MOVES and Related Models

How to Install National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM) on a Windows Machine

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For assistance with the installation and installation instructions, please contact us at mobile@epa.gov.

Minimum System Requirements

If you are installing National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM) on a stand-alone PC, you'll need Windows 2000, NT, XP or later, at least 5 gigabytes of free hard drive space, and at least 256 megabytes of RAM.  NMIM has not been tested on Vista.  We expect that NMIM will run on 32-bit Vista, but not 64-bit Vista.  NMIM does not run on 64-bit systems.

Contents of the NMIM Installation Suite (Zip File or CD-Rom)

The NMIM installation suite, a downloaded zip file or CD-ROM, contains these instructions (Readme.doc) and the following five folders:

  1. Folder "Java 1.4.2" containing the program that installs Java 1.4.2.
  2. Folder "MySQL5", containing instructions and programs needed to install MySQL5.
  3. Folder "MySQL Tools" containing instructions and installation programs for optional MySQL tools.
  4. Folder "NMIM," containing the program that installs NMIM.
  5. Folder "NMIM Documentation," - supplemental documents of interest for running and understanding NMIM
    • NMIM User Guide.pdf
    • How NMIM Works.pdf
    • nmim_technical_memorandum_1104.pdf - How state and local organizations should submit changes to the NMIM County Database (NCD) as part of the NEI process. This document is useful for understanding the naming conventions for external MOBILE6 and NONROAD files.
    • VMT_Fractions.pdf - How to go from the 8 MOBILE5 vehicle classes to the 28 MOBILE6 vehicle classes

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Installation Procedure

The installation process is the same regardless of whether you are installing NMIM to run on a single PC or to use it on multiple PCs on a network. If you plan to use a network, however, you must install the software separately on each PC.

The full NMIM product installation consists of three distinct software installations:

  1. Java 1.4.2
  2. MySQL5*(*disclaimer)
  3. NMIM

EPA recommends that you perform the installations in this order.

Some optional graphical tools for MySQL are included to assist in viewing and working with MySQL databases.

If you have a CD-Rom, work from that. If you downloaded NMIMInstall20090720.zip, unzip it (preserving the file structure), which will create a folder called NMIMInstall20090720. That folder will contain the same subfolders and files as the CD.

Please verify that you have administrative rights on your computer. Several MOVES tools require administrative rights to install and run. Ask your technical support group for help with any problem of administrative rights.

*Disclaimer: EPA's use of MySQL does not represent an endorsement of the product or any commercial enterprise.

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1. Install Java 1.4.2

Open the folder "Java 1.4.2." Double click j2sdk-1_4_2_03-windows-i586-p.exe.  The Java SDK installer will start.  The screens and our recommendations are as follows:

  • Welcome - click Next
  • Custom Setup - de-select Demos and Source Code by left clicking on them and selecting "Don't install this feature now." - click Next
  • Browser Registration - check or uncheck according to your preference. These choices do not affect NMIM - click Install
  • InstallShield Wizard Completed - click Finish

This procedure will install Sun Java version j2sdk1.4.2_03 on your computer.  NMIM requires that this exact version of Java be available.  Other versions of Java may not work with NMIM.  However, other versions of Java can exist on your computer, and installing Java version j2sdk1.4.2_03 will not overwrite or prevent other versions of Java from operating.

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2. Install MySQL

This step can be skipped if the computer already has MySQL installed. The version of MySQL we are using is 5.0.27. (We are pretty sure, but not positive, that newer versions will also work with NMIM.  Installing MySQL is not a straightforward "accept the defaults" installation.  To work properly with NMIM, it must be customized as described below.

If you have an earlier version of MySQL installed, we recommend replacing it with the newer version that is distributed with this installation.  The earlier version should be removed before attempting to install the newer version. Removing MySQL is a two-step process.  First, stop MySQL as a service by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.  Find MySQL in the list of services.  Right click on MySQL, and then click on Stop.  Second, remove the program by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs.  Find MySQL Server in the list, and click Remove.

To install MySQL5, open the MySQL5 folder (using Windows Explorer or equivalent)

  • Read carefully MySQL5Setup.pdf.  You may wish to print it for easy reference.  This document contains instructions for the custom setup of MySQL required to work with NMIM.
  • Double click SETUP.EXE. This will start the MySQL setup wizard.  Do not accept the defaults.  Follow the instructions in MySQL5Setup.pdf exactly.
  • After the Setup Wizard has completed, open a command prompt. (Click Start, Run, type cmd, and hit enter.)
  • At the command prompt, change directory to the MySQL5 folder of the installation suite. For example, if you downloaded NmimInstall20090720.zip to c:\ and unzipped it there, you would change directory to the MySQL5 folder by typing
  • cd c:\NmimInstall20090720\MySQL5
  • Type startMySQL.bat and Press Enter key.
  • Type grantMySQL.bat and Press Enter key.

MySQL documentation is installed with the program and may be found in C:\mysql\docs..

Potential Problems Installing MySQL

If you are installing on 32-bit Vista, you must modify the security settings as follows: Click Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, Turn User Account Control on or off.  Uncheck the box labeled "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer."

MySQL 5.0.27 will not run on 64-bit Windows, and EPA has not successfully installed NMIM on 64-bit Windows.

According MySQL/Sun (for detail see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/windows-installation.html)

  • Using virus scanning software such as Norton/Symantec Anti-Virus on directories containing MySQL data and temporary tables can cause issues, both in terms of the performance of MySQL and the virus-scanning software mis-identifying the contents of the files as containing spam.  This is because of the fingerprinting mechanism used by the virus scanning software, and the way in which MySQL rapidly updates different files, which may be identified as a potential security risk.
  • After installing MySQL Server, it is recommended that you disable virus scanning on the main directory (datadir) being used to store your MySQL table data.  There is usually a system built into the virus scanning software to allow certain directories to be specifically ignored during virus scanning.
  • By default, MySQL creates temporary files in the standard Windows temporary directory.  To prevent the temporary files also being scanned, you should configure a separate temporary directory for MySQL temporary files and add this to the virus scanning exclusion list.  To do this, add a configuration option for the tmpdir parameter to your my.ini configuration file.  For more information, see Section 2.3.7, "Creating an Option File" under the above URL.

Please consult with your technical support group about any above-mentioned problems.

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3. Install NMIM

To install NMIM and its database, open the NMIM folder (using Windows Explorer or equivalent) and double click the one file that is there, NMIMInstallationPackage.jar. The only screen where you have to make a choice requests, "Please select the \DATA directory of your MySQL installation. This directory is typically c:\mysql\data, but may be elsewhere, depending on how you installed MySQL. We recommend accepting defaults for the rest of the installation.

4. Install MySQL Tools (optional)

These are not necessary to run NMIM, but are convenient for viewing and working with MySQL databases, including the NMIM County Database and the NMIM output databases that are generated by running NMIM. To install the MySQL Tools, open the MySQL Tools folder in the installation suite and double click on mysql-gui-tools-5.0-r16-win32.msi

When you start MySQL Query Browser for the first time from the desktop icon, a screen will open with boxes to specify a number of parameters. All you have to fill in is localhost in the Server Host box. When you click OK, a message box will appear saying "No Default Schema Specified." Check the box which says "Do not show this message anymore" and Click "Ignore." Use the Help menu to learn how to use the software.

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Running NMIM from a Desktop Windows Computer

You must start TWO programs, a Master and a Worker.  The Master is started by the icon labeled "NMIM Master." The Worker is started by the icon labeled "NMIM Worker."  You make your selections and click execute using the NMIM Master, but it is the Worker that runs NONROAD and MOBILE.  The Master won't give you any warning if there is no Worker available.  It will just sit there forever waiting for a Worker.  The Master-Worker arrangement may seem peculiar, but it is the basis for NMIM's distributed processing capability.

After starting the NMIM Master, consult the HELP menu for further instructions.

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Known Bugs and Problems

  • Do not specify an existing NMIM County Database (NCD) or NCD (input) for your NMIM results data (output). This will cause the SCC and SCCToxics tables to be deleted from the NMIM system, rendering it nonfunctional. If you do this accidentally, you will have to reinstall all the files. You must always specify a new or an existing output database for your results data.
  • EPA does not endorse the data in the NMIM County Database.  It should be viewed as a template, rather than an authority.  Users should supply their own data whenever possible.  Policy guidance for preparing mobile source inventories may be found at /state-and-local-transportation/policy-and-technical-guidance-state-and-local-transportation .
  • The Retrofit function should be used only for diesel vehicles and equipment, because it does not treat evaporative and refueling emissions correctly.

If you have trouble with the installation or operation of NMIM, please email us at mobile@epa.gov.

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