the controller does not boot, refer to
the What If the NI PXI-8186 Does Not Boot? section.
Figure 2 shows an NI PXI-8186 installed in the system controller slot of a
National Instruments PXI-1042 chassis. You can place PXI devices in any
other slot.
Figure 2. NI PXI-8186 Controller Installed in a PXI Chassis
How to Remove the Controller from the PXI Chassis
The NI PXI-8186 controller is designed for easy handling. To remove the
unit from the PXI chassis:
1. Power off the chassis.
2. Remove the bracket-retaining screws in the front panel.
3. Press the injector/ejector handle down.
4. Slide the unit out of the chassis.
1 PXI-1042 Chassis 2 NI PXI-8186 Controller 3 Injector/Ejector Rail
1
2
3

National Instruments™, NI™, and ni.com™ are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation.
Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective
companies. For patents covering National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location:
Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your CD, or ni.com/patents.
© 2003 National Instruments Corp. All rights reserved.
323683A-01 Oct03
*323683A-01*
What If the NI PXI-8186 Does Not Boot?
Several problems can cause a controller not to boot. Here are some things
to look for and possible solutions.
Things to Notice:
• Which LEDs come on? The Power OK LED should stay lit.
The Drive LED should blink during boot as the disk is accessed.
• What appears on the display? Does it hang at some particular point
(BIOS, Operating System, and so on)? If nothing appears on the
screen, try a different monitor. Does your monitor work with a
different PC? If it hangs, note the last screen output that you saw for
reference when consulting National Instruments technical support.
• What has changed about the system? Did you recently move the
system? Was there electrical storm activity? Did you recently add
a new module, memory chip, or piece of software?
Things to Try:
• Make sure the chassis is plugged in to a working power source.
• Check any fuses or circuit breakers in the chassis or other power
supply (possibly a UPS).
• Make sure the controller module is firmly seated in the chassis.
• Remove all other modules from the chassis.
• Remove any nonessential cables or devices.
• Try the controller in a different chassis.
• Try a similar controller in this same chassis.
• Recover the hard drive on the controller.
• Clear the CMOS.