411 woes: PMDX: Invalid or unknown PMDX-SmartBOB-USB device found

[Mark3796]

Hi,
I’m running Mach4Hobby_4.2.0.4162 on a Surface Book 2, Windows 10 Pro 1809, OS b 17763.529
I had a lot of trouble getting the Com port installed. I now have STMicroelectronics Virtual COM Port V 1.4.0.0 showing in my Device Driver. Bits per second: 9600, Data bits: 8, Parity: None, Stop bits: 1, Flow control: None.
Unfortunately, Mach 4 is not playing nice with PMDX 411. The following is some history (with duplicate lines removed for concision).

PMDX: Communication status 'Sync'd to Device'
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Communication error 'Lost Sync'
PMDX: Could not disable the PMDX-SmartBOB-USB, error 'Cannot communicate with device'
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Spindle speed failed for RPM 0, max RPM 10000, Cannot communicate with device
PMDX: Could not disable the PMDX-SmartBOB-USB, error 'Cannot communicate with device'
E-Stop cleared!
--------------------------------------------------
PMDX: Could not enable the PMDX-SmartBOB-USB, error 'Cannot communicate with device'
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Invalid or unknown PMDX-SmartBOB-USB device found
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Spindle speed failed for RPM 0, max RPM 10000, Cannot communicate with device
PMDX: Invalid or unknown PMDX-SmartBOB-USB device found
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Invalid or unknown PMDX-SmartBOB-USB device found
Lua: Error occurred while opening file
cannot open C:\Mach4Hobby\Profiles\MarkCNC\Macros\mcLua.mcc: No such file or directory
PMDX: Spindle speed failed for RPM 0, max RPM 10000, Cannot communicate with device
PMDX: Invalid or unknown PMDX-SmartBOB-USB device found
E-Stop cleared!

[12strings]

f you have version 1.4 of the virtual COM port driver, does that mean you've already been through the "uninstall and re-install the virtual COM port driver" steps?

If so, I can think of a couple of things to try.

1) Is this a USB3 port on the PC?  If so, do you have a USB2 port, or are they all USB3 on the Surface? It should work on a USB3 port, but doesn't hurt to try a different port.

2) Un-plug the PMDX-411 from the USB.  Open up Windows Device Manager (right-click the Windows icon in the lower left of the screen then select "device manager".  Geeze, on the touch screen version (is that what you run on your Surface?) I'm not sure... maybe type "device manager" into the Windows search box.  When Device manager is running, expand the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section.  Now plug the PMDX-411 into the USB.  Do you see something like "STMicroelectronics Virtual COM Port (COMxx)" appear?  If not, something is (still) hosed in the virtual COM driver install.  As I recall from when I had this issue on a PC, the virtual COM driver install is actually 2 install steps in a single installer.  And once in  a while the 2nd install step doesn't work and it doesn't tell you it didn't work.  But manually uninstalling and re-installing the driver fixed that for me.  See https://faq.pmdx.com/content/2/8/en/how-to-manually-install-the-virtual-com-port-driver-version-14.html.

3) Collect a PMDX plug-in debug log and email it to PMDX along with a reference to this thread.  They may be able to see something there.  Note that this is different than the log snippets you posted, which look like they came from the mach4 diagnostics log or the status window history.  See https://faq.pmdx.com/content/2/3/en/how-to-capture-a-debug-log-file-and-send-to-pmdx.html

4) On some of my Win10 systems, I've had luck un-installing the PMDX-provided virtual COM port driver, plugging in the PMDX device and letting Windows install its own driver (called the "in box" driver 'cause it "came in the box with Win10").  If you have already gone through the uninstall/reinstall to get version 1.4, you can try this.  If you haven't already done the uninstall/reinstall, maybe skip this step and stick with the first suggestion.

[Mark3796]

Thanks for your reply 12strings.
You are quite right I have uninstalled and re-installed the COM port driver several times. The 1.4.0.0 version I got from another FAQ post (I think it was for the PMDX 422). It was the only one I could get to run. It now shows up in my Device Manager.
Again you are right. The Surface book has two USB ports. They are both USB 3.
The behaviour is sporadic and quite random. Nearly every time I plug the PMDX-411 into the USB I get an error message "USB device not recognised The last USB device you connected malfunctioned and Windows does not recognise it."
That's why I included the properties from the COM port settings. "Device Driver. Bits per second: 9600, Data bits: 8, Parity: None, Stop bits: 1, Flow control: None." My first machine was an X-Carve, running Universal G Code Sender through an Arduino (Grbl) and a CNC Shield. With that setup, the Baud Rate was critical. Anything slower than 115200 and the Arduino would not respond. I was wondering if there might be something wrong with the default COM port settings. I have no idea what is in the PMDX-411, but I'm guessing it must be some kind of STMicroelectronics chip, given that's the COM port driver. I even hunted around and found an installer for an  STMicroelectronics Virtual COM Port V 1.5.0.0. but had no luck with that either.
The behaviour has also deteriorated. At one point I actually had my home-built CNC router up and running to the point of being able to jog the motors. That was after I managed to clear the E-stop--thanks for your reply on that one as well. Unfortunately, everything stopped working shortly after that and I have had no luck since.
I sent a de-bug report to Support@PMDX.
Any tips or clues will be appreciated.

[12strings]

Most programs ignore the default port settings in Windows and configure their own settings.

Try un-installing the ST VCom driver, then plug the PMDX-411 into the USB and let Windows find its own driver.  ST recommends NOT using their driver on Win10 and using the "in box" Windows driver instead.

Did you try the other USB port on your PC?  Or a really basic question - have you tried a different USB cable? (gotta try the simple/stupid ideas before the complicated ones).

Do you have another PC that you can try?  See if the PMDX-411 works with that PC any better/worse/same as your Surface.

[Mark3796]

Thanks 12strings, all good questions and worth asking.
I have tried both USB ports on the Surface. Same result.
The USBs on the surface seem fine. Other things work fine.
I tried the PMDX-411 on my old machine, which is a more traditional desk top with USB 2 ports. It also runs Windows 10 though, and I got the same result. First time I plugged it in I got the "USB device not recognised The last USB device you connected malfunctioned and Windows does not recognise it." message. The second time I plugged it in I got the ST32 Virtual COM port in FS mode. This was all without attempting to install any drivers and letting Win10 use the "in the box" driver. I tired troubleshooting, tried Win 10 updating the driver, still no luck. And yeah, I'm not using any extra cables, just the 16" one that is built into the PMDX-411.
Googling "ST32 Virtual COM port in FS mode" brings up a lot of puzzled posts on this topic. Looks like I'm not the only one with this problem.
I'm wondering if it's a Win 10 issue.
Cheers, Mark

[Mark3796]

Don't know if this is relevant,
https://community.st.com/s/question/0D50X00009XkXrSSAV/st-link-v2-virtual-com-port-driver-not-working-on-windows-10
I think they are discussing this:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/usb-driver-installation-based-on-compatible-ids
I read through this thinking there might something I could do on my side, but this is for developers and way over my head.

[12strings]

That info is definitely for developers.

I have several PMDX devices working with my Win10 systems.  Not that this necessarily helps you, but shows that it can happen :)  And I'm using version 1.3.1 of the ST VCOM drivers.

The fact that the device showed up once as "STMicroelectronics Virtual COM port in FS mode" looks like the 2-part ST driver only installed 1 of the 2 pieces.  That happened on one of my systems.  Though for me, going through the manual in-install and re-install fixed it.

Does your Win10 user account have administrator privileges?  Mine does.  Don't know if that makes a difference.

Maybe try this (a shot in the dark):
- With the PMDX-411 disconnected from the PC, uninstall the ST drivers.
- Then open Device Manager, go to the View menu and select "Show Hidden Devices".
- Still in Device Manager, expand the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section.
- If you see any STMicro devices listed, right-click and select "uninstall device".
- Go to the "View" menu and un-check "show hidden devices"
- Close Device Manager
- Re-install the ST VCOM driver (ver 1.4.0???)

See if that makes any difference.  Aside from that, I don't know what other help I can provide, other than someone to listen to your problems :)

[12strings]

One more thing - I installed the ST drivers on my Win10 PC just over a year ago.  Knowing Microsoft, it is possible that some Win10 update in the past year or so has affected the way the ST drivers install.  If I can get up the courage, I will try un-installing the drivers from my PC, then re-installing them and see what happens.

[12strings]

Do you have a non-Win10 PC that you can try your PMDX-411 on?  Yeah, it means at least temporarily installing Mach4 and the PMDX plug-in on it, but you won't need a license.  Mach4 demo mode will suffice.  If the PMDX-411 is recognized and Mach4/PMDX Plugin can communicate with it, that at least shows that the PMDX-411 is OK.

[Mark3796]

OK, so I had a flaky unit. I sent it back to Steve and he tested it and replaced it with a new one. Apparently there was an intermittent connection on the board. That would explain the inconsistent behaviour. This one works fine now. I have to say that was great backup.
I have a new problem now, that maybe more to do with Mach4 than the PMDX unit. I will ask the question here, in case someone can answer it. I'll ask it over at the Mach4 forums as well.
I am in the process of setting up my machine. Changing the motor settings in Mach4 configuration motor settings works for all of the axis except the z-axis. It doesn't seem to matter how many steps I put into the dialog, the motor always moves the axis about 5 mm when jogging. It's got me baffled.

[12strings]

Could the motor be cogging?  Z axis motors have to work harder than x & y, at least when moving up.  Try making the acceleration and max velocity half their current values.

[Mark3796]

Nope, it's definitely not cogging. I'm using a Tr8*8(P2) metric lead screw. It travels about 6 mm up or down, so that means it does about 3 revolutions. It travels this amount regardless of whether I put in a value of 20, 200, 1000 or 10000 in steps per unit.

[12strings]

What you are doing to try and move that axis?  Jogging (continuous?  step?)?  G-code commands?

What does the DRO for that axis show?  Does it show the expected motion?  Even for all the different "steps/unit" settings?

Is it at all possible that you are changing the "steps/unit" for a motor other than the one assigned to this axis?  Yeah, this is almost like tech support asking if the computer is powered on - no offense intended.  Can you change the "steps/unit" on a different motor/axis and have it affect the motion (i.e. cut the steps/unit in half, then moving 1 inch should move 1/2 inch)?

[Mark3796]

Hi 12strings,
I think this problem was related to my other post here:
https://www.pmdx.com/PMDX-Forums/index.php?topic=593.0;topicseen
"Lua: Error occurred while opening file. Is this a problem?"
It's the middle of the night here (1:14 am, cold winter night!). But you may have fixed the problem in the other post. In the morning, I will try again.
Just for the record, I was jogging, step.
You'll have to help me out with the DRO? Not sure what that means.
I appreciate your humour! That was a very tech support question! I was originally only having this problem with the Z-axis, but yesterday I was getting it on the x axis as well.

[12strings]

"DRO" means "digital read out".  These are the numeric displays that show the position for each axis.  See the picture I hope I've attached.  And I'll trade you some of our 95 degrees (F, that's 35 C to you :) for some of your cold!