Computer upgrade

[RAYZORcut]

Hello to everyone, i have been re vamping the shop and organizing for the last 8 months or so, in that time i have not used the table, i turned the computer on the other day to fire up the table and had issues with the computer turning on took it to a local computer repair and he said more than likely its the power supply, he says good luck finding one because its specific for that machine (dell inspirion 980) older computer. i did some research when i got home long story short he is right you can get a generic one for it with a little mod to make it fit as well as a connector of a generic 24 pin to a mini 24 pin. Sorry for the story, just trying to fast track everyone, l then went out to the shop and plugged it in for shits and giggles and it started and booted like normal, hmm, which brings me to the question i would like to get this thing upgraded to a more recent type of computer and operating system because i feel like its a ticking time bomb but i have no idea if its as easy as hooking it up to a new computer and transferring everything over. Any input would be grateful!!

Dell Inspirion 980 Windows XP
E machine shop (CAD)
Sheet Cam
Mach 3
PS I would be working this out with the builder of the tables and computers but sadly he passed away a few months ago. RIP Gino

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I'm in the same boat myself as my old lap top is about to give it up. The software compatibility might be the problem, Win 10 & 11 has an older software compatibility feature. The new small form factor computers are amazing little machines. I am looking at a fan-less system to run the 2x2 TorchMate table to keep plasma dust out of the unit. All other process's are on the office computer.

[acourtjester]

One thing you do want to do is remove the Hard Drive from the computer, as this has all the setup info in the Mach 3 folder. You should look into a refurb PC to get you going. Most likely it will have Win 10 on it and will run Mach 3. You should be able to connect the old HD as long as it is a SATA type cabling. There are adapters from a SATA to USB to connect it to the newer PC to di the disc copy. If so a copy and paste for the old disc to the newer PC's disc and should get you back running. One big problem is if it was using a parallel printer port to connect to the BOB on the table.

StarTech.com SATA to USB Cable - USB 3.0 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Drive Adapter - External SATA USB Converter for SSD/HDD Data Transfer - Black

[asuratman]

What kind of cnc bob you use on the new computer ? UCCNC or ess or db25 ...

[weldguy]

I would suggest backing up the hard drive on a monthly basis and just continue to use the computer you have until it dies. You may be surprised how long these can hang on for, and a blown power supply is a fairly common thing and in no way indicates your PC has 1 foot in the grave. Moving to a new PC and OS will often come with its own set of issues.

[tcaudle]

There are some things to be aware of:
1. If its an older MACH3 with parallel port interface It will not run on a 64 bit system. (even WIN7)

2. You will need to upgrade your BoB to a model that uses USB or Ethernet . While it can be helpful to have the old Profiles (XML's ) to be able to recover the motor tuning and some of the settings, a lot of them will change with the new hardware.

3. If you currently use a THC that used the internal MACH3 THC logic it requires a (real) parallel port connection. A conversion from Ethernet or USB to parallel creates an added delay that kills THC response. The only solution is a board that hands the THC UP and DOWN signals direct and does not loop back through the Software.

So it can be any level of difficulty from really simple to painful. I suspect if its an XP system its the original parallel port setup and trying to make that work with newer hardware and OS may be more than you are willing to undertake.

Swapping a primary hard drive from one Windows PC to another is not an easy task. While you can get it to come up and be recognized as a drive (like D:) in a running Windows PC, none of the programs on it will be available to you since Windows keeps a data file (Registry) of where every program is installed . That new PC wont know anything about the programs on the old drive. That may not be a problem if all you do is use it with MACH3.

I know that they wrote some patches for MACH3 that are supposed to let it run in WIN10 but I have also heard its not the most stable platform and they REALLY want you to upgrade to MACH4. Nothing you have will work with MACH4 hardware wise. It has no THC logic and the choices of interface cards is limited.

It is POSSIBLE to make an old Hard drive boot and run Windows in a different PC by doing some magic with the Hardware Hive in the Registry but it definitely not something for the faint of heart!

[RAYZORcut]

Wow that is a lot of foreign info to process, i am a bit lost but I have a 25 pin connector (DB25) and a USB (G) that connect computer to bob and it is a 32 bit Windows XP OS (2002) I think it sounds like i should stay with a computer that directly swaps in and out and probably back up hard drive for peace of mind for now but i am definitely in for making any upgrades i can in this area, like i mentioned in my original post the builder for this table passed away a few months ago so my operating/Tech support is gone and i am now in some murky waters when it comes to this and general trouble shooting. So i really do appreciate the responses.

[adbuch]

Wow that is a lot of foreign info to process, i am a bit lost but I have a 25 pin connector (DB25) and a USB (G) that connect computer to bob and it is a 32 bit Windows XP OS (2002) I think it sounds like i should stay with a computer that directly swaps in and out and probably back up hard drive for peace of mind for now but i am definitely in for making any upgrades i can in this area, like i mentioned in my original post the builder for this table passed away a few months ago so my operating/Tech support is gone and i am now in some murky waters when it comes to this and general trouble shooting. So i really do appreciate the responses.

I would personally stick with the Windows xp computer you have and in the mean time, build or buy a second Windows xp computer to use as a backup. If there is a problem with the power supply, I see no reason not to go ahead and replace it with the "generic" power supply. Once you have your backup xp computer up and running, then transfer all of your files from the old pc to the new one. Then you will have two working Windows xp computers.

I still use Windows XP computers here in the shop - as I have some older programs like MasterCAM 9 which will not run on anything newer than xp. I also have a backup for that one, along with an even older Window 2000 pc here in the office that also runs MasterCam9, AutoCad 14, and several other older programs.

If you are using solid state hard drives, then you don't need to worry too much about them failing. But if you are still using mechanical hard drives, then it is a good idea to have at least one spare hard drive pre-loaded with your operating system as well as all of the important programs and files you have on your existing Windows xp computer. Then - in case of a hard drive failure - it is easy enough to swap in the replacement hard drive. I do have several backup mechanical hard drives for my Windows 2000 pc, and have replaced the hard drive at least once that I can remember.

In fact - my Windows 2000 pc is a Gateway brand that I purchased new in 1998. It originally came with Windows 95 and later upgraded to Windows 98. Then upgraded to Windows 2000. It runs 24/7 (never turn it off). Same for my other 3 computers in my office (one Windows 7 and the other two Windows 10).

David

[acourtjester]

With Windows and an older PC hard drive you can attach it to a newer PC and access the files on it. when hooking it to an newer PC a other then drive C: Windows will look at it like a USB drive and you can copy files all day long. If you hook it up and try to use it as the C: (boot drive it will not work). If you change to the UCCNC BOB (Ether cable) you can run Mach 3 by using their plug in. This can be used with you Parallel port BOB and an adapter cable, you can hook to of those BOB via the adapter cables to give you more input/outputs too.

UC400ETH_manual.zip

(2.21 MiB) Downloaded 9 times

UC400ETH_manual.zip

(2.21 MiB) Downloaded 9 times

[tcaudle]

Tom that will wok IF his THC is not Parallel port / MACH logic type. The magic Parallel port driver for Windows that give sit the speed to handle both motion and input sin a reasonable time frame wont work and the external boards have to implement buffers to keep from crashing Windows . That then put sin long delays in any bidirectional traffic. . Maybe UCCNC has some way to handle the THC signals in real time rather than trying to use the internal MACH THC logic . I know the ESS from WARP 9 does .

You CAN use WIN7 32 bit since it still works with the PP device driver in MACH . That would get you at least within 10 years of current technology.

[RAYZORcut]

I got another windows XP computer for now to get files onto it from current PC just to be on the safe side of things. I will continue to use current PC for now. I will get some photos of how my machine is wired and connected and maybe get some input back on my configuration and any possible upgrades or minor changes that could be beneficial to my working setup.

Cheers and thanks for all the responses, i have learned a considerable amount of basics about some of the inside operations of these machines in the process to boot amazing!!

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I got another windows XP computer for now to get files onto it from current PC

Was this a refurbished unit? Did it come with a SSD or does it have the original hard drive in it? If it is the original hard drive I would replace it with at least a 1TB SSD, You can use cloning software to replicate the original "C" drive and retain the OS & all data.