Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: DeadTom on September 15, 2010, 12:42:35 AM
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In the title, So can Windows 7 run Mach or not on a normal desktop?
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I have only seen a handful of people using W7 but reports have been favourable.
The 32 bit version needs to be used if using the parallel port. If using an external pulsing device then 64 bit can be used.
Hood
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Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit is working very well here for me. I've run it on two computers actually running machines and a couple other Win7 machines for testing and have had zero problems that could be attributed to Windows 7.
I currently run my BP clone on Win7 on an Athlon 64 X2 4400+ with 2GB and have run PP and SmoothStepper, works great. I ran on a new Intel Core I3 530 with a PCI-E add-on parallel port and that one wouldn't run Drivertest.exe well so I abandoned it although it ran fine with the SmoothStepper.
All in all, I think Windows 7 is fine.
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Thanks again you guys, much appreciated.
Yes, I need the parallel port as I am running the HobbyCNC kit so I need the Home Premium version of W7.
I shall see if BestBuy has what I need,
Thanks again,
Tom
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Thanks again you guys, much appreciated.
Yes, I need the parallel port as I am running the HobbyCNC kit so I need the Home Premium version of W7.
I shall see if BestBuy has what I need,
Thanks again,
Tom
You don't NEED the Home Premium version of W7. Any version availble on a PC will work fine. What you NEED is a computer with a parallel port, increasingly hard to find now days. You can easily add a PCI parallel card, however. The issue with any PC, it seems, is how well it'll run Mach3 drivertest.exe. Some seem to run fine, some not. My Core i3 wouldn't run it well, so I never even tried parallel port on that one. It ran fine with SmoothStepper.
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If your just buying a copy of Windows 7, an OEM copy from Newegg will be at least $100 cheaper than any version at Best Buy.
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First let me say thank you all for your help with this issue.
Second this is what I have done, instead of purchasing the newer computer with W7 I poked around and found a little out of the way computer repiar shop and asked about used machines with at least the minimum requirements for Mach3 and they set me up with an old Dell (I know)Optiplex GX240, it is running at 1.8ghz with XP Pro, 512mb ram, 20gb HD and a seperate video card with 32mb all for $150. The nice thing is I have enough memory lying around at the house to up the ram to the max at 2gb.
I did not have a chance to run the driver test for Mach yet but it should be fine. Before I payed for the computer last night I made it perfectly clear that if it did not run Mach3 the Optiplex with be returned, the proprietor said that would be fine and then we could go up from the Optiplex to a larger used computer.
Thanks again for you help,
DT
Tom
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Well the little Optiplex can only go up to 1gb of ram, that is good enough as this computer's only job is to run Mach3.
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I've run 500,000 lines of code with 512MB of RAM.
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That's awesome Gerry, I love how Mach3 is so robust yet is can use so little to operate within.
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I sold a bunch of older Dells that ran Mach3 just fine including one to a friend that still uses it to this day to run Mach3.
P4 2.0ghz and 512 ram.
Don't sell a cheap computer short. As you have probably read, it is the driver test that needs to run well and weather it is a Dell or a white box it really nakes no difference.
If you are running an external motion controller then pretty much any computer that meets the minimum specs will work.
I have several small form factor compaqs that will not pass the driver test but run my dspmc without any trouble.
Mike
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I had some installation trouble, but my router is now running Mach3 on W7 on an older computer. You really need to make sure that the DVD you get is a 32 bit version; the normal retail or OEM DVD you find around is 64 bit. While you can run Mach on 512MB, W7 is a pig with that little memory, although 1G seems to be enough.
Newegg does have a 32 bit version OEM 1 pack for $99 with free shipping.
Did you ask the shop if they could sell you a licensed version of XP with the machine? They may be able to do that for less than $100.
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Did you ask the shop if they could sell you a licensed version of XP with the machine? They may be able to do that for less than $100.
The little Dell that I purchased locally has XP Pro on it with the legal activation code for XP Pro, that all came with the upgraded memory to 512mb and a seperate half-height 32mb video card, 1.8ghz Pentium-4 and a 20gb HD. All this with a 90 warranty for $150.
I am also very happy to report that I have successfully driver-tested this little computer and then I hooked it up to the control box and everything worked like a champ. Very happy with my purchase so far, so unless this really takes a dump I will not need W7 at this time.
Thank you all for your time,
Tom