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We've been using Casmate 6.5 for a number of years. For about 1 year now, when I send a message to my vinyl cutter- I can only do 3 cutting jobs, then I have to close out Casmate and then reopen Casmate before I can cut again. Does anyone know how to fix this? Normally i don't mind it, but I am about do do a job that will require about 70 different cutting jobs. Ernie reformated the hard drive because of other problems, but this problem still exists.
Thanks for any advice.
Diane Balch
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1701 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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Diane: You are describing what I live with ever since I installed Casmate and used a crack-the code install to get around using the dongle. (they are out of business and it's what had to be done, for reasons I no longer remember)
I have not found a way to stop this problem, except to learn SignLab, and work in it 95 percent of the time, and in Casmate only on old files for one reason or another. When I have to restart Casmate and re-send my plot, I always say a little thank you for at least not having to re-boot, which is what I have to do when Casmate crashes. Saving your work becomes a finger-jerk constant when you have this problem to deal with.
Sorry, have no fix for you, but wanted to commiserate and tell you that you are not alone. If you decide to bite the bullet and look into SignLab, it imports Casmate files quite well if you convert them to curves first.
-------------------- Myra A. Grozinger Signs Limited Winston-Salem, NC
signslimited@triad.rr.com Posts: 1244 | From: Winston-Salem, NC USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'll be damned - won't spend $1000 bucks on another program as long as I can run Windows 98. I have learned (and remind Ernie) to save very frequently when using Casmate.
Diane
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1701 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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I've been using CASmate for 5 years now.....its about all I ever use. I can pretty much predict to a tee when its going to crash.......moving in and out of files is always dangerous, especially tiling.......auto clean up sometimes or canceling an import, thats often a no no.
I can't say I've ever noticed this problem with cutting.....but I do understand many of the problems with CASmate.....and yes I too save often.
Having said all that, I'm still not ready to part with CASmate.
I think its more of a compatablity issue with windows than the program itself.
wish I could be of more help Diane......best of luck
-------------------- John Martin Robson Pendragon Signs & Graphics Yellowknife,NT,Canada
if it's not one thing.....it's two things Posts: 261 | From: Yellowknife, NT, Canada | Registered: Aug 2000
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sounds yo me like a "systems resourse" problem. this is not a problem with the program but a windows problem and how windows uses its system resourses. 1st get norton utilities, run speed disk after you empty the window TEMP & INTERNET TEMP FILES. then EMPTY RECYCLE BIN. now run the speed disk. when its done then reboot the computer. now in the lower right corner of your desktop next to the time, you will see a bunch of small icons, close as many of these as you can. they are all programs that are running in the background and using up sys resourses. once you got all these closed, find the my computer icon, right click, anf then open properties, then open tab for performance....look at your system resources. should be 80-90%. now go to work in casmate, and then check your sys res. every now and then, once it goes below 65% the machine will do dumb stuff.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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another commiserator here. I use Casmate every day & have also learned to save often, & to anticipate when I usually will crash. I never encountered the 3 cuts & your out deal though. I used the dongle emmulation program for a while. I had forgotten that I stopped having to reboot the computer in order to relaunch the program after a crash. I guesss I should run that thing again.
Anyway I wanted to suggest you contact Paul or Terry at Castek Resources They are the best CasMate tech support by far that I have encountered.
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Any problems I had with casmate (and inspire) disappeared when I upgraded to a Pentium 4 with 512 RAM. They both run flawlessly now........GO FIGURE!!!!!!
[ April 17, 2003, 08:36 AM: Message edited by: Bob Burns ]
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In July of 2003, Casmate is schedules to crystallize on our screens and never work again according to the destroy date built in by the manufacturer.
Joking aside, that limit is nothing I've ever run into before. I think I'd go delete the cas.ini file from the windows directory and then open Casmate and let it rebuild that file, or perhaps delete that file and all of Casmate and re-load it after saving all your casmate files somewhere. Maybe that's what you did with the re format. I don't see anything in the set up that might limit the cutt repeats. What plotter are you using? Did it always do that? I certainly hope I don't start getting that here as a sympathetic response!
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Rick We have been using casmate and a graphtec fc-2100 plotter for 9 years. This problem started about 1 year ago. I've been using the same computer for the past 2-3 years. i haven't hooked this plotter up to the other 2 computers that have casmate, to see if it does the same thing.
Diane
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1701 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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this wouldn't have buy any chance started once you put the dongle emulation program on? I've seen a few of these "cracks" that were buggy and did wierd things.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 912 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Diane: The problem (we referred to it as the 'three and out' bug) existed in CASmate version 6.5 or 6.51 as I recall.
There was a problem with the Plotmate.DLL file which caused the plotter to only be able to plot three times before it stopped communicating with the plotter. After that, the job spooled out to never-never land.
The fix for this problem is to replace that file with a newer version of the file which does not have that problem. I know that CASmate version 6.52 solved the problem- this is a bug-fix version of 6.5x, and should run fine without needing any upgrade codes.
Let me know if you need the CD-ROM for 6.52; we would be happy to burn one for you if need be.
-------------------- Terry Lee Castek Resources Interactive San Juan Capistrano CA. USA Posts: 20 | From: San Juan Capistrano CA. | Registered: Sep 2001
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I've had crashes too at times but got used to it. One thing I did find that when I was going to upgrade to Windows XP, CasMAte did NOT like it at all. I couldn't get CasMAte to even cut. So I went back to ME. I thought it was because my version CasMAte Pro 6 was old, at least I thought it was. Judy
-------------------- Judy Hilliker/owner Hae Jude Custom Signs Silver Creek, NY www.haejude.com Posts: 65 | From: Silver Creek, NY 14136 USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Terry and Doug --- thank you for your replies. Terry check the e-mail for technical support- I clicked on the link thatDoug Allen posted and sent you an e-mail at that address. I would like a cd of version 6.52.
What a nice way to end a very nice day!
Diane
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1701 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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Now if I can get Timi to come over and help me fix this..... I thought I probably had not a chance to fix this with a cracked version of Casmate. (I remembered why I in spite of two dongles in the drawer I used the crack, I either needed the port, or not queue up plugs, or something like that) Computers have ruined my life Myra to Timi.......
-------------------- Myra A. Grozinger Signs Limited Winston-Salem, NC
signslimited@triad.rr.com Posts: 1244 | From: Winston-Salem, NC USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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