InTime Not Starting or Robot Not Found After Boot¶
Networking / InTime Resolved All rigs (InTime-based)
Summary¶
InTime must fully start before Flair is opened. Opening Flair too early (before InTime has loaded, or before the robot controller has finished booting) results in Flair finding no robot, showing network errors, or running in a degraded state. This is the single most common startup sequence error in the field.
Symptoms¶
- Flair shows "InTime connection broken" in console log
- Flair opens but cannot find any network nodes
- InTime taskbar icon is grey / uncoloured
- "AddMessFail:Root: RX abandon" in InTime log (Cinebot Mini / Ethernet-based robots)
- CS8 shows
Einstead ofA(EtherCAT not ready) - Robot axis is visible but cannot be enabled
- Robot works once then fails after a power-off/on cycle (InTime not waited for on restart)
Startup Sequence — Required Order¶
- Power on the robot controller (CS8 or equivalent). Wait for full boot.
- CS8 takes approximately 5 minutes to fully boot.
- CS8 display shows
A(ready for remote) or8(E-stop engaged) when boot is complete. - Older CS8 controllers may take up to 3 minutes; newer ones vary.
- Let Windows finish booting completely on the Flair PC.
- Wait for the InTime icon in the Windows taskbar to be coloured (not grey). A coloured icon means InTime is running and the network card is under InTime control.
- For EtherCAT systems: 2 green lights on the Hilscher cifX PCI card are required before Flair can connect.
- Open Flair only after both steps above are complete.
Do not open Flair during boot
Opening Flair while InTime is still initialising causes it to start without robot connection. This is not always obvious — Flair may appear to open normally but the robot will not be found. Always close Flair and reopen it after InTime has fully started.
Fixing a Failed Start Without Rebooting¶
If InTime started but then lost its node (or if you opened Flair too early):
- Right-click the InTime icon in the Windows taskbar.
- Select Restart Node A (or Stop, then Start).
- Wait for the icon to return to coloured.
- Close and reopen Flair.
Cinebot Mini / Ethernet robots
On Cinebot Mini and other Ethernet-based robots (no cifX card), watch for "AddMessFail:Root: RX abandon" in the InTime log. This often means the external network box (the Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter or similar InTime-compatible NIC) is not powered or not properly connected. Check that: - The Thunderbolt enclosure / external NIC is powered and connected - The network switch is powered - All Ethernet cables are firmly seated
WhatsApp Excerpts¶
"Waiting the right time when powering up for the internal CS8 to boot? Takes about 5 minutes. Wait for an 'A' or '8' I think, depending on the E-stop status." — Dig (2025-05-07)
"It works 1 time, and then when I turn off the robot to change something, same problem again. It's not communicating with robot again." — Musthafa Aboobacker (2025-07-17)
"If you're restarting, are you waiting for InTime to load fully?" — MRMC Support (2025-07-17)
"Make sure the external network box is powered." — MRMC Support (2025-11-28)
"I ended up restarting everything four times and the last time I unplugged all switches and everything. Then it came back alive!" — Krister G. Antonsen (2025-11-28)
"If you're on a Cinebot Mini we would recommend changing to Linux. The networking setup is more simple." — MRMC Support (2025-11-28)
"Letting the robot fully boot up before you start Flair can help. 1-3 minutes depending on the age of the controller." — Simon Wakley (2025-06-28)
See Also¶
- NET ethercat flair started too early — CS8 shows
Especifically due to Flair started before robot ready (EtherCAT) - NET windows updates intime — Persistent InTime failure may be due to Windows update corruption