Troubleshooting Pixie16msg

When encountering issues during the boot process a log file called Pixie16msg.txt is generated. This file often contains useful debugging information to resolve issues. Here we will document errors and (hopefully) solutions for error messages seen in the Pixie16msg.txt. The programs boot and poll2 automatically generate this file during their normal operation.

List of errors

Could not open PXI system initialization file
Failed to open DSPParFile
Failed to open SPFPGAConfigFile
Failed to open ComFPGAConfigFile
Failed to open DSPCodeFile
DSP var file cannot be opened
Cannot Find PLX Devices
Cannot find all Pixie-16 modules
Cannot match module found by PLX driver
Error opening slot definition file
Size of ComFPGAConfigFile invalid
Size of DSPParFile is invalid
Downloading comm FPGA to module X timed out
Downloading SP FPGAs timed out
Failed to boot signal processing FPGA
Failed to get Acknowledge after sending DevSel byte
Could not read serial number

Could not open PXI system initialization file

*ERROR* (Pixie_InitSystem): Could not open PXI system initialization file /opt/xia/currenta/test/pxisys.ini for reading
*ERROR* (Pixie16InitSystem): failed to initialize system, retval=-2

Cause

Most commonly caused by the PixieBaseDir or CrateConfig being incorrectly defined in pixie.cfg.

Solution

Correct the path to the proper pxisys.ini file. Note: The value of PixieBaseDir is automatically prepended to this path.

Failed to open DSPParFile

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): failed to open DSPParFile

Cause

Most commonly caused by the DspWorkingSetFile parameter in pixie.cfg not pointing to an existing setfile.

Solution

Set the path to an existing setfile

Failed to open SPFPGAConfigFile

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): failed to open SPFPGAConfigFile

Cause

SpFpgaFile in pixie.cfg is invalid.

Solution

Point the variable to a valid fippixie16 file. Note: The value of PixieBaseDir is automatically prepended to this path.

Failed to open ComFPGAConfigFile

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): failed to open ComFPGAConfigFile

Cause

ComFpgaFile in pixie.cfg is invalid.

Solution

Point the variable to a valid syspixie16 file. Note: The value of PixieBaseDir is automatically prepended to this path.

Failed to open DSPCodeFile

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): failed to open DSPCodeFile

Cause

DspConfFile in pixie.cfg is invalid.

Solution

Point the variable to a valid ldr file. Note: The value of PixieBaseDir is automatically prepended to this path.

DSP var file cannot be opened

*ERROR* (Pixie_Init_DSPVarAddress): DSP .var file can't be opened
*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): can't initialize DSP variable indices for module 0

Cause

DspVarFile in pixie.cfg is invalid.

Solution

Point the variable to a valid var file. Note: The value of PixieBaseDir is automatically prepended to this path.

Cannot Find PLX Devices

*ERROR* (Pixie_InitSystem): Can't find any PLX devices, PlxPci_DeviceFind rc=516
*ERROR* (Pixie16InitSystem): failed to initialize system, retval=-3

Cause

The PLX driver was not loaded properly. You should refer to the PLX page for more information.

Solution

Load the appropriate PLX driver.

Cannot find all Pixie-16 modules

*ERROR* (Pixie_InitSystem): Can't find all Pixie-16 modules that were specified (#found = 1, #specified = 2
*ERROR* (Pixie16InitSystem): failed to initialize system, retval=-4

Cause

slot_def.set has too many modules defined in the first line.

Solution

Edit slot_def.set to have the proper number of modules.

Cannot match module found by PLX driver

*ERROR* (Pixie_InitSystem): Can't match module # 0 with one found by the PLX driver
*ERROR* (Pixie16InitSystem): failed to initialize system, retval=-5

Cause

The slot for a module is ill defined in the slot_def.set

Solution

Ensure that the slot_def.set actually reflects the proper slot/module combinations.

Error opening slot definition file

Note: This error will not be logged in the Pixie16msg.txt file since the software will bail out before it reaches that point.

Error opening slot definition file:

Cause

SlotFile is ill defined in pixie.cfg.

Solution

Define the proper path to the slot_def.set

Size of ComFPGAConfigFile invalid

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): size of ComFPGAConfigFile is invalid. Check ComFPGAConfigFile name

Cause

The wrong pxisys.ini file has been defined. There are two types of backplanes(ELMA and Wiener) that are in use. The ELMA backplanes exist in older crates and will have ELMA stamped somewhere on the backplane. The Wiener backplane is found in the Wiener crates, which also have the Wiener power supply on the front of the crate. Note: It is possible to have a Wiener crate with an ELMA back plane.
Communication with the modules is too fast.

Solution

Determine the appropriate pxisys.ini file to match with the crate backplane. For 8 slot crates the pxisys_8.ini works for both backplanes. For 14 slot crates choes either pxisys_14e.ini or pxisys_14w.ini for Elma and Weiner crates respectively.
Set the NSMULTIPLIER to a smaller value.

Size of DSPParFile is invalid

*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): size of DSPParFile is invalid. Check DSPParFile name

Cause

A corrupted .set file
DspSetFile and/or DspWorkingSetFile point to an invalid .set file

Solution

Replace your set file with a proper one.
Fix the path in the pixie.cfg to point to a valid .set file.

Downloading comm FPGA to module X timed out

(Pixie_InitSystem): Module # 0 SERIAL NUMBER = 8  
*ERROR* (Pixie_Boot_ComFPGA): Downloading communication FPGA to module 0 timed out
*ERROR* (Pixie16BootModule): failed to boot Communication FPGA in module 0, retval=-3