October 2020
This document contains the following important information about NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers:
Installing NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers
Product Security and Critical Updates
What's New in NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers
Supported Hardware and Software
Preserving Device Aliases when Upgrading Software
LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
Installing NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers requires at least 2 GB of RAM in addition to the requirements for LabVIEW, the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, and the LabVIEW FPGA Module.
NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers supports the following operating systems:
1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.
2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.
Note Refer to NI CompactRIO and Drivers Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021 for information about future OS support.
Note In 2016, NI CompactRIO and Drivers dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.
For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to Why Does My NI ADE Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Windows Server 2003?.
Note Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/r/PAESupport.
NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers supports the following application software versions, including service packs.
| Application Software | Versions Supported |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | LabVIEW 2020 LabVIEW 2019 SP1 LabVIEW 2018 SP1 LabVIEW 2017 SP1 |
| LabVIEW NXG | 5.0 |
Complete the following steps to install NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers for use with LabVIEW. Refer to the Supported Hardware and Software section to confirm which software versions support your specific hardware devices.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.
Refer to the Software Support for CompactRIO, CompactDAQ, Single-Board RIO, R Series, FlexRIO, and EtherCAT support document on ni.com for a complete list of the hardware and LabVIEW software versions supported by each version of NI CompactRIO.
Visit ni.com/compactrio for additional NI CompactRIO product support and information.
Ensure that you back up any aliases for local RIO devices before you upgrade the software on your system, or ensure that the devices remain connected to the system during the upgrade. Any local aliases that are not associated with a connected device might be removed during the upgrade.
Refer to the List of Known Issues and Bug Fixes for NI-RIO Device Drivers on ni.com for a list of bug fixes in this release.
Refer to the List of Known Issues and Bug Fixes for NI-RIO Device Drivers on ni.com for a current list of all known issues in this release.
In the LabVIEW Help, click the Contents tab and select NI CompactRIO and Drivers to access the software help for your NI CompactRIO device.
The following sections detail considerations for using LabVIEW NXG 5.0 with NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers.
Software support for LabVIEW NXG differs in the following ways:
NI CompactRIO 20.5 and Drivers supports the following devices in LabVIEW NXG 5.0
View context help in LabVIEW by pressing <Ctrl-H> and hovering over an object.
Search for items using the search bar in the upper right corner of the LabVIEW window. You can also view context help for the search results.
Additional documentation is available online at ni.com/manuals.
Launch LabVIEW and click the Learning tab.
LabVIEW lessons are located in the Lessons tab, and LabVIEW Examples are located in the Examples tab. Follow the instructions in the lessons and examples.
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.
NI CompactRIO and Drivers will drop support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and all 32-bit Windows operating systems starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows/CVI | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
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For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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