Machsupport Forum

Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Gareth52 on February 19, 2012, 11:27:12 AM

Title: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 19, 2012, 11:27:12 AM
Hi,
After finally getting my machine to work well, I was having problems with my old 2nd hand PC, which kept crashing. So I installed Mach3 on a newer machine. The problem is the irregular pulsing from the parallel port.

When I run the driver test, although there are long periods of "excellent", there are also irregular messages about pulsing "too fast" and "too slow"

I have not tried it connected to my machine, but I don't imagine it will prove very successful. The port is set to run under ecp and epp mode.

Can anybody suggest a solution please?

Thanks,
Gareth
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Hood on February 19, 2012, 11:31:11 AM
You could try doing the optimisation steps detailed in the text file on the downloads page. The other thing may be to try a PCI parallel port card but they are sometimes a bit of a lottery.
Hood
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 19, 2012, 02:51:20 PM
Thanks Hood,
I know that a PCI parallel port is a waste of time and money;- I tried that on the old computer and couldn't get it to work at all.
I have tried the "special driver" in the Mach3 installation files and that didn't work either.  Have tried every bios setting for the parallel port, but no joy. Guess I'll just have to try it and see what happens
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Hood on February 19, 2012, 03:50:40 PM
Other option would be an external device such as the SmoothStepper, more expensive but very nice pulse and the Ethernet version seems to be very resistant to noise where some people had issues with the USB version.

BTW I had a few PCI cards and they worked well so its just a matter of finding the right one, unfortunately I gave all of mine away to people on here when I moved all the machines over to SmoothSteppers.

Hood
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: angel tech on February 19, 2012, 05:04:26 PM
Gareth, why do you say the pci parallel port cards are a waste of time and money?
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 20, 2012, 07:00:31 AM
I have re-installed winXP. so that apart from an antivirus program and mach 3, there are no other programs running. Still the same results. The lines on the driver test screen run from top to bottom. The reason I said that parallel port cards are a waste is because I tried 1 on the old PC, but could not get it to work. If I knew of a pci card that would work, I would buy it.
Hood, I am electically challenged, so whilst I have heard of smoothsteppers, I know nothing about them. When I set up my cnc, I bought a kit, which comprised of a breakout board and 3 controller cards, which slotted into the main board (like computer cards). What would I have to change to employ a smoothstepper?

Gareth
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Hood on February 20, 2012, 07:09:19 AM
Not much really, the SS basically is pin for pin compatible with the Parallel Port except it has extra ports, the USB one has 2 ports  with a third having 6 inputs, The Ethernet version has 3 full ports.

So really it would just be a case of installing the SS drivers/plugin, setting up the Ethernet, if you got  that version, and then plugging in your parallel port cable to the SS instead of the parallel port (adapter cable required) Then in Mach just make sure you use the SS plugin and it should be fine.
Hood
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: stirling on February 20, 2012, 08:40:21 AM
I have re-installed winXP. so that apart from an antivirus program and mach 3, there are no other programs running.
antivirus?
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: angel tech on February 20, 2012, 09:07:59 AM
Gareth, i've used most of the pci cards out there from the £40+ cards to the £1.60 cards from china. All seem to work well and have basically the same layout. Literally all the sub £30 cards are the same as the £1.60 cards from china, the same packaging and the same driver.

Have you tried running a stepper of this pc.
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 20, 2012, 09:21:32 AM
Think I'll try another card first then Angel tech. The one I tried before was pci express, Will try a pci this time.

Stirling--- The first thing I do when I connect a PC to the internet is install antivirus software.
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: angel tech on February 20, 2012, 09:36:59 AM
internet and anitvirus, two things not to have on your mach3 computer.
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: stirling on February 20, 2012, 10:05:33 AM
Stirling--- The first thing I do when I connect a PC to the internet is install antivirus software.
Actually you should install the anti-virus BEFORE you connect  8) - Sorry - couldn't resist it.

But as angel tech said. Anti-virus + net + Mach =  :'(

Ian
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 20, 2012, 12:07:12 PM
I only connect to internet to download mach3. After that it is in the workshop with no connection. Do0n't know how to put emoticons on here, but would have put a smile re. Stirlings comment. He is of course quite correct.
So would you recommend that I start again with a fresh installation of XP and install Mach3 from a memory stick? That would leave out the internet and anti-virus. Having said that, I had them on the old PC with no ill effect.

Gareth
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: angel tech on February 20, 2012, 12:12:36 PM
it's probably the pc, i setup mach on pc's quite often and i have a few pc's here that just don't like mach.

PS. i must get round to trying them with a pci card.
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: stirling on February 20, 2012, 01:47:13 PM
I only connect to internet to download mach3. After that it is in the workshop with no connection. Do0n't know how to put emoticons on here, but would have put a smile re. Stirlings comment. He is of course quite correct.
So would you recommend that I start again with a fresh installation of XP and install Mach3 from a memory stick? That would leave out the internet and anti-virus. Having said that, I had them on the old PC with no ill effect.

Gareth
Hi Gareth - glad you took it the way it was meant  :) (emoticons are available if you use the reply button at the bottom of the posts rather than using "quick reply")

It MAY be that even if your PC is physically disconnected the "net" and antivirus software are still running though I may have mis-understood you. Then again it may be nothing to do with it. BUT I guess it's a reasonable part of the process of ilimination.

Ian
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 20, 2012, 04:00:30 PM
Well I've just done another fresh install of XP ad loaded Mach3 from a USB meory stick. So now there is no anti-virus, or internet on the machine;---just Mach3. The same problem persists. I'll get a prallel port card tomorrow and letyou know how I get on.
Thanks for your suggestions,

Gareth
Title: Re: Parallel port help
Post by: Gareth52 on February 21, 2012, 05:51:17 AM
 ;D Solved it !!!!
The solution was to follow the optimisation guide (as suggested by Hood in his 1st reply). Previosly I had tried to disableACPI in the bios and the PC would not boot. This time I followed the guide and disabled it in Windows. Setting the machine as a standard PC has solved the problem. The driver test no reports "excellent" for the whole of its run time.

Thanks for all your help on here.

Best regards,

Gareth