[Woodworker100]

a simple job in another area and it went off position again, but it carried on, then went back on course.
Now that is wierd.
You see, if it goes off course and loses position, that's probably the hardware - usually noise getting in somewhere.
But if it goes 'off course' and then back ON course, that is SW, and I would strongly suspect the CAD/CAM generated stuff. If it comes back on course then both the machine and Mach3 are likely working fine.

You need some test programs. Something to start at a central 'origin', send the machine around in circles and up and down for a while, then back to the centre origin. If it can come back to the start properly, then the machine & Mach3 are running OK. Can you write one?

Alert messages saying no virus protection may be safely ignored and even turned off IF the machine has no internet connection (wired or wireless, doesn't matter). You should NOT put any virus protection or firewall on the machine: they can screw up Mach3 badly by interrupting it at the wrong time. And of course NO internet connection.

Cheers
Roger

I spent a good hour watching youtube vids of making laptops safe for cnc use. Turned off everything that could interfere in Win 10.

The power filter coming soon, so will try those. I guess its a process of elimination. God damn it, I just want this damn thing to work. Have become scared to use the thing atm.

Thank you for advice.

[RCaffin]

Have become scared to use the thing atm.
He he he
Cheer up - we have ALL been through that stage.

Find a bit of 1/8" PVC welding rod - or something similar. Put about 80 mm of it in a collet and dry run your program - without any material on the deck. If the PVC crashes ... tough. Straighten it up.

Can you write g-code test programs?
Update: see attached zip file for 3 simple test programs. All care, ZERO responsibility!
READ the file before use.
Open ONLY with Notepad, NOT Word or Wordpad.
You can change the parameters at the start if you wish.

Cheers
Roger