Hi Guys

I have an issue that has left me tearing out my hair out...well what's left of it.

To give a bit of background. Bought a Chinese cnc router about 10 years ago. The cnc controller connects to a Dell 5150 Inspiron pc (running Windows XP) which has a Moschip MCS9835CV PCI Parallel Port Card. The cnc router has worked very well with regular use - no issues, until I left my Dell 5150 pc out in the workshop over winter - the pc no longer works.

I have a spare pc (Dell Optiplex 780) that runs on Win XP, which I hooked up and fitted the PCI card and driver to. Here is the issue:

Switch on the pc and the controller. The pc starts to boot up. Fan comes on the controller and you can hear the stepper motors getting power to them and they lock rather than being able to move by hand. This is what I would expect to happen. As soon as the Windows XP window appears on the monitor the power to the stepper motors goes off although the controller is still switched on and the fan is still running. I don't know why. As soon as the pc starts booting down the stepper motors come alive again. I can't get to the bottom of it. I've tried taking the power pack from the Dell 5150 (which I know works) and fitted it to the Dell 780 as I read that since the controller takes power from the pc the Dell 780 has a less powerful battery than the 5150 and maybe not be able to supply enough power to the controller. The issue is still the same with the 5150 power pack

I also have another old Dell pc that runs Win 7 but again the issue is still the same

Has anyone else experienced anything like this or can point me in the direction that will fix this and help my sanity

cheers Steve