SignShop Serial/Parallel connectivity

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My company is changing platforms from PC to Mac, I'm getting a brand new Macpro. Problem is that along with design, I run a sign production shop in which the Mac will be used.

I have an engraving machine that has either Serial or Parallel connectivity only, What can I do to connect to this machine effectively?

And, does anybody work in signshop that knows of software for engraving and routing?
 

cwa107


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My company is changing platforms from PC to Mac, I'm getting a brand new Macpro. Problem is that along with design, I run a sign production shop in which the Mac will be used.

I have an engraving machine that has either Serial or Parallel connectivity only, What can I do to connect to this machine effectively?

And, does anybody work in signshop that knows of software for engraving and routing?

You can typically use a USB to Serial or USB to Parallel adapter. The difficult part will be finding drivers that work with the engraving machine. For that, I would check with the manufacturer of the machine.
 
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A little paronoid about the conversion cables, wouldn't an expansion card with serial or parrallel connections be more reliable?


Manufacturer has disk with software and driver for old OS (1999), hoping this will work, I might have to load OS9. Worst case would be to run Windows just for this machine.
 

cwa107


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A little paronoid about the conversion cables, wouldn't an expansion card with serial or parrallel connections be more reliable?


Manufacturer has disk with software and driver for old OS (1999), hoping this will work, I might have to load OS9. Worst case would be to run Windows just for this machine.

I'm not familiar with PCI cards that offer this kind of expansion for the Mac, but I have used Parallel and Serial adapters - they seem to work well.

OS9 doesn't run on Intel Macs. I'm not sure how or if older drivers will function on OS X. Have you actually spoken with the manufacturer? That would be the first thing I'd try.
 
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Sounds like there are a couple of possible solutions. One would be to run Windows in Virtualbox/VMware/Parallels and use a usb adapter. Another could be to boot camp Windows, but it sounds like you probably wouldn't need to do that. You also could buy an old G3/G4 tower with OS9 on it for very cheap on ebay to use solely for the engraver and use the Mac Pro for all other needs. Good luck!
 
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Looks like I will have to get Paralles for the Machine, still somewhat concerned with the driver, does anyone know if Windows running on a Mac, treat the ports as it would if it were running on a PC platform
 

cwa107


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Looks like I will have to get Paralles for the Machine, still somewhat concerned with the driver, does anyone know if Windows running on a Mac, treat the ports as it would if it were running on a PC platform

My guess is that when you tell Parallels to connect the USB device, Windows will pick it up as a Parallel (or Serial) port adapter, adding it to its ports and then the driver should work under Windows.

It might be better to run Windows under Bootcamp to take that added bit of complexity out of the equation, although that might not be optimal if you need to run a Mac application at the same time as you run the machine or share data back and forth.

Have you actually contacted the vendor? They may have released an updated driver aside from the one originally provided with the machine.
 
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Vendor is Roland who apparently is anti Mac, along with all the other Sign Software makers, it looks as though I will have to run windows(SP2) under Parallels and interface USB with serial conversion to engraver.

Do I really need full version of XP SP2, does anybody know this for sure or can I cheat it in the system?
 

cwa107


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Vendor is Roland who apparently is anti Mac, along with all the other Sign Software makers, it looks as though I will have to run windows(SP2) under Parallels and interface USB with serial conversion to engraver.

Do I really need full version of XP SP2, does anybody know this for sure or can I cheat it in the system?

If you're asking whether you need the full retail, boxed version of Windows XP SP2, then no - you can purchase an OEM version for system builders. This is distinct from an OEM "restore" disk or an OEM branded disc. It must be a true, non-vendor-specific OEM install disc. A good example is here. Although some vendors will require that you purchase a piece of hardware to qualify the product.
 
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Problem solved, I got a usb to serial converter, tested it on the PC which required me to load the driver and was able to run router.

Next step - get this MacPro powerhouse to work, I loaded bootcamp then loaded new XP home ($200.00). Wow! it actually works, I then installed the driver for the converter; which I was sweating, through XP and Voila! there it was, I've yet to load the Sign software and have yet to recieve CS3 suite, but it seems that everything will work.

Thanks for the guidance.
 

cwa107


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Glad to hear you got it working.
 

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