demondecals

BannerJohn: well, yes and no...the main reason for the upgrade to the new computer was that WinPCSign was acting up occasionally, but it was kind of like having an overloaded (memory-wise) older computer...we'd just save everything, restart it and it would be fine. We have not tried using winpcsign again on the old computer...that is a last ditch effort for us since we both like SignBlazer a lot better, and all the files for the jobs we have to do are in SignBlazer. Yes, we ran on the trial version for a week or so, then bought Elements, and no, we did not uninstall the trial version. The PCUT cutter is actually our second of the same thing. Our first fried the motor that runs the cutting head, and we couldnt find parts (now we see that USCutter has them....), so we bought another and it took off and worked just fine. Got them both from Ebay, but were allegedly brand new. How does this keyspan adapter work, and is it something that I can install? Any ideas on why the old computer wont work with the cutter through the serial port with SignBlazer, though? I thought that would be a surefire to at least get back to work for a while. Thanks for your suggestions!!

Hi again. Trying to keep a cool head here, but it's getting tough. We've been using our PCUT Ct630 for about 3 years now, finally decided 2 months ago that it was time to upgrade to a new computer. Got a Compaq Presario C700 running Vista. We WERE using WinPCSign for our software, and had no problems at all the whole time. But, with the new laptop, WinPCSign wouldnt communicate through the USB port, so we figured we'd just get the basic version of SignBlazer since it's a newer design software, and most likely more compatible with USB port communication. We ran for a week or so on the SignBlazer trial version, and thought it worked pretty well. Since we bought the full version, we've had nothing but problems. The part that really burns me is that we've got about $2k worth of vinyl jobs to do, and cant get anything to work. No matter how we set up the cutter, we are getting a "cant initialize cutter" window. We did a few small jobs here and there, but every time we start to cut something, we have to reset all the configurations in the device manager and the cutter setup window. We've tried all 3 USB ports, (this computer has no serial ports) and sometimes if we just change ports, it will work for a while. But the last 3 days...nothing. We even drug our old computer out, installed the signBlazer trial version, and it wont communicate with the cutter either, even with the serial port. Is our cutter just going to crap on us? I've tried updating the drivers for the USB ports, and it says we're up to date. I've been going through the forums trying to find similar problems to what ours is doing, and there seems to be a common thread with the USB communicating with almost all brands of cutters. It used to be easy...just hit the cut button and make money....no all we do is waste time and vinyl. We also discovered on our own that this whole system cant handle anything too large, so we started tiling intricate jobs so the cutter wouldnt get overloaded and stop. Sorry to rant for so long, but we're getting really discouraged. We're not afraid to spend some $$$ if it will help, but we just want to be sure that what we spend WILL help. Do we just need a better cutter to run through the USB, or do we need a different computer with serial ports? Any help will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

Thanks again for the help! We'll try that tonight, but just in case it still doesnt fix it, we may be interested in buying SignBlazer. Is this a pretty good program? We're going to try the trial version tonight, but what about all the thousand or so files we have from jobs through our WinPCSign program? Is there any way to transfer them over or are going to have to remake every job we've ever done? Thanks again!!

No, it does not. When I double click to bring up the properties, the general tab says that the device cannot start.

Yes, Transfer Cable Devices is a category in the Device Manager, then a sub-category under that is "USB Easy Transfer Cable". I think it came from the adapter cable we bought to go from USB to the serial port on the cutter. It's just a short cord about a foot long with a USB on one end, and the small 9-pin connector on the other end (which used to hook into our computer). I'm a bit confused about the whole USB thing....in the device manager, under USB controllers category, there are 9 different USB listings. There are ones listed as : ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Contoller-2830,2831,2832 and 2836; then one listed as USB Composite Device; and 4 listed as USB Root Hub. My new laptop has 3 USB ports on it, and we're using one for the cordless mouse we bought when we go the computer. Does it matter which one we try to hook the cutter to? Next, just in case you need this info, is the Device Manager category of Ports (COM & LPT). Under that are Communications Port (COM4); ECP Printer Port; Multiport Communications Port (COM8); and Printer Port (LPT3). Hopefully this is enough info for you.

yes....it shows up under "transfer cable devices". I switched the setting to COM4, but now when I try to cut, it pops up a window that says "cant initialize cutting device"

New here, so please forgive us if this has been covered before. We're using a CT630, running WinPCSign, and just bought a new Compaq laptop soley for use in the shop with the cutter. We've seen all the posts on here about the problems with using a USB port, but this 'puter only has USB's on it. We got an adapter cable to go from the USB to the serial port on the cutter, but we cant get the computer to recognize the cutter at all. Any ideas on how to get around this since we have nothing but USB ports on the computer? Thanks in advance for any help!!