Being a Systems Administrator and doing computer repair in my basement shop you would think that I would have several eligible candidates laying around??? Well I still haven't tracked down a donor for the CNC machine.

I have quite a few PC's but most are 64-bit OS's. I tried to install Mach 3 on a virtual XP 32-bit machine running in a Windows 7 64-bit host. It doesn't seem to be working. It was a laptop but I am just trying to get some movement within Mach 3. I don't even have the motors or controllers hooked up yet.

I have a laptop with 32-bit XP and a parallel port and another XP laptop with a docking station that has a parallel port. I'll have to look but I don't think my main PC has a parallel port. I could install a PCI parallel port card. I currently have a server, 1 desktop (mentioned earlier) and several laptops down there.

Or should I just pick up an older PC with an integrated parallel port.

Thoughts?

Mach won't work with 64 bit. Laptops may or may not work.  An older pc with a PP will work fine but stay away from on-board graphics as the pulse signal may not be good.
RICH

Just to qualify what Rich said "Mach won't work with 64 bit" Mach itself will run fine but the driver wont so if using an external controller you would be fine but with the parallel port you wont.

As for a virtual setup, very unlikely that will work as Machs driver (if using the parallel port)  needs to take control of the OS and with a virtual setup it wont manage.
Hood