Many questions about Acu-rite Millpwr 1.3.1 - Boot disk?

hsracer201 · May 26, 2020

Hi,

I saved an Acer Ultima from scrap and it has Millpwr 1.3.1 on it, for a 2-axis control. When it boots up it throws a code that matches nothing I’ve found on Google. (srifstrm.cpp(56)) Similar threads taught me to hit delete on startup so I can successfully enter the BIOS but I cannot figure out how to get to DOS. I’ve tried Ctrl-C and Ctrl-break without any luck. The BIOS battery is brand new in case anyone was wondering. Changing the battery didn’t change any results at all so the old one must have been fine.

One particular sequence tells me to enter boot disk into A: and press a key to continue. What version of DOS is this? Bootdisk.com has files for MS-DOS but when this boots up it says ROM-DOS. Where can I find that boot disk file?

I had someone download and write Millpwr 1.3.1 off the Acu-rite website for me using a Win’98 machine onto a 3.5” floppy disk but I don’t know how to get to DOS to read/execute it. I did try booting from A then C, but it asks for the boot disk. If it boots from C then A it throws the software failure code mentioned above.

DOS is before my time and I do not know how to get around it very well. I’m not a CNC guy, or a computer guy so this whole thing is liable to end up a flaming disaster but I thought the machine would be worth a bit of effort to get running.

Thanks!

HWElecRepair · May 27, 2020

Does this pop up before the beeps? My guess is a corrupt software/hard drive. Could also be the motherboard.

If you have the boot disk in and it isnt booting from that from the get go, then my money is on your motherboard.

What is your 5/12VDC looking like at your hard drive? black to red is 5VDC and black to yellow is 12VDC? Having a weak signal to the hard drive or computer could cause this.

Jon
H&W Machine Repair

EOLSON · May 27, 2020

I have an older Acurite controller at work that the drive died in, it was replaced with a solid state drive in a tray in place of the floppy drive. All the communication we do with the control is thru Remstore program so that has worked well for us. Unfortunately I was not the one to do that and ye ol tool maker who did is on vacation but I will get back to you if you'd like.

In the meantime read up on this: https://www.acu-rite.com/pdf/manuals/obsolete/OLDSTYLEmillpwr.pdf

Acurite still has all the old stuff on their website thank goodness, sometimes its a little hard to find.

I have played around on the controller with a keyboard in DOS and managed to figure out how to delete all the .mpt files stored on there as we had run out of storage and it is the only way to mass delete. DOS was before my time too, so I just ended up googling all the commands as I worked along and it went fairly well.

I would be willing to bet that it is your drive that died, I have worked with a lot of older Acurite controllers and have noticed that it is a common problem.

The single most useful thing you can do is get Remstore working (needs Windows XP or earlier to work native).

hsracer201 · May 27, 2020

EOLSON said:
I have an older Acurite controller at work that the drive died in, it was replaced with a solid state drive in a tray in place of the floppy drive. All the communication we do with the control is thru Remstore program so that has worked well for us. Unfortunately I was not the one to do that and ye ol tool maker who did is on vacation but I will get back to you if you'd like.

In the meantime read up on this: https://www.acu-rite.com/pdf/manuals/obsolete/OLDSTYLEmillpwr.pdf

Acurite still has all the old stuff on their website thank goodness, sometimes its a little hard to find.

I have played around on the controller with a keyboard in DOS and managed to figure out how to delete all the .mpt files stored on there as we had run out of storage and it is the only way to mass delete. DOS was before my time too, so I just ended up googling all the commands as I worked along and it went fairly well.

I would be willing to bet that it is your drive that died, I have worked with a lot of older Acurite controllers and have noticed that it is a common problem.

The single most useful thing you can do is get Remstore working (needs Windows XP or earlier to work native).

I failed to mention in the OP that I'd read the manual, but it doesn't state how to get to DOS. I've tried a couple of times to call Acu-rite but all I do is punch numbers and wait. I've read they aren't too helpful on this older stuff anyways.

Any help your guy might can offer when he returns would be greatly appreciated.

hsracer201 · May 27, 2020

HWElecRepair said:
Does this pop up before the beeps? My guess is a corrupt software/hard drive. Could also be the motherboard.

If you have the boot disk in and it isnt booting from that from the get go, then my money is on your motherboard.

What is your 5/12VDC looking like at your hard drive? black to red is 5VDC and black to yellow is 12VDC? Having a weak signal to the hard drive or computer could cause this.

Jon
H&W Machine Repair

I have a meter and I will check those voltages tonight. Pretty sure it beeps, then throws the error, in that order.

The boot disk I have may not be the correct one. I don't know, because I can't find confirmation of what version of DOS is there.

EOLSON · May 27, 2020

hsracer201 said:
I failed to mention in the OP that I'd read the manual, but it doesn't state how to get to DOS. I've tried a couple of times to call Acu-rite but all I do is punch numbers and wait. I've read they aren't too helpful on this older stuff anyways.

Any help your guy might can offer when he returns would be greatly appreciated.

F5 for C:\
F2 for bios

After F5 (tap repeatedly during boot) it will ask you for time and date, just hit enter twice and it will bring you straight to C:\. You should be able to do whatever you want from there as long as it is functioning properly.

Just went and tried it to make sure I remembered correctly. You will need a PS2 keyboard plugged into the "test" port but I think you already got that since you mention being able to hit delete.

Also found this old thread that should help: Acu-Rite MILLPWR Datalight ROM-DOS

Certainly wouldn't hurt to try to find an ol nerd that used to do some work in DOS, there are some things that he/she should be able to help you with once you are in DOS even though they may have never even seen a mill before. Those DOS peoples are wizards, I think I will stick with the present tech!

I have heard the same about support on the old controllers and I think it is simply because the guys who lived and breathed this stuff have all retired. At least I know that one did because he used to be the contact before I started where I am now and he gone.

hsracer201 · May 27, 2020

EOLSON said:
F5 for C:\
F2 for bios

After F5 (tap repeatedly during boot) it will ask you for time and date, just hit enter twice and it will bring you straight to C:\. You should be able to do whatever you want from there as long as it is functioning properly.

Just went and tried it to make sure I remembered correctly. You will need a PS2 keyboard plugged into the "test" port but I think you already got that since you mention being able to hit delete.

Also found this old thread that should help: Acu-Rite MILLPWR Datalight ROM-DOS

Certainly wouldn't hurt to try to find an ol nerd that used to do some work in DOS, there are some things that he/she should be able to help you with once you are in DOS even though they may have never even seen a mill before. Those DOS peoples are wizards, I think I will stick with the present tech!

I have heard the same about support on the old controllers and I think it is simply because the guys who lived and breathed this stuff have all retired. At least I know that one did because he used to be the contact before I started where I am now and he gone.

Thank you! I do have a keyboard and while I have tried the function keys I will try them again tonight when I try all the things mentioned thus far.

hsracer201 · May 28, 2020

HWElecRepair said:
Does this pop up before the beeps? My guess is a corrupt software/hard drive. Could also be the motherboard.

If you have the boot disk in and it isnt booting from that from the get go, then my money is on your motherboard.

What is your 5/12VDC looking like at your hard drive? black to red is 5VDC and black to yellow is 12VDC? Having a weak signal to the hard drive or computer could cause this.

Jon
H&W Machine Repair

I checked voltage at the back of the hard drive last night and it is exactly as you said it should be.

hsracer201 · May 28, 2020

F5 worked for C:

Thank you very much. I still do not know what I'm doing but I learned how to run the directory for the C drive and for millpwr. I don't know what this means or what to do with it, but that's what's in there. I'm guessing I need to erase what is there and put the new files on?

EOLSON · May 28, 2020

Wonderful! Attached is a photo of what my boot screen looks like after F5 as well as all the main bios settings. If you'd like me to dig into the bios deeper I can. I am about out of help for you because I have no experience in creating a new drive to boot from. I can say, however, that it will be worth spending some time to figure out if all the files you need are already there because there is a lot of settings that you have to fiddle with when setting up a new machine. Don't give up, Acurite controllers are extremely useful after you learn them well!

Can you get to bios after hitting F2?

hsracer201 · May 28, 2020

EOLSON said:
Wonderful! Attached is a photo of what my boot screen looks like after F5 as well as all the main bios settings. If you'd like me to dig into the bios deeper I can. I am about out of help for you because I have no experience in creating a new drive to boot from. I can say, however, that it will be worth spending some time to figure out if all the files you need are already there because there is a lot of settings that you have to fiddle with when setting up a new machine. Don't give up, Acurite controllers are extremely useful after you learn them well!

Can you get to bios after hitting F2?

View attachment 289982 View attachment 289981 View attachment 289980 View attachment 289979

No, F2 doesn't appear to do anything on this keyboard. I can, however, use the Delete key to get to the BIOS.

It looks like you have both a newer display and a newer BIOS than I do.

I dug around in my phone and found a pic of the BIOS back before I cleaned the screen, so excuse the gunk.

And the inevitable error code:

EOLSON · May 28, 2020

See if you can dig into the bios and find a factory reset. Try that and if not I would grab the software off Acurite website and install on a flash card or floppy or whatever your rig can take to boot from. Then, you'll have to change the boot drive in the bios and try from there. I would not delete what is on the main drive until you can get an aux drive working properly.

Check out this old thread. Just might help. Don't know if any of the guys that put out phone number on it are still around but worth a shot I'd say.

MillPWR Help!

hsracer201 · Jun 6, 2020

With the help of a computer programmer friend of mine the mill now boots up Millpwr and I get the DRO screen. The machine will not home, and using the up, down, left and right keys on the controller does not move the table at all.

Any idea where to go from here?

Pressing datum, then "home machine" per the manual doesn't do anything. Hitting the soft key to move the table simply tells me the machine isn't homed. The reference lines on the scales are lined up, but it doesn't do anything whether they are or are not.

:willy_nilly:

hsracer201 · Jun 7, 2020

I’m getting this Servo drive fault msg when I attempt to home the machine. Does anyone know if this is a software issue or hardware?

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

EOLSON · Jun 9, 2020

Great to see you got it to boot up! I would start with checking all your wiring to make sure that the controller is sending some kind of signal to the motor and that the voltage is correct everywhere. From there it could be parameters. Verify mechanical and electrical first, then start to think about software/parameters.

HWElecRepair · Jun 10, 2020

Before you attempt to home the machine, move all 3 axis by hand. Do they count in the proper direction and proper count? When you press find home, do any of the axis move at all?

What is your 5/12VDC signals on the power supply? You stated they were exactly what they should be, except those tolerences for those voltages can be pretty tight. If your 12VDC signal is too high, you could have killed your BMDC. Your BMDC is the long skinny board in the computer. You should be able to see a blinking light near the upper edge. Is it blinking on/off every other second or once every 3 seconds? If it isn't blinking at all or is blinking once every 3 seconds, your BMDC is not properly communicating with the computer.

If you follow the link shown above, it gives Acu-Rites number, but they dont work on the black and white MillPWRs anymore.

Jon
H&W Machine Repair

hsracer201 · Jun 10, 2020

HWElecRepair said:
Before you attempt to home the machine, move all 3 axis by hand. Do they count in the proper direction and proper count? When you press find home, do any of the axis move at all?

The DRO does count correctly in both directions of each axis, so I know there is some form of communication going on. When I press home there is no movement of either axis at all. Neither axis moves with the directional arrows on the controller either.

HWElecRepair said:
What is your 5/12VDC signals on the power supply? You stated they were exactly what they should be, except those tolerences for those voltages can be pretty tight. If your 12VDC signal is too high, you could have killed your BMDC. Your BMDC is the long skinny board in the computer. You should be able to see a blinking light near the upper edge. Is it blinking on/off every other second or once every 3 seconds? If it isn't blinking at all or is blinking once every 3 seconds, your BMDC is not properly communicating with the computer.

Perhaps I measured the wrong thing earlier? I measured the voltage going into the hard drive and it was 5/12. I didn't measure anything on the power supply board itself. I can check that tonight.

There is a red light that comes on for about one second, every two seconds.

HWElecRepair · Jun 11, 2020

I mean what exactly is the voltages? Does your DMM show 5.0 and 12.0VDC? The tolerences for these being good are about .2VDC. Knowing what exactly the power supply is putting out can be helpful in many ways.

If your light is blinking once every 2 or 3 seconds, then your BMDC is not properly communicating with the computer. That can be that it is bad or that it isnt seated properly or came loose.

Jon

Many questions about Acu-rite Millpwr 1.3.1 - Boot disk?

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