Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Werner on March 23, 2007, 04:54:32 PM
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Any help with this one is greatly appreciated!!
My name is Werner, I have set up a new machine and had Mach3 working great with one computer only to have it freak out at startup with another. Specifically the problem is when I click reset. The motors start to chatter getting some crazy signals . I have tried a lot of thing to this point: switch computer a few times without moving wires around, tried it in Sherline mode, tried changing the kernel speed, different parallel cables, motor tuning not that I thought this would do anything! Keep in mind I have the same version of Mach3 on both computers and appear to have everything configured the same. At this point I am not sure what is going on. I am using a PMDX-131 with 201s and Win XP.
Thank in advance!
Werner
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Have you run the drive test to see if your computer has a clean pulse?
Hood
ps you will find it in the mach3 folder
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Yeah I did run the drive test it looks really clean!!
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Try stopping everything starting up in windows by going to msconfig, if it cures the problem then add one back at a time to find the app that is causing the problem.
If you have a PCI parallel port you could try that to see
Hood
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Thanks Hood good suggestion I will let you know – running to Microcenter to pick up parallel card!!
Werner
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Well got a chance to try quite a few thing with no luck!! I did picked up a parallel card installed it and configured Mach3 to use it and am getting the same weird stepper chatter. I all so tried a lot of suggestion on another post [url]http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=2496.0 by Fredhead dealing with installing a second parallel port. I have two other XP machines I will try playing with. Still open to suggestion!!
Thanks
Werner
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Something else I noticed was the look of the Port 1 current state led are lit on the problem computer but not on the one that works. Here is the attachment of Diagnostics page you will see what I am seeing.
Thanks
Werner
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Here is the latest. It appears to my 4 out of the five systems I have at my disposal don’t like the driver that was loaded with Mach3. My reason for thinking this is Mach2 works just fine of course with the Mach2 driver. As a matter of fact Mach2 was doing the same weird chatter noise thing so long as the Mach3 driver was still in the Device Mangers Mach X pulsing Engines drop-down. After removing the Mach3 driver there Mach2 works fine!! I am wondering if I can run Mach3 with a mach2 driver??
Thanks
Werner
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Mach2 and 3 can co-exist on a computer as long as you dont try and run them at the same time, I have Mach2, Mach3 and Quantum all on the same computer and dont have a problem. Why you are having these problems I dont know :( What version of Mach3 are you using? Have you tried downloading again in case it is a bad download you have? Have you disabled all of the start up apps with MSconfig?
Hood
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I have seen wireless networks cause crazy things, just a thought. Have you ran the file optimization that can be found in the downloads section?
Brett
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Hi Hood and Brett,
Thanks for the ideas, You are right Hood I wish I knew what was going on!! I am normally the go to guy for computer issues but this one I think is God testing me Haha.
Anyway this system is a new computer I bought just to use for Mach. Its nothing fancy but a good system with XP Home all current as far as Windows is concerned. This morning I go out to the shop to listen to my steppers only to find what was working (Mach2) was not working this morning. Interestingly when trying to run a driver test I got a message that a driver had been installed and I should reboot. I think what may be happening is Window is trying to do me a favor and in doing so is messing with my Mach driver setup. When I rebooted Mach2 was working again. I have been afraid to turn it off ---yicks! I have finally had a chance to get a lot of other things done with mach working. Something I failed to mention is that the computer that did work right from the get go is an XP Pro wondering is that has anything to do with it. This is my every day computer that has a lot of money in it that is the reason I bought another system just for Mach. I did try turning everything off in ms config – services and startup stuff with the same results. Like I said this new system is pretty bare bones new – not much on it to mess it up like anti virus, programs and network stuff. I will let you know when I shut it down if I can get it back up with out a lot of grief.
Thanks again Guys
Werner
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Day Seven and still no Mach3!! Well I have figured this out -- I can't get Mach3 or Mach2 working If the Mach3 driver is in the device manager. As soon as I take the Mach3 driver out Mach2 will work but only after I run the driver test on it. I have know idea what the driver test is doing to make the driver2 work but it does. I tried a couple of version of Mach3 the same thing happens for all noisy chatter coming from the steppers as soon as the reset it clicked. I am feeling more certain that it is my XP home configuration that is causing me all the problems. I had thought perhaps it could have been the pin voltage but the fact that Mach2 works fine makes me think that the pin voltage must be fine. Now I am at the point I am about ready to pick up a new version of XP pro just to see if that will work. What do you guys think!!
Thanks
Werner
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Do all of the computers that wont run have onboard graphics or similar chipsets?
Hood
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Hi Hood,
Yeah all of them do have mother board graphics but so does the only one that works. Only major difference is the one that works has XP Pro. Have you heard of problems with graphics on the motherboard messing things up??
Thanks,
Werner
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Seem to remember way back that onboard graphics could cause probs, also had one mobo that had a really bad drivetest. It had onboard graphics but it could also have been the chipset or even that it was an Albatron mobo (dont like them ;) )
I did have an NF7-M which worked fine though and that had onboard graphics but then again I like Abit mobos and the NF2 chipset was/is kinda nice as well. :D
Hood