Hi,
there are a few differences between Mach3 and Mach4, one is that Mach4 does not have an .xml file, it does have however an initialization file
with the suffix .ini which serves the same purpose.
The Gecko540 is a parallel input Bob/stepper driver.
Do you have your Mach4 installation/PC setup with a Darwin parallel port?
Th same restrictions apply to the Mach4 Darwin parallel port as the Mach3 parallel port, namely the PC must be a desktop machine running a
32 bit Windows7 or earlier. Note also that Art Fennerty wrote the Darwin parallel port driver, he was also the inventor of the original Mach parallel port.
As such a $25 is payable for use of the Darwin parallel port. Art also makes plain the the Darwin parallel port will NEVER be fully featured as the Mach3
parallel port became.
Thus if you expect to be able to use Mach4 with a parallel port you will not get backlash compensation, lathe threading, THC support etc. Art wrote it so
people could experiment with mach4 without having to buy an external motion controller like a SmoothStepper or a Hicon Integra.
You might say that Mach4 is native with an external motion controller. There are people using Darwin but most have an external motion controller.
The simplest you can get that would work with a G540 is a UC100, a PMDX-411 or a 57CNCdb5b, all about $120. These are all USB connected motion controllers
with a single parallel output port (DB25). Don't get ripped by buying off Ebay or Amazon, the Chinese have flooded the market with UC100 look-alikes,
buy direct from CNCDrive or their nominated distributor. You don't want a Chinese knock-off, they just don't work as well, if at all!
If you want more inputs/outputs than a single parallel port consider the Ethernet SmootStepper by Warp9, the UC300 by CNCDrive, the 57CNC by PoKeys,
the PMDX-424 by PMDX or the Hicon Integra by Vital Systems. Note that there is one Chinese company (XHC) which claim that their controller works with
Mach4....rubbish....it doesn't work.....avoid like the plague!
When you decide on either Darwin OR an external controller and what that controller is, report back and we can help you get your .ini file in shape.
It can be confusing to start with but once you become familiar with Mach4's modular structure and how the different files all gel together I think you'll
find it a lot easier to understand than Mach3.
Craig