I can get my cutter to plot -please help :)

[sophie reynolds 0]

4 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Also , have you looked at your user manual?  You can find it on line.  That cutter has dip switch settings that control it. They must be on the correct settings to work. I read a little of it last night. 

when I used the cutter previously, I ran it off the LPT1 port.  And even made a note of it on my cutter to always remember to do just that.  Do you think that could be it?

 

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

I just don't know anything about a cutter running on LPT1.   Your just going to have to keep trying to match the numbers.   Maybe some one else knows how to connect those older cutters.   I know about the Flexi, but not about your cutter.  

[sophie reynolds 0]

1 minute ago, MZ SKEETER said:

I just don't know anything about a cutter running on LPT1.   Your just going to have to keep trying to match the numbers.   Maybe some one else knows how to connect those older cutters.   I know about the Flexi, but not about your cutter.  

I'm going to do an experiment (just so that I know for sure) and point it all to LPT1 and see what happens...  It didn't like it.  Said cannot communicate with Production manager.  A personal firewall may be blocking the communication.  Only I've turned the firewall off

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

If you try it in Safe Mode, nothing should be blocking it.     

[darcshadow 1,626]

You might try running Flexi as an admin. If logged in as an admin I don't remember ever having to do that, but I know in Windows 10 even if logged in as an admin, you still need to select run as admin some times. Worth a shot anyway. If that or safe mode doesn't work, I'd try uninstalling and reinstalling Flexi.

As for the LPT1 port, that would be what you would select if your computer had a parallel port and you had the cutter plugged directly into that port. It looks like there is a DB9 serial port on your plotter in that photo and you're running Windows XP, so I assume it's an older PC, any chance it actually has a serial port? If using the DB9 serial comm port would be an option and you wouldn't need any adapters, just the cable.

[sophie reynolds 0]

18 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

If you try it in Safe Mode, nothing should be blocking it.     

Hi, I've done it in safe mode and still getting the same message

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

Step 2

Plug the USB end of the converter cable into your computer. Do not attach the parallel cable from the printer yet.

Step 3

Insert the CD that came with the adapter cable into the CD drive on your computer. Click "Next" and "Finish" when prompted to install the adapter driver.

Step 4

Plug the parallel port end of the adapter into the printer cable. Turn on the printer.

Step 5

Click the Start button and select "Devices and Printers." Choose "Add a Printer," then "Add a Local Printer."

Step 6

Click "Use an Existing Port" and "Next." This should take you to a page that allows you to select your printer's make and model to install the driver. If your printer isn't listed, insert the printer's driver CD into your computer and click "Have Disk" and "Next."

Step 7

Select "Finish" to complete the installation.

[sophie reynolds 0]

4 minutes ago, darcshadow said:

You might try running Flexi as an admin. If logged in as an admin I don't remember ever having to do that, but I know in Windows 10 even if logged in as an admin, you still need to select run as admin some times. Worth a shot anyway. If that or safe mode doesn't work, I'd try uninstalling and reinstalling Flexi.

As for the LPT1 port, that would be what you would select if your computer had a parallel port and you had the cutter plugged directly into that port. It looks like there is a DB9 serial port on your plotter in that photo and you're running Windows XP, so I assume it's an older PC, any chance it actually has a serial port? If using the DB9 serial comm port would be an option and you wouldn't need any adapters, just the cable.

Hi Darcshadow, thanks for your suggestion.  I'm going to try doing it in admin

Its an old laptop that I got so that I could install window xp to use the cutter and the new operating systems don't support it.

It doesn't have a serial port in the actual laptop itself. 

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

But does it have a slot for a serial card?   I have old XP laptops. they do.   My Graphtec Shows up in Printers and FAXES in my XP laptop.  Does your Roland show up under Printers and Faxes.? 

[darcshadow 1,626]

6 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Step 4

Plug the parallel port end of the adapter into the printer cable. Turn on the printer.

Step 5

Click the Start button and select "Devices and Printers." Choose "Add a Printer," then "Add a Local Printer."

Step 6

Click "Use an Existing Port" and "Next." This should take you to a page that allows you to select your printer's make and model to install the driver. If your printer isn't listed, insert the printer's driver CD into your computer and click "Have Disk" and "Next."

Step 7

Select "Finish" to complete the installation.

Step 4 could be part of the problem as well. You have your adapter plugged directly into the plotter. I don't know about parallel adapter cables, but I know serial adapter cables will not work like that.

[sophie reynolds 0]

12 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Step 2

Plug the USB end of the converter cable into your computer. Do not attach the parallel cable from the printer yet.

Step 3

Insert the CD that came with the adapter cable into the CD drive on your computer. Click "Next" and "Finish" when prompted to install the adapter driver.

Step 4

Plug the parallel port end of the adapter into the printer cable. Turn on the printer.

Step 5

Click the Start button and select "Devices and Printers." Choose "Add a Printer," then "Add a Local Printer."

Step 6

Click "Use an Existing Port" and "Next." This should take you to a page that allows you to select your printer's make and model to install the driver. If your printer isn't listed, insert the printer's driver CD into your computer and click "Have Disk" and "Next."

Step 7

Select "Finish" to complete the installation.

 

4 minutes ago, darcshadow said:

Step 4 could be part of the problem as well. You have your adapter plugged directly into the plotter. I don't know about parallel adapter cables, but I know serial adapter cables will not work like that.

I also do not have the cd for the cable.  Haumana very kindly sent me the link this morning to remove the errors I had on the COM1 and COM3 ports in the device manager.  The errors have now gone.  I'll try my best and report back.

Thank you both for helping me

[sophie reynolds 0]

I think I should remove the driver for the cutter and reinstall flexisign.  Just start from the beginning.  I'll document everything that I am doing so that you know... (hope that's okay? maybe you can tell me what I am doing wrong!)

Okay, here goes... just clearing it now

[sophie reynolds 0]

Here's photos of me carrying out the unstall... I noticed something interesting.  It sayd flexisign may have already been uninstalled. 

I have done all sorts in my quest to get this working.  I am removing it again

[darcshadow 1,626]

If that's the case that would explain the error you were getting last. Sounds like something in the program got corrupted and confused the computer. Hopefully reinstalling will fix that issue.

[sophie reynolds 0]

4 minutes ago, darcshadow said:

If that's the case that would explain the error you were getting last. Sounds like something in the program got corrupted and confused the computer. Hopefully reinstalling will fix that issue.

Hope so.

I've just re-installed the cutter first.  My steps as I did them... sorry for being sooooo incredibly basic but I value your support and hopefully you can let me know what I am doing wrong.  The last image says the port is LPT1.  Now for the flexisign install...

[sophie reynolds 0]

It wasn't able to do the test as it says the test page was out of paper - only it got vinyl waiting and ready!

Now I'm doing the software install.

[darcshadow 1,626]

That installed it as a printer which it's not so I don't really know why it let you install it like that anyway. Also, while you have an LPT1 port appear in your device manager, you do not actually have a LPT1 port that you can access. You've got your cutter connected via a serial port so you should have selected Comm 1 or what ever it is on. Again, this part of the install I don't believe matters because it's not a printer.

[sophie reynolds 0]

1 minute ago, darcshadow said:

That installed it as a printer which it's not so I don't really know why it let you install it like that anyway. Also, while you have an LPT1 port appear in your device manager, you do not actually have a LPT1 port that you can access. You've got your cutter connected via a serial port so you should have selected Comm 1 or what ever it is on. Again, this part of the install I don't believe matters because it's not a printer.

what can I do to rectify this?  Shall I change the port to COM1?  Do you think that would do it?

[darcshadow 1,626]

No, I just think this portion was an unnecessary step. If it still doesn't work, you can try going in and changing it to comm1, but I'd continue on with installing Flexi and trying it out first.

[sophie reynolds 0]

1 minute ago, darcshadow said:

No, I just think this portion was an unnecessary step. If it still doesn't work, you can try going in and changing it to comm1, but I'd continue on with installing Flexi and trying it out first.

okay, just installing flexi now

[sophie reynolds 0]

I have now re-installed Flexi and my steps... what shall I do now?

[sophie reynolds 0]

I wanted to test it by printing a file.

I realised if I selected the printer to COM1 in production manager then I needed to make it consistent with the cutter so changed the port to COM1.

So I'm rebooting my laptop to make the change and logging back in

[sophie reynolds 0]

Here are the steps that I took...

so I had to change the port under printers and faxes to COM1 too and will show you the steps I've taken

[sophie reynolds 0]

okay, so now I have changed the printer port under printer properties...

I have gone through all the steps that I can think of.  Can you think of anything that I haven't done or need to do?

[darcshadow 1,626]

Something just occurred to me, you are using the parallel port on the plotter but we're trying to use the comm port in the software, that's not going to work.

In your device manager, you have two Digi RealPort entries and a Printer Port, which ones disappear when you unplug your USB adapter cable?