Should I change Operating System to Win XP?

[HandyManBill]

I had installed the SB3 V3.8 and had a number of problems, I have tried many of the solutions to take care of the problem with the machine stopping (freezing up) on like the last cut..the one I thought that fixed that problem (static from DC) may or may have not have been the culprit...I completed that sign and then the next I went to it changed the Z depth from .12" to about .5" and shifted the cut along both X and Y axis.

After researching the Forum here I figured my problems started a while after I upgraded to to 3.8, so I uninstalled it and put 3.6 on it...now it will not find the "port" for the SB drivers...I uninstalled the drivers and have reinstalled 3.6 but the software will not load the drivers.

From what I have read on the forums is that the Windows 7 may be my issue and that Windows XP has not the problems...I would happily Buy the XP version and install that in the Win 7. Has anyone done this successfully?

I have work piling up and going to have some unhappy customers

[GlenP]

Hey Bill. I had same issues while back. If you are going to go back to XP just go on ebay and buy a older pc with XP on it. Tons of them out there dirt cheap. I had the issue of not finding the shopbot as well. Do you get a pop up that asks you to "find port" or shobot? If so can it find it when you click on it? When you installed the 3.8 did you turn off your firewall and antivirus software? If you run a dedicated pc to the bot and it isnt hooked up to internet they should be off anyway. Have you tried turning off prox switches to see if perhaps they are causing issues?? They were for me so I currently have them turned off.
These tools are great when all works well but man sometimes they can be a real pita.

[frank]

Hi Bill,

When you roll back to 3.6.46 you have to change the COM speed setting from 5 back to 4 by typing VI.

[ron_moorehead]

I would check out the Black Viper web site and shut down a lot of the process running in the back ground on Windows 7 that you don't need, I did this and have not had a problem since then.

[HandyManBill]

Frank, where do I change "Com speed"...never heard of this?

I do have a small laptop that I used before I got my desktop computer both were dedicated to running the bot..it was however running XP, I tried it to see if would work again but no dice. Re-installed 3.6.44 from your website and it says "com port OK but controller is not communicating" so could it be in the control box? How can you tell if the problem is the control box?

Thanks,
Bill

[gundog]

Did you unistall the firmware when you changed back to 3.6? I know 3.8 uses a different version of firmware.

[bleeth]

Franks instructions are concise and to the point.
Here's how to do it in A....B.....C
Open SB3.
Type "VI" into the command box.
Look at the fill in sheet
see "Com speed"
Make sure it is and/or change it to "4"
I would imagine there is much you have never heard of since the machine is new to you.
As you learn more by reading replies carefully and following instructions you will learn much. When Frank posts, which is rarely, it is generally best to pay attention to what he says.
Don't expect him to get involved in a lot of back and forth on the forum.
If you do what he says and it still doesn't work give him a call during business hours.

[GlenP]

I have never heard that before either. There has been numerous posts about issues with 3.8 and going back to 3.6 and having that exact issue. I know I had it and fought my way thru issues and had the exact same thing as Bill is describing. Sure wish I had known that then. Hope it works for you Bill and gets you going. Let us know if this solves or helps your issue. Going to write that one down in my book of things to check.

Cheers