Installing the FRC Game Tools
The FRC® Game Tools contains the following software components:
LabVIEW Update
FRC Driver Station
FRC roboRIO Imaging Tool and Images
The LabVIEW runtime components required for the Driver Station and Imaging Tool are included in this package.
Note
No components from the LabVIEW Software for FRC package are required for running either the Driver Station or Imaging Tool.
Requirements
Windows 10 or higher (Windows 10, 11). Windows 11 is not officially supported by NI, but has been tested to work.
Download the FRC Game Tools from NI.
If you wish to install on other machines offline, click Individual Offline Installers before clicking Download to download the full installer.
Uninstall Old Versions (Recommended)
Important
LabVIEW teams have already completed this step, do not repeat it. LabVIEW teams should skip to the Installation section.
Before installing the new version of the FRC Game Tools it is recommended to remove any old versions. The new version will likely co-exist with the old version (note that the DS will overwrite old versions), but all testing has been done with FRC 2022 only. Then click Start >> Add or Remove Programs. Locate the entry labeled “National Instruments Software” or “NI Software”, and select Uninstall.
Note
It is only necessary to uninstall previous versions when installing a new year’s tools. For example, uninstall the 2021 tools before installing the 2022 tools. It is not necessary to uninstall before upgrading to a new update of the 2022 game tools.
Select Components to Uninstall
In the dialog box that appears, select all entries. The easiest way to do this is to de-select the Products Only check-box and select the check-box to the left of “Name”. Click Remove. Wait for the uninstaller to complete and reboot if prompted.
Installation
Important
The Game Tools installer may prompt that .NET Framework 4.6.2 needs to be updated or installed. Follow prompts on-screen to complete the installation, including rebooting if requested. Then resume the installation of the FRC Game Tools, restarting the installer if necessary.
Extraction
Run the downloaded executable file to start the install process. Click Yes if a Windows Security prompt appears.
Right click on the downloaded iso file and select mount. Run install.exe from the mounted iso. Click Yes if a Windows Security prompt appears.
Note
Other installed programs may associate with iso files and the mount option may not appear. If that software does not give the option to mount or extract the iso file, then install 7-Zip and use that to extract the iso.
NI Package Manager License
If you see this screen, click Next. This screen confirms that you agree to NI Package Manager License agreement.
Disable Windows Fast Startup
It is recommended to leave this screen as-is, as Windows Fast Startup can cause issues with the NI drivers required to image the roboRIO. Go ahead and click Next.
NI Package Manager Installation
Installation progress of the NI Package Manager will be tracked in this window.
License Agreements
Select I accept… then click Next
Go ahead and press I accept… then click Next, confirming that you agree to the NI License agreement.
Detail Progress
This screen showcases the installation process, go ahead and press Next when it’s finished.
NI Activation Wizard
Log into your ni.com account. If you don’t have an account, select Create account to create a free account.
Enter the serial number. Click Activate.
Note
If this is the first time activating this year’s software on this account, you will see the message shown above about a valid license not being found. You can ignore this.
If your products activate successfully, an Activation Successful message will appear. If the serial number was incorrect, it will give you a text box and you can re-enter the number and select Try Again. If everything activated successfully, click Next.
Click Close.
NI Update Service
You will be prompted whether to enable the NI update service. You can choose to not enable the update service.
Warning
It is not recommended to install these updates unless directed by FRC through our usual communication channels (FRC Blog, Team Updates or E-mail Blasts).
