Hydro Thunder (s) aren't linking

dapperdan24

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I have 2 Hydro Thunder units and I cannot get them to link. I am using the crossover cables, both with and without the coupler, and they don't recognize the other as online. When you first start up the machines, one shows a network failure, so I am wondering if its card is bad. The card blinks green when plugged in like it is supposed to, but no dice. I have played with various configurations in the settings menu still to no avail.

Can someone detail what it takes to link these and give some general trouble shooting? The manual gives very little insight. There is nothing like the knowledge of another collector to solve a problem!

Thanks in advance-
 
Try the obvious first - check the wires between the machines. Ring out each conductor, and make sure you get a connection.

Then swap in a fresh network board, and see what happens.

Otherwise, you'll need someone with a network box, who can see if your unit is communicating.
 
Thanks ArcadeTechGW! Is the network card anything special or can I just swap it out with a standard computer network card to test?
 
You could move the network cards from side to side to see if the network failure stays or moves. If it moves then its the card for sure. If it stays then its likely a software or settings issue. I seem to recall them being fairly generic cards so if you need to find a replacement you just need to make sure you find one with the same chipset.

BTW, you dont have to use that coupler and crossover cables.

First of all, if your using the crossover cable you shouldnt use the coupler OR any other cable. Just go PC to PC with the one cable. If your using standard Cat5 patch cables you need the coupler OR you can use an ethernet hub. The hub is helpful because you can look at the hub to see which ports are lit up (showing a good connection) and if theres any traffic.

Last thing to check. When the games are coming up look to see what version software they are running. If they are not the same they probably wont link. I dont recall what Hydro was up to when they finished it.
 
good call...both need to be running the same version software to couple. Also, one machine usually needs to be designated machine 1 and machine 2 .....or master/slave.
 
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