Cool, David! Ta very much. Awfully nice of you. Don't send too much. I'll probably balls it up anyway.
The following is an email I sent to a friend of mine. After I sent it, I thought you folks might find it enjoyable too.
Well I spent $55 on computer examination, only to be told the bits I thought were shagged......actually were shagged! Excellent detective work, guys.
Here is how today unfolded. Sit down and get yourself comfortable.
CD Drive is buggered. New ones are different type, won't work. They don't make the correct ones any more, and they don't have any second hand ones.
Hard Disk is good. Yippee. Unfortunately Windows is corrupted and needs reloading. I don't have the disks, and if I did, they would be a CD rom, which doesn't work. If CD did work, can't register old versions of Windows anymore for two reasons.
First reason - they don't have licence to sell old windows versions.
Second reason - the windows site to register old versions has been shut down.
This means even if I DID get a new disk, and if the CD rom DID work, and if the computer guys DID have a licence to sell them, I STILL COULDN'T REGISTER THE SOFTWARE, so it wouldn't be any use!!!!
Moving on. I went to another shop that sells obsolete computers and parts, and asked for an IDE type CD rom. Was given one, and paid $50 for the privilege. Took it back to the guys that had my computer, and gave it to them to install. At this point I had just about had a gut full of the whole process, so you can imagine how I felt when the guy picked up the CD rom and promptly exclaimed.......it wasn't an IDE drive at all. It was a SATA (or something similar). I took it back to the place I purchased it from and got my money back.
By this point, it was looking ever increasingly like that computer wouldn't be getting used for anything. They did have some second hand computers for sale, but none that had the parallel port I needed, so they weren't considered an option either.
I go back to searching forums for problems documented on the type of cutter I have, and hope to see a glimmer of hope in the replies to those problems. I find several similar complaints about modern computers not having a parallel port, which means the cutter can't be used. After reading all of these, I see a common theme, where an adaptor cable has been used. This cable, instead of parallel to parallel, is USB on computer end and parallel on printer/cutter end. Hmmmmm. I ring every computer place in town (OK, well maybe I missed a couple) to ask for one. Nobody has one. Some didn't know such a thing exists! Damn. I ask the original computer store if they can get me one. They can, but can't let me know ahead of time how much that would be, because the worker with password to THEIR SYSTEM is out of the office and they can't unlock the computer they order with. About this time I'm really having doubts about these guys, though they were to redeem themselves in a minute or so (in two VERY DRAMATIC ways actually). They suggested I try the local electronics shop, they 'usually have everything'. The other redeem nearly saw me give him a kiss on the lips, but I resisted, as he probably hadn't kissed anyone since he became an IT nerd anyway. He casually mentions, oh yeah, nearly forgot, we found what was wrong with the cutter AND FIXED IT! Nice one lad. At some stage, vermin had gotten into the case of the cutter and gnawed two wires. The wires were easily repaired with a soldering iron. No charge. CUTTER IS NOW FIXED, although I still need to replace the pinch roller, but that will seem an anti climax compared to todays adventures.
With fresh vigor in my step, I go to the electronics shop. I ask for the desired cable, and one is taken down from the shelf. Bugger me. After the quickest trip home since we moved there, I start what will be a lazy 2 hours trying to get the appropriate device driver to work. After running several diagnostic tests (within the cutting sortware I had bought) the cutter comes to life and commences what I call a "phantom" cut. I had removed the cutting pen, and covered the sensor that detects the roll of vinyl, so it would think things were right to commence cutting.
All in all a painful day, but a VERY satisfying end to that day. Once the new pinch rollers arrive, I'm set to start using the machine. I will use the wait time to familiarise myself with the software and the cutter user manual.
Stencils anyone?
Tony Baker