[ProgrammerTori]

I had similar issues reconfiguring the 8 slot this year. I've imaged it before, but this year has given me many issues.

1st point of attack should be seeing if any connection at all exists between the cRIO and the laptop. If you've used it before, ping the ip address and see if it responds.
If not, the problem exists either in its ip address or in a physical connection. If it's ip, try and reset the cRIO and configure it again.

If it does respond to a ping, and since you've already tried using the bridge as an intermediary, check the bridge setting. Make sure it's configured correctly.

Next, if you still have issues, check the laptop's LAN settings, although I think you've already done so.

If it still gives you issues, try just getting the ip address to configure using the imaging tool. There's an IP RESET switch on the cRIO you will have to turn on.

Check to see if your modules are in the right place. The 8 slot cRIO hates having it's modules out of order.

Vacuum the cRIO as well. It's surprising how determined metal shavings are to find their way into it.

And if all else fails, shutdown the whole system, restart everything back to factory settings, and try again. It was probably just a cosmic ray.