LabView

The past day and a half have been spent dealing with more failure.  This time, the problem was that the FPGA on the cRIO needed an updated image.  The process for that should have been:

1. Download new image to PC.
2. Extract image from zip file.
3. Open the Development Environment.
4. Click "Download Image"

Instead, it was more like this:

1. Download new image to PC.
2. Look for download option in IDE.
3. Failing that, find the directions online.
4. The directions make it sound like LabView is required.
5. Download LabView (570 MB).
6. Install LabView.
7. Run LabView and try to follow directions.
8. There's no "Real-Time Project" option.  Google that; find out LabView Real-Time is an add-on.  Download that (370 MB).
9. Install LabView RT and run LabView again.
10. "Real-Time Project" is an option now.  Go through the instructions until reaching "Connect to Device."
11. Try to connect to cRIO.  There's no option for the cRIO in the list of devices.  Try anyway.
12. Connecting fails, so spend an hour looking for the software for the cRIO.
13. I think I need the FPGA Module.  There's no trial for that, and the full version is $3k, not counting the $3k I would have to spend on LabView.
14. Abandon the LabView FPGA Module idea.
15. Find the cRIO image tool, and resign myself to the fact that I'll have to re-image the whole device.
16. Run the tool.  It can't find the LabView runtime environment.
17. LabView 8.6 is not compatible with LabView 8.5, apparently.  Download the LabView 8.5 runtime (98 MB).
18. Install LabView 8.5 runtime.
19. Run imaging tool again.  Now it's missing NiRioSrv.dll.  Search Google.
20. Find out I probably needed the NI-RIO component to begin with, so download that (870 MB).
21. Install NI-RIO.
22. Find out that I actually need the LabView Real-Time module, version 8.5.1, not 8.6, which isn't available anywhere.

That took all day, and we made no progress.  Hopefully we can get this fixed.  It's currently preventing all progress.