Introduction
If you come across a situation where a local connection between your controller and computer fails, you can use the following steps to troubleshoot the situation and get connected.
Troubleshooting
First thing to check is to ensure your computer and controller have been setup to connect. If you're not sure if this has been done, see one of these articles that give the necessary foundation for a local connection:
Connect a MiniTrack Controller to PC via Ethernet
Connecting a Pro2 to a PC via Ethernet
If you are still unable to connect, here are a few things to check in the sections below.
Middleware
A controller will not connect unless the computer it's connecting to has middleware open, which will be either CCS Lite or Fusion. If neither of those are open, launch one of them and try connecting again.
Hardware
Hardware can sometimes go bad, so here are a few aspects to look into:
- Try a different Ethernet port on the Minitrack
- Try a different Ethernet Cable
- Double check converter: if you are using an Ethernet to USB converter, you may have to redo the steps to set the correct LAN IP address on your computer, as converters sometimes reset this.
Firewall Exception
Often it is necessary to specifically allow your middleware through your firewall, and simply disabling the firewall is not enough to work around this.
The process is different depending on what operating system you are on, but you should be able to find an option that reads "Allow an App through Windows Firewall" in the menu structure within Settings > Update & Security (note, this issue has not been reported on MacOS).
Find the middleware you are using, and add the exception for both public and private networks.
When using a Minitrack to connect, please note that the Secondary server connection will not activate the "Connected" LED. Only the Primary server connection will cause that LED to blink when connecting, and to go solid once the controller has successfully connected.
Conclusion
If you are still unable to connect, please contact Timer Support, or consider an alternative way to retrieve your data. It's always a good idea to have a USB thumbdrive available for this, should other methods fail.