Controller Software ver. 3.8.10 fails to install

[ajf]

I thought I would install Controller Software ver. 3.8.10 today to become familiar with it. The installation seemed to go fine with the software as well as the firmware indicating there were no problems with the installation. However when I try to run ShopBot 3 it fails to find the controller. I checked the device manage and the Shopbot controller shows up on a COM port and indicates it is working. I ran the speed test and it finds the proper COM port for the controller as well. Also tried moving to different USB ports, but that didn't make any difference. I also checked the emergency stop to see if it was engaged but was not. At a loss why the ShopBot 3 application will not find the controller. I was running the previous ver. of the software on this computer with no problems. I have a 2010 PRS standard with the proper ver. controller card that should run this software

[shilala]

I can't help, Al, but I hadn't known Shopbot put the speed test back in the control software. I'm glad to hear that, I'll update everything tomorrow.

[srwtlc]

As far as I know, you can't run the speed test with v3.8. It's possible that it may find the controller on a given port, but the test shouldn't work.

Al, If you can indeed run the speed test, I'd say you should try updating the firmware again with 'UI'.

'UD' and the Packet-ET value is what you want to look at with v3.8 for an efficiency indication.

[ajf]

I should clarify that I was running 3.6.44 on this computer prior to trying 3.8.10. I did try uninstalling the software and reinstalling several times, but that didn't change the problem. Everything I've looked at seems to indicate that there is a COM port associated with the controller, but the ShopBot 3 application says there isn't and will only let me into the preview screen not the move/cut screen.
I ended up reinstalling 3.6.44.

[scottp55]

Scott, Didn't know that searched a little. M 10-20", UD, packet et should be 20 or less. Is that right? Thanks

[Brady Watson]

Al,
Are you sure that the USB driver loaded correctly? I've had luck on stubborn machines by going to the Windows Device Manager (under System in the Control Panel) and right clicking on the ShopBot item listed under Ports. Then click on Update Driver & point to: C:\Program Files (x86)\ShopBot\ShopBot 3\Drivers\ShopBotControllerV201 after you have selected to choose a specific location to look. This type of problem usually happens on older XP machines (mine included) and after updating the driver this way it usually works fine.

If after doing this it still doesn't find it, go to the same directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\ShopBot\ShopBot 3\Drivers\ShopBotControllerV201 and run DriverLoader.exe

You'll have to undo everything you just did, but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to do. Load 3.8.10 (no need to uninstall 3.6.44) and then load the USB driver WITH USB CABLE UNPLUGGED!!! - then plug in USB, Run UR, UI and try it again.

Scott,
Less than 20 is great, but under 40 is fine. The tool should still run top speed. I think mine was 21-22 if I remember correctly.

-B

[ajf]

Hi Brady

I had already tried everything you suggested, except unplugging the USB cable. So I guess that is worth a try and see what happens.

[srwtlc]

I did have this situation on a recent new PC build and what worked for me after knowing that everything was installed and in place, but not finding the controller when launched, was to pull the USB cable out and after a moment, plug it back in to let Win 7 refresh it. Once connection was gained, it remained (until I had a testing crash and had to repeat it). Haven't had the issue happen with 3.8.10 or a higher testing version.

Scott, as Brady mentioned, some above 20 seems to work just fine. I had a fresh XP install on some older hardware run like a champ at 26. My current fresh Win 7 build is running 16-17.

Al, instead of device manager, use the USBview.exe in the diagnostics folder to see where the ShopBot is. If you have a spindle control, you'll see two ShopBot connections.

[ajf]

Now I'm more puzzled than ever about the installation issue. Using all the suggestions given I tried 2 complete installs and still could not get it to find the controller. Even though the device manager and any other utility that I used said the Shopbot controller was recognized as working on a com port. On the 3rd attempt however it suddenly recognized it and the software now seems to work. Went through all the menu items to see if everything worked. All items worked except for the Table Surfacing tool.
Now I'm faced with the question "Do I trust the software or not"? I would hate to be in the middle of a long cut and find out something isn't really working 100%.

[scottp55]

Al, don't know if this is pertinent or not, but on my first install my brother whizzed right by the"UNPLUG USB". Unplugged USB and did a re-install but because of computer placement and the wheelchair couldn't see the USB slots and didn't get a connection until plugged into the original slot used. When upgraded to 3.8.10 got down on my butt with a flashlight and went to great pains to make sure it went into same slot- and clean install. First design on the fly went perfect.
I took the biggest file I had after upgrade and shrunk 12X12" design down to 2X2" and VCarved it in scrap (2.5 hrs original/22 min test) because I was nervous like you. No problems except the cut was so busy it looked like a mouse got at it.:)

[bcondon]

Al,

Which feature did you need in 3.8 10 that had you upgrade?

You have been down 3 or 4 days now because of the upgrade.

Having been in the computer industry since 1972, almost all problems
that I see is because folks feel the WANT to upgrade even though here may
not be need...

I understand that thee are a few trailblazers and and God Bless you
but for most of us "normal" folks, it is a waste of time or in some cases, lost business opportunity because the machine is down.

I am just trying to understand obsession to run the latest...

Thoughts?

[ajf]

Bob

It wasn't really any particular feature in 3.8.10 that made me try this version, but more that 3.8 and been around long enough and had several revisions, that I felt it might be a stable application. I had some spare time so I thought I would try it out and see if there was any benefits that would make it worth consider moving from ver. 3.6. What I was not expecting was that there would be installation issues with it. Installation of software has come along way over the years especially with the introduction of plug and play devices. So to encounter an issue with the installation saying it had installed successfully and the operating system also indicating all devices were working properly; yet the application would not communicate with the device seemed very odd.
Like yourself I've been involved with computers a long time (late 1960's) and spent the last 20 years prior to my retirement teaching computer science courses at a college. I am not a fan of the constant upgrade path the computer industry has followed, but at the same time I like to understand what the upgrade provides and if it is worth considering. Most cases I just sit back and wait until support for software and hardware I use is no longer available before upgrading.
As far as down time, there was none. I maintain two computers of similar hardware and software configuration, one is on duty controlling the CNC the other is a backup but can also be used a test bed. All hard drives are imaged and the images stored on a separate networked machine for easy retrieval. So even if something screws up, in a very short time the machine configuration can be restored.
At the present I will continue running 3.6.44.

[bcondon]

Thanks Al,

I am VERY impressed that you have two machines... most don't!

I plan to get a second machine once I find a reason to upgrade but
my 2007 software continues to work flawlessly. The only challenge I had was that Aspire has been upgraded and had some really nice design features which challenged me in a class (which was using the new Aspire
versions).

[ajf]

The college I use to teach at upgrades their computers on a regular basis and sells the old ones for a nominal fee. So it is easy to pickup a couple of similar configured units and repair them if necessary. With open source software and operating systems it is just as easy to setup a server to maintain backup images on.