My CNC machine is a X-Carve 1000mm from Inventables. Several months after getting it up and going, and having some successful carves, I received a JTech 2.8W Laser as a Christmas gift.
JTech provides a mounting kit for that laser and the X-Carve. I did receive it too but I decided to purchase another mounting kit instead. I wanted one in which the installation and removal of the laser was easier and I found Phil's Laser Mount to be a better option. It is as easy as disconnecting 2 wire connectors and removing 2 screws. Also, Phil's version has some protective shielding which makes things that much safer.
I control my system with an older Windows 7 laptop. It is configured to NEVER go into any type of sleep/hibernate mode or to power down the USB ports. So far it has done me well. I use Dropbox to transfer files from my daily use laptop to the X-Carve dedicated one - it is as easy as saving the files to a folder. (Note: In my case the X-Carve machine does have WiFi access and both laptops need that for the Dropbox stuff to work.)
I also have a powered USB hub between the laptop and the X-Controller. There are many theories where carves that fail mid-carve are due to the USB power dropping too low and causing a reset. Many people believe a powered hub has resolved those issues for them. I was having carves fail early and got my powered hub. I had one fail after that and found the issue to be the X-Controller's power cord was not plugged in all the way. It was loose enough to cause the X-Controller to power off and back on very quickly. I good hard push caused the plug to set deeper in the socket and now it is very secure.
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