New CW, but the menu isn't cooperating.

[jamsessionein]

I just got a new CW via Sears, and have spent the morning unpacking it and setting it up as per the manual's instructions. Prior to this, I've been running the carvewright software in demonstration mode, because I wanted to get a handle on how the program worked before I got the machine.

Now, I seem to be stuck. I plug the machine in, put the memory card in, and turn the machine on, and the display simply reads:


Carvewright
Woodworking Machine

That's it - it doesn't go any farther or display anything else, regardless of what I do or press. The memory card has the firmware installed on it via the flash manager, but it has no projects on it right now.

I read this thread:
http://www.carvewright.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7018

Which says that the firmware has to be on the card, as well as at least one basic project, to get it working. Fine, I think to myself, and I try saving my project to the memory card from my computer.

The demonstration mode then tells me that I need to register the software to export to the card.

Sigh. Alright. I go to fill in the registration information, until I get down to 'machine serial#'. I go and look through the manual to see where this information could be located on the machine, and it tells me that it's a menu option on the machine itself to make it display the serial through the LCD.

Which... won't do anything, probably because I don't have any projects on the card.

I'm either being silly and missing something simple to make the keypad and display work properly (show me the menu!), or this is a catch-22 where it needs the serial number to put a project on the card, but it needs a project on the card to show a serial number.

[Gunner]

Right side of machine just above power cord.

[forqnc]

If you are looking at the keypad, on the right hand side under the out feed table is a sticker with the serial number should be AR.000.000 format with the zero's being your numbers
Good Luck

[jamsessionein]

Well, I managed to get the software properly registered, so thanks for the help with that particular aspect.

However, I'm still not having much success with the menu itself. I've got a project on the card, the firmware is installed on the card, the card is inserted, but it refuses to say anything other than 'Carvewright Woodworking Machine'. I am basically just trying to get the machine to the point where I can have it measure a piece of wood, as a way of testing both that I can get it running and that I know how to properly install the wood into the machine.

What could be causing it to be unresponsive? I don't have a carving bit installed in the machine presently - is that a prerequisite to the machine's operation even if I want to do something like measure a board? The manual is not particularly helpful in this regard.

[Jeff_Birt]

Give CW tech support a call. I seem to remember that this same problem popped up a few months ago and it turned out to be a defective card. The CW guys will get you fixed up.