Might not be the right place for this, but any insight would be helpful.
I recently moved along with my AvidCNC pro 48x96 and a small mini Lenovo computer (i7 processor & 32GB ram) that I use only to run Mach 4 and control my machine. Once I got everything ready and I began to align the spindle, the computer (running Windows 10) evidently had updated windows from microsoft and suddenly the computer and subsequently Mach 4 wouldn’t load. I tinkered with it and tried to uninstall the windows updates and then the computer would not even boot. I reinstalled Windows and turned off updates. I had to download Mach4 again and while that was happening, this crappy program called windows updated again causing the entire process to start over.
I switched to another computer (mini) made by HP. The same thing happened. So, now I believe that my option is to disconnect the computer from the internet, download install files for windows and Mach 4, put them on thumb drives and install them completely separate from being connected to the net.
I actually think that it is a concerted effort of Microsoft to cause issues with older machines so that you would be forced to get a new one and thus, microsoft makes money selling the new operating system. I am a Mac user and having to use windows is like going back to the horse and buggy days in the era of jet aircraft and modern vehicles on the road.
Nah, you just have a messed up Windows install. I used to have a 7 year old HP laptop with 8GB of memory and it ran Mach4 just fine, and I also frequently updated Windows (but manually,) without any issues.
Get windows installed and up to date and then install Mach 4 and make sure you run the system configuration utility after that so you don’t have stuff running in the background (like autoupdates) while running Mach4.
Centroid actually has a “PC Tuner” for their Acorn boards. Windows is notorious for messing things up. The ‘tuner’ fixes what needs to be fixed and shuts off all the other stuff that might mess you up in the future.
Is this just a rant or are you asking for help? I’m not sure where you are at with this…your PC still won’t boot? or Mach4 just won’t load? Do you get an error? Is the process running or does it actually crash and end the process? Have you checked the event viewer to see if there are any system or application errors being written? Windows is pretty good with error handling and with the error you can often easily find the solution.
I’ve supported Microsoft based systems for Fortune 100 companies for over two decades. I can tell you that Windows powers much more critical systems than your AVID CNC with very few problems. I’ve never seen a critical system run on a Mac.
I’m not trying to start a debate, just simply saying that if you give it a chance Windows can be rock solid. It’s not a conspiracy and I’ve never seen any evidence that Microsoft codes in any obsolescence. The world runs on Windows because it’s actually a pretty good product.