Mass spectrometer is present in DHCP server but shows no communications in MassLynx - WKB7423

SYMPTOMS

• No communication with MS
• "Instrument not present" shown in MassLynx
• DHCP server does detect the instrument and shows it has an IP address assigned
• Opening a command prompt and typing "Ping EPC" results in "no reply from" message
• Opening a command prompt and pinging the IP address listed in the DHCP server brings no reply from the EPC

ENVIRONMENT

• 3100 Mass Detector
• ACQUITY QDa Mass Detector
• ACQUITY UPLC
• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class
• ACQUITY UPLC I-class
• MassLynx 4.1
• MassLynx 4.2
• SQ Detector 2
• SYNAPT G2
• SYNAPT G2-S
• SYNAPT G2-Si
• SYNAPT XS
• TQ Detector
• Xevo QTof 
• Xevo G2
• Xevo G2-S
• Xevo G2-XS
• Xevo TQ MS
• Xevo TQD
• Xevo TQ-S
• Xevo TQ-S micro
• Xevo TQ-S cronos
• Xevo TQ-XS

CAUSE

Mismatch of IP address assigned by the Waters DHCP server and the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts), for example:

• Two IP addresses listed for the EPC, and the top one is not that shown in the DHCP server
• Two IP addresses listed for the EPC, neither of which is the same as the one shown in the DHCP server
• Single IP address listed for the EPC, which is not the same as the one shown in the DHCP server

FIX or WORKAROUND

1. Close MassLynx.
2. Open the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) using Notepad.
3. Edit the hosts file so that the IP address assigned to the EPC matches the one listed in the DHCP server (example shown below).
5. Open a command prompt and type Ping EPC to confirm that the EPC is now associated with the correct IP address.
6. If Ping EPC works, reopen MassLynx and see if the instrument is now present.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION