BTW, Jeff, isn't it with the Smooth Stepper?
Isn't what with the SmoothStepper? I do use the SmoothStepper 99.99% of the time. The PC I mentioned also has a parallel port and I have used it, at 25mHz, also. With the SmoothStepper I can have CamBam open and be using it while cutting but not with the parallel port. Removing a bunch of stuff that is not being used, Internet Explorer, etc, etc is not going to make it work any better.
I can tell that stripping all the unused features of XP using the XPlite software made the PC (which is far not the best out there nor a new) boot VERY fast. 23 seconds to fully load Windows! About 20 seconds faster than before I stripped it. Not that it runs Mach3 better this way, I just like it being loading fast.
Right, booting faster does not make any difference in how Mach runs but it is nicer.
Yes Jeff the idea is to get the BLOAT out of the install AND free up resources AND free up CPU time/interuptions.
It certainly does not mean you have to give up networking BUT for those that do not require it why not. If you feel it is not for you then please do not feel obligated to participate.
The point I'm trying to get across is that you need to be sure there is a problem before going to a lot of work to fix it
You have assumed that a regular Windows install is full of bloat (because everyone says so) and that there is all this stuff you can remove that will make Mach work better. That makes sense when you think about it but there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise so what is the truth?
Judging by all the computers I have set up with Mach and all the conversations I have had with customers the most beneficial thing to do is to start with a fresh install of Windows, turn off the power savings stuff, and don't install a bunch of stuff on the computer. Most 'bloat' comes from installing a bunch of software. Most software nowadays wants to install/run some bloody service to check for updates. So you have all of these programs running all of these services to check and see if there is an update. I-Tunes is a classic example of this, in normal computer use you would never notice this but when running Mach it can make Mach hiccup. There was a thread on the Mach Yahoo group recently about a recent Adobe reader update that caused similar problems.
My
much faster dual core PC with 3 years of programs installed takes well over a minute to boot, and uses over 400MB of RAM.
That is exactly what I'm talking about.
I know OEMs that use Mach and have a Windows XP Embedded build that they use. They have gone through and chosen what to include in the build based on what their machine needs. Since XP Embedded has a longer supported life, and the install is vendor specific, and you can possibly control what a user can do / not do to the underlying operating system and screw things up it makes a lot of sense.
For the average Mach user I'm not sure that a 'striped' down version of XP will make any difference. Dedicating a PC for the CNC control and not using it as a general purpose PC is a much more beneficial move for most folks. Another big down side of stripping things out of a standard Windows install is that you may find your missing an important part if you change a piece of hardware. We use a stripped down version of both XP and Win7 at the university that will boot off a CD or small thumbdrive for installation and troubleshooting purposes. To get Windows in that kind of space you have to be very specific about what HW it will run on (all drivers have to be included on the CD.)
In short I'm not saying it is a bad idea, and it is very interesting from the standpoint that it would be a fun exercise, I'm just saying that it may not be a big advantage like you might hope.