I am new to CNC and Mach3
I have bought a used CNC with a PC running an installed version of Mach3 in XP
The software is showing as licenced to the previous owner (on the top line of the screen).
After much learning from videos and forum posts etc I have successfully programmed in VCarve Pro, loaded A G-code file and machined my initials into wood.
I have moved onto a larger project and hit a problem - the toolpath will not run past line 500?
But I am not in Demo mode?? Or am I ?
Any help would be welcome
Thanks Jim

Hi,
500 lines is the limit of mach3 when in Demo mode....so clearly your installation thinks you are in Demo. Commonly if Mach3 is licensed then the owners name
is on the very top line, and from your description that is the case....so what gives?

May I suggest looking for the license file...its been such a long time since I've used Mach3 (having transitioned to Mach4 eight years ago) but if I'm not mistaken
the license file should be License.dat or similar in the main Mach3 directory.

Craig

Have you changed the computer user name?  Maybe M3 checks the licence file against the computer's credentials.

what is main menue -> help -> About Mach3 controller

showing?

Thanks for the feedback, so far

The Help / About Mach3Control screen shows the name in the “Licensed to” box

The Computer user name has not been changed

There is a Mach1Lic file showing in the Mach3 folder on the C Drive

Roadrunner stops at line 496
My new G-Code program stops at line 500

So it looks like I am stuck in demo mode, really puzzle why this is happening?

Well, you may have a black listed license.

So it is looking likely that the version / License supplied is “black listed, faulty, a fake copy and not authentic”.

My next question is - do I removed all traces of Mach3 from my C Drive, download the latest version and buy a new license. I’m nervous that all the settings were already loaded and in place when I bought this CNC. I guess I would just have to note and copy every setting into the latest Mach3 version.

Or

Buy a new licence and copy the Mach1Lic.dat file into the current installed version?

The second should work.

If you got Mach3 from "reputable Chinese supplier" (LOL), just remove it from your computer (keep plugins, if any, as well as machine configuration), download .62 (most recent version of Mach3), despite that is, I guess, more than seven years old, reinstall it, buy yourself a license, copy back your machine configuration, plugins, ... and you're good to go without 500 line limit.

(waiting for Joe to say that you should buy Mach4 )

Hi,
ZAsto0 is 100% right, I am a Mach4 fan.

All development on Mach3 ceased seven-eight years ago, so whatever bugs it has it will always have. Mach4 is still actively developed.

This is a direct quote from Brian Barker:

Mach3 grew organically , Mach4 was designed.

That quote and many of the diverse improvements of Mach4 over Mach3 are here:

https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=42891.msg278176#msg278176

Given that the purchase price of Mach4 is $200 whereas Mach3 is $175, there is not a lot in it...however it is highly likely that your machines motion
control board IS NOT Mach4 capable, and would add the cost of changing to Mach4 considerably, say $190 for an Ethernet SmoothStepper or $120 for a UC100
for example.

Craig