John - Thanks for the suggestion, but may other machines are laptops. This is such a pain. And of course a client gave me a new rush project yesterday that they need for Monday!

gcode - Cancel my last post. Yes, I've done this and it didn't make any difference.

gcode - Hmmm, not sure of this. How do you do this?

A clue, perhaps? Using Task Manager, I noticed CPU usage increases to about 30% when the display locks up. As soon as the display unfreezes, usage goes back down to less than 5%.

gcode - No, I haven't done that.

Updating the video card driver wasn't the answer. I've still got the problem. Arrggghhhh!!!

The problem didn't recur today after I updated to the latest NVIDEA driver. Let's see what happens tomorrow . . . .

NVIDEA Quadro FX 570 video card. I just tried updating its driver. Let's see what happens . . . .

I'm running X6 MU2 under XP. Recently I've had a problem where my computer (Dell Precision 5400) temporarily freezes and the screen goes all black whenever any command is entered in MC. After hanging for 30 seconds or so, functionality returns. The problem will repeat itself at random intervals throughout the session. I've checked that all Windows updates have been installed and that my BIOS is current. Today I uninstalled MC and then re-installed, but this didn't make a difference. The problem is the same regardless of whether I've got any other applications running. Any ideas what I should try next (other than a large hammer)?

Success!! .net framework was the problem. John, I can't thank you enough for all of your help!!!

How do I do this? I was confused by the website you gave me the link to.

I've already tried deleting the registry key. Same result.

.mtb file is 105k

John - I tried renaming the .config file as you suggested. Same result. Crashes at "Reading key mapping file".

Maybe this is a clue. The startup always fails at the same moment and that is when "Reading key mapping file" is shown on the screen.

Chris - No, this didn't do it. Mick - I have not installed anything new. In Windows Restore, no matter what date I pick I get a message that the rollback cannot be completed. Any other ideas? Thanks.

Been using X6 for months without problems. Today it won't start. It tries, but after a few seconds the 'Crash Reporter' opens and that's it. Tried updating the HASP. Tried re-booting. Tried repairing the program. Tried uninstalling and then re-installing. None of these made any difference. It still won't start and I've got a big project due on Monday. HELP!

Can't cut the holes with one pass - they're too deep. I need to use depth cuts.

No. This only repeats the toolpath at different depths at the same XY location.

I wonder if fifty or sixty years from now, guys will look back on what what we're making with the same sort of awe and respect as we have for our predecessors?

I'm cutting more than eighty holes in a part using the Circle Mill toolpath. Since all of the holes are the same diameter, I want to use a subprogram to minimize the program's size. How can I do this? A Transform Toolpath is out since there's no regular pattern to the holes.

Perfect. Thanks!

I use M54/M64 to turn on/off an air blast to clear chips. I've modified my MPFAN post so that these calls appear in my Canned Text menu. Inserting them before, with, or after the tool change block is no problem. There are some times, however, that I want to insert them at specific points along a toolpath instead of at the tool change block. Is there a way to do this other than by manually editing the NC code?

I have a metric part to make. How do I change the units in MC?

Never mind. I found that I accidentally had 0.015" entered in Break Through. Sometimes I'm just dumb!