mike-
that was never a problem before .but, like you... i did think of that first ...and transferred the file onto the hard drive and re-ran.. same problem...
i was wondering if vibrations would have played with the usb hub... but in reality the vibrations at 4000 rpm and .025 cut into 6061 Al at 30 ipm with a 25% step-over and a .250 3 tooth endmill are not to great ... barely noticeable. ( yes--- flood AND mist coolant) the chips fly like tiny snowflakes in the mist... sort of like a wet snow at Whistler....
the pc is hanging out about 4 feet off of the main casting in a vibration dampened steel cabinet. there is no appreciable translation of the vibration.
so that was ruled out.
it was doubly ruled out when the program locked up while cutting air. ( cutting air is nice.. it doesn't seem to wear my tools much at all)
the pc is currently setting on my desk ... nothing connected to it.. running the code and after 3 or 4 cycles.. it looses itself.. and hangs the program .. the rest of windows still works...though..
it seems to be confined to mach3.
i have been working to find the solution for some time.. and have tried several different solutions absent of totally reloading the software... (that should be the last resort).. and still it would only serve to place the system in a near identical state...as now... this is for the most part a virgin system... used ONLY for the mill..
it is not allowed to surf the net or check email... and the only time it pops onto the net is to do o/s updates.. and that is done manually...i hope... ( i think... that's what i thought i told it to do.)
any other ideas would be encouraged.. although i have tried a bunch.. i may have missed some.. and quite possibly the one that works might be one i haven't tried yet.. .. i'm open to suggestions.
allan