SB.exe, SBX.exe whats the difference.

[wemme]

Gidday
I'm running the dos based software which work well.
What is the difference between SB.exe and SBX.exe?
Cheers

[dhunt]

Here's another question.
A friend just received his brand new PRT-96 (not the Alpha),
and although it came supplied with the new fangled ShopBot 3 software for XP,
we would prefer to run it with the old and familiar Sb 229 or 239 software..
..on an old clunker of a 'box' running either Win.98 or Win.2000(not XP)
due to sheer familiarity with the older software.

Is this possible?
or do we HAVE TO run it with the new(XPcompatible) software,
due to the (more modern?-looking!) controller box?

[paco]

David,

I believe that you can choose the controller you want with the PRT. Alpha can only be run with SB3 (Win). Can a DOS program such as SB or SBX be run on a XP is something I'm not sure of...

In your case, you'll be just fine but make sure you have the latest SB 239 from the doownload page of the SB Web site.
About your control box, what so modern about it; is a computer box (PRT) or an aluminum box (PRT Alpha {as far as I know})?

[dhunt]

I mentioned this new,more-modern-lookin controller box becoz the other Shopbot with which I'm acquainted(a 2001 model) was supplied with a very plain and ordinary 'beige box'!
- so by comparison(five years later) this snazzy new one is very cool!
This new 2006 PRT96 also arrived with a transparent dust collector foot,
which will make life easier.

But I'm not asking about controller-box(Hardware):
I'm asking about using the older DOS SB239 software to run the machine,
via an elderly (P1?)computer,well suited to that 239 software.

Or am I fooling myself?
Will function/motion be *noticeably* smoother by going the extra mile in getting a more modern computer,loaded with SB 3.4.19(supplied) to run the machine?

Having always used the older 239 software,
the new 3.4 software is waaaay strange and difrnt,
(throwing up 3 windows at me,for starters!)

If function isn't terribly difrnt, I'd just as soon use SB239(with an old P1)
a situation with which I am v.familiar!
- is this possible/okay?

[mikejohn]

David
I think I have the same machine as you.
Mine is one of the 'last' 3 PRTs, sold when the Alpha was intoduced. Then they re-introduced them 6 months after phasing them out for the Alpha.
I run in DOS with no problems.

...............Mike

[paco]

You'll be just fine with SB239 on an old PC. The SB Web site download page is saying that the DOS control software won't work on an XP machine...
If you ask me, you can just get smoother to go with SB3 but again it'll work too with the DOS one. Most but not all seem to say that they are happy from the change...

In my case, if a DOS control was available for the Alpha, I would be really tempted to try it for stability reason (communication issues)... but I believe that, for the PRT tool, it is not as smooth running as SB3 (Win).

Another thing that I wonder about is since the machine control software should/must be install on an optimized PC, wouldn't it be better to have the controller with a custom built interface on a Linux based environment with NOTHING else than SB3 and the necessary drivers?!

[paco]

Wemme, sorry, I can remember the difference but I believe it's somewhere in the documentation... or someone else will chime in soon about it.

[dhunt]

To whom it may concern, I can verify that the older DOS Shopbot control software does NOT run on Win.XP
- in fact it will not even install,far less run!

Tried it at home on this-here Win.XP machine,
just to see if it was possible.
Won't even install.
...........
Other than that, thanks for the responses to my query,
we'll be trying 239 on the old clunker, to run this 2006 PRT-96

[gerald_d]

http://www.petri.co.il/create_dos_boot_floppy_disk_in_windows_xp.htm
http://www.bootdisk.com/
Not saying these will help, but they were bookmarked on my PC...

[srwtlc]

Unless you absolutly don't have, don't want to get or don't want to build a computer that will run XP, there's nothing to be afraid of about using SB3 and XP. You'll gain a number of useful features of SB3 and a smoother running machine. If you have a faster processor, you'll gain some speed also. If you use Win98, take note that support for it (from Microsoft) is ending, so if you ever need to reinstall it you'll want to be sure you have all the needed updates saved somewhere or an image of your fully updated system that can be restored.

Try running your machine both ways by using a XP or a 98 computer. Who knows, you may like it.

[dhunt]

Regarding updates for Win.98 (or any of their OS)
aren't most of the MS updates INTERNET SECURITY-related?
A pure and un-sullied install of any Windows system, for a dedicated, never-to-go-online computer should work perfectly well forever, not so?
It's the 'Internet Nasties' that are the problem, requiring all those patches!

Nine months ago I did a minimal,bare-bones install of Win.98 on such a dedicated computer for a SB PRT-96
and anticipate no probs. other than losing the installer CD.
- it has never been online, never will, (noooo patches!) and is working flawlessly!

So although MS support of Win.98 ceases in 2 wks. time, I suspect that dedicated(isolated-from-internet-access) copies of 98 will be around for some time,yet.

[srwtlc]

True.

You can run SB3 on Win98, but you should have at least a 500 mghz and you need to have DirectX updated. In a pinch, I ran it nicely on a PII 266 laptop.