Virtual Zero buttons disappeared - on 2 different PCs

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bobinsc
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 3:36 pm

Virtual Zero buttons disappeared - on 2 different PCs

Post by bobinsc »

I just ran a job Tuesday (one I frequently run) and used VZ like normal and everything was fine. After the job completed I shut everything down like normal. I went to run the same job today but didn't get the normal prompts to either use my previous VZ settings or make new ones. Then I noticed the "enable VZ" and "Setup Virtual" buttons were not even on the screen. And on the right side of the screen, only the GCODE and JOG buttons were visible, both SCAN and VIRTUAL were gone, even though the bottom of the screen indicates "Touch Probe Activated", so the SCAN button should certainly be there.

After spending an hour trying to figure this out, including starting/stopping/rebooting multiple times, the VZ options never appeared. There is a Virtual tab in the preferences screen and I checked the option to "prompt for Virtual settings when loading a new file" but it never prompts. In addition, (maybe this is normal) after I load a file the bottom status line still says "Load file". The software shows registered, and this Win XP PC has no Internet connection so I can't see it getting corrupted with malware.

In the end I pulled out my second laptop (Win7) that hasn't been used on the CNC for nearly a year, and it also has suddenly lost the VZ option buttons. Since the Win7 machine has Internet access I installed the latest build (updated from v2.1 build 16 to 2.1 build 20) and also downloaded and installed the newest firmware for the controller. Still no VZ options.

I am completely stumped. Any ideas?

Rando
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Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
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Re: Virtual Zero buttons disappeared - on 2 different PCs

Post by Rando »

If you go into the registration page, does it show the touch plate registration code is there?

There is the slight possibility that a windows "revert to previously good configuration" or similar could cause this problem, if the Windows registry reverts to a version saved before the touch plate was registered. There are variety of strange ways that can happen in Windows, typically related to failed boots, or failed updates, or reloading a "roaming" user profile from a login-server that's rarely available.

That's what I'd check first.

Thom [Rando]lph
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

bobinsc
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 3:36 pm

Re: Virtual Zero buttons disappeared - on 2 different PCs

Post by bobinsc »

Thanks for the tip, but yes, the registration page shows that everything, including the touch plate, is registered. And the touch plate works and I can use it to set Z-0. It's just that the on-screen check-box to enable VZ is gone, as well as the Virtual Setup button.

UPDATE - Turns out that you have to re-register the product every year. Once I did that, the VZ buttons appeared and it's back to normal.

Makes you wonder what happens when NWA goes out of business - all their products stop working a year later?

NWASupport
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Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 4:20 pm
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Re: Virtual Zero buttons disappeared - on 2 different PCs

Post by NWASupport »

Our software and hardware registrations are not designed to expire. Some beta versions in the past have had expiration dates, but if users with our most up to date CNC Shark Control Panel (v2.1 build 26) will not have this issue. The virtual zero capabilities can be lost if the Shark’s 2.1 software registration is not being recognized. This can happen through the events that Rando detailed above, or could be caused by other changes related to your computer or the control software. Typically re-entering the registration keys brings back all previous functionality. If you are having any issues with this or have re-installed and re-entered the keys, please contact our Technical Support department at Support@NextWaveAutomation.com

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