Bringing my Shopbot out of retirement

[matt_raymond60]

My Shopbot has been pushed off in a corner of our cabinet shop for several years and it is time to put it back to work. This is a 2003 PRS Standard with just a PC router as far as I know. I did the version 4 control board upgrade not long before I stopped using it. It was working fine when I parked it, just no one else wanted to take the time to learn to use it. First problem coming out was the computer battery had gone dead and would not boot up so I found another old computer that had XP as the operating system, deleted all the other programs off of it and loaded up the Shopbot software on it. Not 100% sure that I selected the correct machine version to run but the big issue was that when I was firing it all up I got the message “Control Box Problem! Make sure all cables are connected etc.”. I went through several cycles of this with no change. I did go ahead and check the continuity of all the wires and connectors, all checked out good. Finally got frustrated with that and went back to the computer that I used to use with no issues and replaced the battery in it and was able to bring it back to life. Hooked it up today and all went well until I powered up the control box and received the message “Com Port Seems Okay but no connection to control box made”. It referenced trying another serial port but my control box has a USB plug on it. I Did try using all the different USB ports just in case one was bad. I am wondering if my control box board may have been physically damaged while it was stored or something along those lines. It appears to my untrained eye to be okay and the two green power lights on the board itself are illuminated. Before I send it in for evaluation I thought I would post this and see if anyone has any other thoughts. I am not a high tech kind of guy, what I have described here is about the limit of my knowledge. Any input would be greatly appreciated! My shop is over an hour away and does not currently have internet service so that is another challenge while I am sorting this out. Thank you all in advance, you guys Have all got me out of several jams over the years!!!

[chiloquinruss]

I have two computers that can be hooked up to da bot. One is a laptop and with that one if I use / change usb ports I must reboot the laptop so it can find it. I just wonder in your seeking to find a good port if that particular machine might require a reboot between changes? I do know for a fact that the bot is very sensitive to using GOOD usb cables. I wish you well, computer issues are very frustrating. Russ