Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: ivanR on June 14, 2018, 03:33:19 PM
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Hello there, its been a while since I posted on here I just need a bit of help,We have a plasma table that we run with mach3 / ipermax65 on windows 7, for the last couple of weeks I've had some issues with mach3 every time I tried to open the program my PC would crash, but every other programs would work just fine, after several attempts to make it work, I decided to back up all my programs/files in order to do a clean installation of windows 7 given the fact that the one we had been using wasn't a genuine copy I assumed that would be part of the issue. Long story short, I did manage to get a genuine windows 7 pck , 32 bit installed on my PC and I was able to successfully transfer all my files and programs back to my PC but when I open mach3 the first thing that I noticed was that the screens were not displaying properly :o regardless of that all my settings remained working as before, motors were running and commands were responding since everything seemed to be working just fine I went ahead loaded an old g-code that I had to mach 3, which to my surprised loaded just fine but when I tried to run the job I noticed the torch wouldn't start automatically, the torch ELD light on the screen flashes when I open the g-code but when y start the job it turns off, it does work when I manually turn it on but as soon as it finishes the part it will not turn on for the next: I also noticed there was a message saying that " z safe was turned off, z safe move was being ignored" but I don't know if I need to turn it on for a plasma table.
I couldn't really find anything that would help me resolve the torch issue though so resorted to ask on here.
attached is a picture of what my mach 3 screen looks like ???
any help will be greatly appreciated.
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picture
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What's weird about it? Hard to tell since the picture is so big.
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@IvanR - I have sent you a PM.
Tweakie.
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Perhaps some of those who use plasma systems may be able to help.
Tweakie.
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you can try to test the Torch On by entering a M3 command to the MDI line.
if it does not fire check your M3 macro in c:\Mach\macros\ your Profile Name.
it should have a DoSpinCW() command inside.
also check the M5 macro for containing a DoSpinStop()
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Ivan,
What version of Mach3 are you using? I noticed you were originally using a license that is not supported. Often, those come with cracked versions of our software that just don't function properly. Even if you bought a valid license (which I hope you did), it will not make a cracked version of the software run any better.
-Bryanna
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Hello Bryanna, yes I did get the new license and I everything looks the same, the version of mach3 I am running is 3.043.066. was also advised to save all my settings erase mach3 and then copying my old settings the new download, so I will go ahead and give that a try.
we'll keep you posted on how it goes.
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Hi IvanR,
It would be best for you to use Mach3 version R3.043.062 which can be downloaded from here; http://www.machsupport.com/software/downloads-updates/
Tweakie
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Hello everyone. so I'm back to square one, I downloaded the ,062 version after erasing mach3 (saved all my setting of course) but now my pc started crashing again it will not load mach3 I already made sure it is compatible with windows 7 running it as administrator. did not work, I went ahead and tried to run the test drive after installing the "special drive file" because before doing so the test drive wouldn't do anything, long story short the test drive starts up and the first part of it goes well but as soon as the second take over takes place my pc crashes.
just a bit of back story I've been running windows 7 since the beginning 32 bit 4GB memory, but out of the blue last moth it started crashing every time I tried to open mach3, so I did a brand new installation of windows 7 and at first it was loading fine but the screens were not showing properly and the torch wouldn't start automatically but it would manually.
so I did a new installation of mach3 version .062, now the computer crashes again it wont even complete the drive test. ???
are there additional files that I need to download in order to get it running again
Any additional help will be appreciated. 8)
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Not all PC's are up to the task - if you are using the parallel port driver and DriverTest.exe does not run then you could consider using another PC or an external motion controller.
Tweakie.
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Ivan,
Have you had any Windows 7 updates recently? A recent Windows 7 security update has affected those who use Mach3 and Mach4 with a parallel port connection. Basically, when the parallel port is used to control your machine it "takes over" the operating system and the new update does not like it, so it crashes the whole system. There are two fixes that we've found. First, uninstall the recent security updates. I've included a link below that gives instructions on how to do so as well as the update number we believe is causing the problem. The second option is to upgrade to an external motion controller which behaves differently from the parallel port and does not have the reboot issue. I have included links to several good options for motion controllers if that is something you're interested in. What you would need to do is install the plugin for your motion controller and open Mach3 in safe mode to change the selected motion device from parallel port to your new motion controller. Once that's done, you should be able to open Mach3 normally and not worry about crashes.
Removing update:
https://itstillworks.com/remove-windows-7-updates-8169897.html
April: KB4093118
May: KB4103718
Motion controllers:
http://cncdrive.com/UC100.html
https://warp9td.com/
https://www.poscope.com/product/pokeys57cncd25/
Edit: The June update for Win7 causes the same issue and uninstalling it does allow you to continue using Mach3. It is KB284826.
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Problem Solved.
I restore windows to when I first downloaded it las week, yes it had done a bunch of updates that were messing with mach and giving me a hard time so I went back to it's original state.
After some more digging I came across a guy on you tube (spanis speaker) who helped a lot (Israel JF) it turns out that even though I have windows 7 i have to run mach3 on compatitbilty mode for windows xp (2 pack) on everything and run it as administrator not sure this will work for everybody else but i woked for me :) It took the entire day going through blogs, tutorials and youtube but everything is finally working properly I also have to point out that the version that ended up working better was R3.043.06. No more crashes, the screens look amazing and my torch fires automatically when it has too.
Thank you all for the help and suggestions, I will make sure to stayed tuned and try to pitch in to help solve issues for other members . ;D
PS. I'm really stoked our plasma table has been out of commission for about 2 moths now, and we can finally resume pending projects.
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Hi,
recent Microsoft updates have caused issues with Mach3. To date there has been a patch in Mach3 to accommodate one problem and you have to wind back the updates to address a second
problem with the parallel port.
It may well be that Mach3 is now 'out of the woods' and work to spec for some time to come but its also possible that Mach3 may face more issues of similar description the months to come.
All development of Mach3 ceased five years ago and NFS has declared no interest in resuming development nor even maintainence. I think it wise to consider at the least an external controller
as Bryanna has suggested to give yourself options should a similar outage occur in the future.
Craig
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Definitely will look into it, before the issues start again, funny that everytime I get a good run on the machine something comes up out of the blue , i'm gonna be prapered before something else comes up. and will try your suiggestions.
Best regards.