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Author Topic: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second  (Read 8999 times)

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Offline beefy

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Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« on: July 30, 2013, 07:20:27 AM »
I've installed Mach 3 on quite a few computers but this problem is a first for me.

XP installed in Standard PC mode
Go through XP optimisation
Motherboard drivers installed
Install Mach3 and reboot
Run driver test - no line, and zero pulses per second, even though says system under Mach3 control

Tried ECC+EPP, and EPP settings for parallel port in the bios.

Uninstalled and re-installed Mach (including uninstalling pulsing engine from Device Manager) but same results.

I'm stumped, anyone got any ideas or should I toss the computer.

Processor is a 3Ghz P4, 2MB cache, 800 FSB and have 1G ram PC3200

Offline Hood

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2013, 08:31:45 AM »
You could try the special driver but I would say that is unlikely to help :)

Sounds like the driver is not being installed for some reason although you say it is there.
If you attach your xml I will have a look and see if there is anything in your config that could be an issue.

Hood

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2013, 10:43:11 PM »
Thanks for your reply Hood.

I've actually just realised I had this problem a couple of yours ago and I think this is the same computer (found. It has been used as a web browsing computer for the kids since I gave up on it then. I've only just got a better computer for the kids and thought I'll use theirs for my cnc. How about that for a complete circle.

Anyway the new "better" computer gave problems so I put their original one back again.

Before it went back to the kids I even installed a PCI parallel port card, disabled the onboard P. port in the bios but the driver test was exactly the same. Looked through all bios settings to try and think if anything could be causing this problem but nothing came to mind.

It seems to be a very rare occurence that so far does not have an answer.

Keith.

Offline stirling

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2013, 05:53:58 AM »
XP installed in Standard PC mode
Go through XP optimisation
Motherboard drivers installed
Install Mach3 and reboot
Run driver test - no line, and zero pulses per second, even though says system under Mach3 control

Keith - don't know if this is the issue or not - but you did read THIS from the optimization guide first right?

Quote
NOTE: ***** Before doing ANY optimising, run MAch3 first, odds are you dont need to optimise.
          ***** and before optimising, use msconfig to shut off all Startup Items, then reboot.
          Killing stratup Items fixed 90% of computers having any troubel with MAch3.
         Optimising should NEVER be done priot to knowing a problem exists.

Ian

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2013, 06:26:24 AM »
Yes I've read that.

So you think I could have over optimised. That never crossed my mind. I wonder if any of the services that MSCONFIG starts up (Startup Items) could be to do with the motherboard.

The original hard disk is back inside now with a normal XP installation. I've just went and installed Mach on this and I'm waiting for the PC to reboot so I can do the driver test....................................................................I don't beleive it, the driver test is working on a normal XP installation and no optimisation, ha ha.

Thanks Stirling, you have just gave me one hell of an education here. I killed the PC with unnecessary optimisation.

I didn't take notice of those words and thought more is better.

Now I'll have to disable things one by one to see which one it is that killed it. I bet it's something in the startup items that is to do with the mainboard drivers.

Keith.

Offline stirling

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2013, 06:45:44 AM »
I don't beleive it, the driver test is working on a normal XP installation and no optimisation, ha ha.
;)

Now I'll have to disable things one by one to see which one it is that killed it.
???

Ian

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2013, 03:07:15 PM »
Well if I was in a group of people and someone came and singled me out to poke me in the eye, I'd certainly like to know the reason why.

I could opt to just not go anywhere near where Mr eye poker is, but I'd prefer to understand what made him do that.

I've got more to gain by understanding what part of the optimisation killed the pc, and there's no harm done in finding out.

Keith.

Offline stirling

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2013, 05:10:09 AM »
Well that's me told... I'll get my coat.

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2013, 03:46:16 PM »
Sorry if I offended you Ian, but I thought your last smiley (meaning "huh ?") was saying something like, "What the hell are you doing that for".

If that's not the way it was meant and my reply upset you then please accept my apologises. My reply was only meant to illustrate my reasoning behind trying to kill the PC again, not to offend.

I'm actually very happy with you for helping me find out where the problem lay.

Keith.

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 Driver Test - no line & zero pulses per second
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2013, 12:10:18 AM »
Had a bit of time to play around with this again and I seem to have found what is killing the Mach driver.

It's not the optimisation because I completely re-installed XP and did zero optimisation, yet the problem remained.

Re-installed XP again but this time did not select "Standard PC", just let XP decide what HAL it will use.

It used MPS Uniprocessor PC, and with this HAL the Mach driver test worked.

I went through the "update driver" thing in Device Manager and changed to Standard PC. Mach driver test dead again. Go back to MPS Uniprocessor PC and the Mach driver test worked again.

Interestingly enough there was no option to change the HAL to ACPI despite the bios being ACPI compliant. This is a Gigabyte GA-8S661FXM motherboard.

Just have to see if Mach works with the MPS HAL.

Keith.