Need help with O-scope

I am having a problem with a mill set up with Gecko drives. There seems
to be a noise problem that has cropped up on the Z axis and I would like
to look at it with a scope. I have the use of a scope but have not used
one for several years and have forgotten a few things. The part I worry
about is; do I have to use an isolation transformer to keep from popping
an IC do to different ground potentials? The scope is a B K Precision
model 1570A with API 1X and 10X probes. Any help appreciated. Ed.