Content Preview
TB213 Rev3 Upgrading to v2 6x+
Hardware Requirements
CPU Requirements
 Minimum PIII 800 Mhz Recommended P4 2Ghz Recommended
Â
NOTE 2 6X should work with most motherboards but the only sure way to tell if a particular brand/model/revision motherboard will
work is for you to PERSONALLY test it Newer motherboards have a High Performance Event Timer HPET Bios setting If
running CNC Linux v2 60 this needs to be disabled You will experience the following problems if it isn't disabled
Software will start but the DRO and function keys would not display until the ESC key is pressed
The power meters will go to 100% with no motion from any axis but the axes will still hold position
When in MDI mode the block prompt won?t appear but the function keys will be there as if in MDI mode
Live PLC I/O works but no messages are displayed Estop Detected Limit Tripped etc
If you don't have the HPET Bios setting or dont want to disable it you will have to update to CNC Linux v2 61 or higher
RAM Requirements
 Minimum 256MB Recommended 512MB
Flash Card Requirements
 Minimum 1GB Recommended 2GB
Note If the older flash card is less then 1GB the flash card reader will need to be replaced Centroid sells new flash cards with the
readers for $395 list
General Requirements and Preparation
In order to upgrade to v2 6x CNC software a new compact flash card and reader is required You simply cannot just upgrade with an
upgrade disk/usb To simplify the upgrade to 2 6x there are helper scripts that can be downloaded at
www centroidcnc com/dealersupport/downloads/software/linux/helperscripts zip The zip file will contain 3 folders backup restore and
current_backup Extract the zip file onto an empty 2GB USB storage device The script files within these folders will be used to
automatically back up and restore the system files for either Mill or Lathe controls You can order a pre loaded flash card and reader
from tech support or you can build your own If you choose to build you own v2 6x flash card Download the 2 6x ISO file Using your
desktop burn the ISO to CD and with a new flash card installed in your PC's reader Boot from CD and follow the instructions to create
new flach card HD for the control Note DO NOT use this ISO on an existing system
Performing the Upgrade using the helper scripts
1 Insert the USB device with the "helper scripts" folders
2 Press F7 Utility then F2 Update
3 Select the install sh file in the backup folder on the USB device This will backup the g code intercon and report files all in one
4 Once the files are backed you will need to power off From the main screen Press F10 Shutdown then F2 Power Off
5 Replace the old compact flash card with the new one
6 Power the system back on
7 Press F6 Update
Note This is assuming the new flash card doesn't have a demo code or permanent unlocks If the flash card isn't locked out of
software then you would go to F7 Utility F2 Update
8 Select the install sh file in the restore folder on the USB device This will restore the g code intercon and report files all in one
9 Once the files are restored up it will prompt you to power off Press F2 Power Off to power down the control
10 Power the system back on
11 Test the system after the reboot Be sure that the G code files and Intercon programs have been restored Check the machine
configuration For an ATC system use ALT K to check the carousel position and verify that the tool library is correct
Note A copy of the backup is saved on the USB device whenever an upgrade is performed using the helper scripts This backup will
be save in a created folder that is named with the current date and time As more and more systems are updated additions folders will
be created with saved backups These backups should be periodically removed from the USB device so there is room for other
updates
For systems that do not have USB support a report and backup of the CNC/ICN files will need to be created manually on floppy disks
Then you can update the report from floppy and restore the CNC/ICN files like before
Network Configuration
If the system was setup to use DHCP then the networking configuration will not change If the system was using a Static IP address
then changes need to be made to not only the ifcfg eth0 file but the ifroute eth0 file as well The BOOTPROTO BROADCAST
IPADDR NETMASK and NETWORK should be modified in the ifcfg eth0 file and the GATEWAY will be modified in the ifroute eth0
file The following steps should be followed only if a network has been established before the upgrade If not please follow TB168 to
gather the information needed to setup a Static IP Â
Editing the ifcfg eth0 file
1 Type edit /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg eth0
2 Under BOOTPROTO change 'dhcp' to 'static'
3 Enter the Broadcast address under BROADCAST
4 Enter the IP address under IPADDR
5 Enter the Subnet Mask address under NETMASK
6 Enter the Network address under NETWORK
The default ifcfg eth0 file will look like this
BOOTPROTO='dhcp'
BROADCAST=''
ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
IPADDR=''
MTU=''
NAME='Ethernet Adapter'
NETMASK=''
NETWORK=''
REMOTE_IPADDR=''
STARTMODE='auto'
USERCONTROL='no'
If the control was using a static IP address of 192 168 0 3 on the network 192 168 0 0 the ifcfg eth0 file would look like this
BOOTPROTO='static'
BROADCAST='192 168 0 255'
ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
IPADDR='192 168 0 3'
MTU=''
NAME='Ethernet Adapter'
NETMASK='255 255 255 0'
NETWORK='192 168 0 0'
REMOTE_IPADDR=''
STARTMODE='auto'
USERCONTROL='no'
Editing the ifroute eth0 file
1 Type edit /etc/sysconfig/network/ifroute eth0
2 Delete the the # that is located in front of the default 192 168 0 1
3 Change the 192 168 0 1 to your current Default Gateway address
The default ifroute eth0 file is set up to use DHCP and looks like this
# route gateway remote_network device
# ======= =========== ============== ======
# default 192 168 0 1
If the control was using a static IP address of 192 168 0 3 on the network 192 168 0 0 the ifroute eth0 file would look like this
# route gateway remote_network device
# ======= =========== ============== ======
default 192 168 0 1
Accelerated X Server Driver
Support for using accelerated X server drivers depends upon the motherboard chipset Using an accelerated driver can improve
system response especially when scrolling through some menus or in the file editor By default accelerated X server support is
disabled When the system is booting a prompt will appear that looks similar to this
Available video drivers
====================
1 Keep previous default vesa
2 VESA
3 via recommended
0 choose
If no selection is made after 5 seconds the system will automatically select option 1 Since option 1 is the last selected video driver
there is no need to make a selection on every boot up
In this example option 3 via is an accelerated video driver This option will not appear if an accelerated video driver is not available
To select an accelerated video driver press the number 3 when the available video drivers are displayed In the example shown above
the "via" option would have been selected and will now be your default video driver
Option 0 can be used in the rare cases where the video driver could not be automatically detected This is not recommended and can
cause display problems If the system does have display problems you can always reboot the system It will always prompt you with
available video drives to choose and simply select a different video driver
One problem with using the accelerated video driver is that it may choose to change your display to 800x600 instead of the 1024x768
This depends upon the video chipset and/or the monitor The 800x600 resolution wont be as "crisp" as the 1024x768 In this case it
would be a matter of personal preference whether a "crisper" display is more important or faster user interface
The video driver prompt can also be accessed at a Linux prompt by typing autogen_xorg_conf script and pressing enter The system
will need to be rebooted if changes have been made
Â
Document History
Rev3 Created on 2008 05 19
by #300
Rev2 Created on 2008 05 13
by #300
Rev1 Created on 0000 00 00
by #000