Hi
I have been running a Thunder laser nova 35 on a windows pc for 3 years. Suddenly Lightburn will not find my device. I have tried as many options as I could find on Google however I still cannot connect. Please help. If I ping the device on my computer it does see it so I have no idea what else to do.
Things we need to know:
Verifying that all “these things have definitely not changed” really haven’t changed may be helpful:
If the PC is connected to the Ruida controller through a LAN, rather than a direct cable, then it’s possible the router decided to assign another device to the Ruida’s IP address. Check for that by turning the laser Off and pinging its IP address: if anything responds, that’s the problem.
I’m having the same issue and the port (com3) is showing a code 10! I have installed the ch341 driver and windows won’t allow it so I’m wandering if it’s a lightburn issue but that says it’s up to date! Need help please!!
Hi. I am using windows 10 it has not recently updated.
Light burn I am using the latest version and was updated yesterday which is when thproblem began.
It seems like a different issue, because COM3 means the laser uses USB, not Ethernet.
With a Ruida controller, you really want to avoid USB, so the first step is to switch to Ethernet using the process in the link above.
If you run aground doing that, start a new topic with a descriptive title so we don’t mix up problems and solutions in this topic.
That’s good to know.
This discussion may be helpful:
If that doesn’t solve the problem, upload screenshots of:
Device Settings → Basic Settings tab showing the IP address of the Ruida controlleripconfig resultsping to the laser’s IP address from the PCping to the laser’s IP addressType the ipconfig and ping commands in a Command Prompt window that you start by hitting the Win key and the R key, then typing cmd into the run dialog box.
Include a crisp photo of the Ruida controller’s display showing its IP address.
Then the hive mind can start pondering … 
Lightburn uses the USB COM port, but has no control over it. That is entirely a Windows thing.
Good Terri,
Did this fix the issue?
Thank you for sharing
The ipconfig output shows the PC’s IP address is 169.254.8.145.
The Ruida controller’s display shows its IP address is 169.254.8.146.
The LightBurn Device Settings put the controller at 169.254.8.145, which is the PC’s address. This is incorrect: that setting should be 169.254.8.146.
The ping 169.254.8.145 fails, because the PC is attempting to ping its own IP address. A ping 169.254.8.146 should show the Ruida controller responding.
However, those IP addresses are in the “link-local” = non-routable address range, so the PC’s Ethernet port must have a direct cable connection to the Ruida controller’s Ethernet port. If that’s not the case, then it still won’t work.
Morning Everyone.
I absolutely did try everything to fix it. i was so frustrated and decided to put everything off and call it a day. Today i came home from church and put the machine on and now everything is working. Sadly i have no idea what the issue was but hopefully it will stay away.
Thanks for all the advice.
It would be interesting to see screenshots / pictures of the current settings to compare with the previous ones.
If you changed the setup as I described, it should now Just Work™.
There is a lot going on under the Ethernet banner. Did you direct connect to your machine or via a router or wifi port?
The main issue I see that stands out is that it’s gateway is in a different domain. As far as I know this can’t talk without a useful gateway entry.
This is mine on a wireless lan connection.
The Gateway gets all the packets with an IP address out of the current subnetwork, so the PC and the Ruida can natter back and forth on the LAN without any problem, because those addresses don’t pass through the Gateway.
I betcha knowing the Gateway address lets the controller phone home every now and again, for reasons we’ll never know.
All the addresses from 240.0.0.0 up to (but not including) 255.255.255.255 are reserved, so 242.57.0.0 isn’t a sensible IP address for a gateway.
On the other paw, I recently read of a mid-size company setting all their internal LAN IP addresses to US Department of Defense assigned public addresses, with their firewalls set to not forward those addresses outward. Seems like a Terrible Idea™, as the DOD has absolutely no sense of humor, but …
A gateway doesn’t have to lead elsewhere, like, out to the wan.
I was thinking about when I had mine hooked up directly. Moving to a wifi type Ethernet connection, didn’t seem to work without a gateway. Likely it’s going through the router during it wifi adventure.
If it works without a gateway, that’s great!
This sounds like a fear more than any kind of truth. These talk over UDP, don’t use DNS services and have a limited amount of code. Once a UDP packet hits the wan, I don’t know where it could end up.
I don’t believe they are friendly, but I also don’t think this level of control would profit them.
I would want to ditch those 169.254.x.x automatic private addresses and manually assign new and simple static IP addresses to the laser and the ethernet adapter, for example:
In LightBurn and the Nova35: 192.168.2.200
At the PC’s ethernet adapter:192.168.2.100
I had nothing but trouble with programs updating. Windows, Smartcarve, Lightburn. Once I took my computers offline, I had no further problems. I have a laptop for online stuff.
