The computer controlling the PCB mill is freezing shortly after boot. In its current state it is unusable. After a few hours of debugging, @knotbob and I have determined that we don’t know what’s wrong. It doesn’t seem to be the RAM at least. I suspect the box will need to be replaced.
What connection does it need for the PCB mill?
A parallel port. I just rescued an old box, I’m not 100% sure if it has one though. I’ll check when I get home, and report back.
No luck, guess it isn’t that old.
Make sure all the fans are working and that the fins on any coolers are clean.
Replace the power supply maybe.
Bad capacitors on the motherboard?
Tanner’s may have parallel port cards…can’t remember.
I made sure to clean the dust out, and checked that the fans were running and not overheating. I didn’t see anything wrong with the board after a quick once over, but I wasn’t looking specifically for bad capacitors. We did find a PCI slot cover loose in the case, that probably didn’t help anything.
Gentlemen,
You are welcome to try and temporarily use (until another suitable computer is found) my personal PC which is on loan / connected to the PlasmaCAM in the metal shop (it has my name all over it) because the PlasmaCAM can’t be used until other issues are resolved.
It has a working parallel port.
Just let me know what software you install and where, any issues encountered (the hard drive is getting a bit creaky) and PLEASE refrain from jacking with any of the BIOS or major Windows OS settings without checking with me first.
Also, if for some reason the PlasmaCAM gets fired up in the near future because ventilation magically appears, I reserve the right to pull it back to run and / or test the functionality. But I will let you know if that happens.
Is this acceptable?
JAG “Vote PlasmaCAM for Christ’s Sakes” MAN
Currently, the PCB mill runs a Linux distro (LinuxCNC, based on Ubuntu I think). I think it MIGHT run on a live type CD, but typically running the software would require reimaging drive to Linux. Perhaps a different HD could be installed for that…
Hey Kent,
Perhaps a different HD could be installed for that…
That would be the way to go as I DO NOT want the current hard drive re-imaged because that is still a viable Windows install.
How well do older motherboard and other hardware drivers install with Ubuntu? Especially with a MB that is probably 12-15 years old, easy.
JAG “Bring Out Your Vacuum Tubes” MAN
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It would probably work fine with old stuff, but we should give it a test run in any event. I will do a little digging around to see if a live CD version exists to test with first.
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update tool status page?
It is great of you to volunteer to do that?
I went ahead and did it, I didn’t know about that page.
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I am willing, but as mine would be a 3rd hand account of an alleged outage, it seemed more prudent to ask the original participants to do so…
And learning is achieved!
Thank you for doing that.
I just happened to notice what I thought to be a discrepancy, so, as noted above, wanted someone more 1st hand to do the actual change of status. Plus, then, when it is fixed, someone more 1st hand will know to change it again to a more correct status.
Thank you again, Zachary ( @zachaq )!
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The tool status and listing wiki pages are nearly always out of date, but even so I think they are some of the most valuable potential advertising we have.
When DMS was first being created, I was aware of the event, and looked at the web/wiki pages that were documenting what was being done. Even earlier this year I looked at the wiki pages to see what tooling was available at the space to determine if the available tools was worth investing in a monthly membership. The wiki page at that time made me think the answer was no.
It wasn’t until a local HAM radio group arranged a tour of the space that I came here (you would not believe the trouble I had finding the building on my own) that I actually had a grasp of what resources the space offers its members. I have made some attempt at updateing the tooling list on the wiki page, but it still needs a lot more work.
I’m definitely a fan of up to date information, I’ll be sure to look out for ways to help!
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Well, nothing is perfect, but I think only through participation can we figure out how to fix or replace that which is needed.
It was this post
from John that made me look at the page, and then I noticed the PCB router was greenlighted, so…
I though he made a good point, not that people are driving for the PCB router, but how disappointing it is when you think you’re all prepared to use a tool only to find it’s inop and has been for days and there’s no ETA on fixing it, but the status is “FULLY OPERATIONAL”. For now, all we have is this status page and manually updating it. I’d love something more reliable, but for now, that’s all I know…
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Fun fact: old machines tend to work better than new machines in Linux, mostly because drivers almost never leave the kernel once they make it in, but they take a year or two to get stable when the hardware first comes out.
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Well, after reading this thread and rummaging through my storage, I found a computer that might work for this application.
It is a Dell Precision 390 workstation. It has a CORE DUO 2 Processor, 4GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and a PARALLEL PORT!
Also, I only run Linux, so I KNOW it runs Linux awesomely!
Let me know if you guys want it for this mill and I can bring it up to DMS tonight…
Bring it… the Dell that is there is toast.
Stan,
Bring it… the Dell that is there is toast.
If that Dell is bad, may I take a look at it?
If so, please leave it in the Science Area - my suspicion is that it is infected with a Linux OS.
JAG “Putting On My Flame-Proof Body Armor - Heh Heh” MAN