quadrature output in stepconf

OK, It is the terminal output which can be important, should say exactly what the error was or at least point that way.

I suspect I know what is happening when linuxcnc fails to start, but without the error message I cannot be sure.
I probably assumed too much knowledge and familiarity with my original advice

If you have changed the loadrt stepgen line in your .hal file, have you also changed the axis settings lines?

If you look at the man page for stepgen, you will see that stepspace, dirsetup and dirhold do not apply to a type 2 stepgen and those pins will not exist.
If you are editing a stepconf generated config they will be set for a type 0 stepgen and these pins will be initiated with several setp lines per axis
You need to comment them out

Also note that the dirdelay pin will exist for a type 2 stepgen and needs to be set with a sensible delay for direction changes in nano secs
I have no idea what that figure should be, I would probably start at the same value as the dirhold was set to and see what happened.

Have you seen this as a bit more detailed account of the stepgen outputs?
www.linuxcnc.org/docs/html/hal/rtcomps.html

regards

I had read www.linuxcnc.org/docs/html/hal/rtcomps.html but when it said simulation, i overlooked it in favor of an actual working example. Thanks for the reroute. I often have to re-read new tech (to me) several times to get it's totality embedded in my mind and I'm not there yet

I made the changes you recommended and the program actually ran, but wouldn't talk to the motors. I read farther and I think the main thing I need to get a handle on is (setp stepgen.2.phase-A output). Complete info on it doesn't seem to reside in one place so I'm on a search now to find out more.
attached is both the error code and my hal file

you don't have the phase's connected as you thought ...
take a look here
www.anderswallin.net/2011/11/ab-quadrature-from-emc2/

attached your hal file modified to suit , just check the parallel port pins of course
it's untested .

I've had success...of sorts. Got the x axis running but other two only wiggle. I pulled the control pins off x and applied to y and z but it changed nothing. Also tried switching polarity, although I reconnected to each stepper driver exactly like it was on x. The x axis motor works correctly when run from the y and z quadrature pins. The only unique thing to x (that I've thought of yet) is that it has a very short set of leads from the drivers to the motor. I now intend to mount each driver beside it's respective motor and see if that helps..
The y and z power lines were all contained in one long cable and I suspect inductance may be restricting power flow to those motors. I'm hoping twisted pair phone line for the signals to the drivers will work without the inductance being a big factor on that side of the drivers and if I make the driver to motor wires as short as those for x, then it'll be time to get down to learning the real animal...LinuxCNC..
As I typed, it also occured to me that both y and z might just be bad motors so I think I'll test for that first.
I appreciate the help and advice. It's been a great help and I'm fairly sure, at least for this module of development, that my stepconf problems are solved. Lol, at least until I start monitoring the amperage on my dremel, put in multiplexed stop switches, and generally learn how to use those input pins on the paraport. <grin>

amongst what you have thought , check for voltage drop or at least a good voltage swing or a marginal level etc , you may be loosing some ...

if one axis works then so long as the ini settings are the same then it could be safely assumed the other outputs would be the same .
so long as you have not picked some obscure parallel port pin of course .