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Author Topic: Todays's Computer hardware.  (Read 2918 times)

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Offline Mogal

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Todays's Computer hardware.
« on: March 19, 2012, 11:39:38 AM »
Hi guy's, I'm debating if I replace my Mach3 control computer.
It's currently running on a P4C800E-Dlx with a 2.4Ghz cpu and 2 Gigs of ram.
Its been one of the BEST computers I have owed for stability wise...
that is until recently...

Every now and then it just seems to 'shut down' on its own.
All power options ect... all the settings are disabled.
The shut downs are completely random. I have not been able
to pin point the reasons why it would do this.

So the question is, what is a decent computer that I can buy at
FutureShop/Best buy to be dedicated to Mach3. (Cheapest of course)
Dosen't have to be a big box store...

Also, how is Mach3 on a Win7 platform? Or does it still need XP?

99% of the computers out there no longer have the parallel port,
so I would require an apropriot PP card as well.

Thanks!
Chris

Offline Hood

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Re: Todays's Computer hardware.
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2012, 11:52:56 AM »
Check the power supply, also look at the capacitors on the motherboard to see if they are leaking. Shutting down issues sound like power problems so that is why I suggest to look at them. Another cause may be heat, check the fan and heatsink are not clogged with dust.

Mach will only work on a 32bit OS so if your Win 7 was 32bit it would work fine but if 64bit then no it wont work. Or I should qualify that by saying it wont work if using the parallel port but external devices such as SmoothStepper will work fine on a 64bit OS.

Hood
Re: Todays's Computer hardware.
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2017, 02:55:27 PM »
We ran into this problem recently and we were able to find a solution. The customer's Mach license file was corrupt and would cause a fatal error that would immediately shut the computer off. We had a new Mach license file generated and installed on that computer, and the random crashes went away. Give this a try if you're experiencing the same issue.

As for Mach only working on a 32-bit system - 64-bit Windows operating systems include a 32-bit install directory. We have numerous customers who run Mach on 64-bit systems without issue. I know the above post is 5 years old, but I wanted to inform anyone referencing this thread in the future.

Offline Mogal

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Re: Todays's Computer hardware.
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2017, 03:30:12 PM »
lol, I forgot about this thread...

I ended up replacing the whole computer. Installing Win7-32bit with an add in PCI-PP card.
I ended up having just as many issues with it, not with crashing, but with losing steps.
Closest I could pinpoint the problem was with the add in PP card. the frequency would
bounce around 10-20hz all the time. It would lose positioning of around 1/2" in about an
hour of run time.

After a few months of fighting, re-wiring the entire machine, I gave up on Mach3 and the PP card.
I picked up a UC-CNC UC300ETH breakout board and software. Haven't lost a single step since.
Super smooth motion, and even faster speeds all around with the new hardware/software setup.  8)


I had a good run with Mach3 but it was time to drop the old hardware. I'll never look back.

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: Todays's Computer hardware.
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2017, 02:36:19 AM »
Excellent.
I am pleased you found a perfect solution.

Just a note for others - when fitting a PCI Parallel Port card to a new PC make sure the card is to the old 5Volt standard and not the new 3.3Volt standard. If your controller is expecting 5Volt TTL logic and only gets 3.3Volt TTL logic then loosing steps is often the result. This thread relates http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,34848.0.html

Tweakie.
PEACE